Covanta Posts Slightly Higher Earnings for Third Period

Covanta Holding Corp. posted a slight increase in net earnings and revenue for its third quarter, but the company called the results mixed.

The Morristown, N.J.-based waste and energy company said in a news release that for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 net income rose 3.8 percent to $28 million compared with $26 million a year earlier.

Operating revenue for the period climbed 4 percent to $427 million compared with $412 million in the year-ago period.

For the first nine months, Covanta posted a net loss of $35 million compared with a profit of $32 million in 2012. Revenue for the period remained flat at $1.21 billion.

The company had two positive developments in the quarter – it acquired a waste-to-energy facility in Camden, N.J., and it won a 20-year waste disposal contract with New York City, said Anthony Orlando, president and CEO. But on the downside, Covanta had unscheduled outages, lower-than-expected steam demand and organic growth that was good but slower that the firm had hoped.