Lower Commodity Prices for Recycling Hamper Progressive Waste Quarter

Lower commodity prices for recycling pushed down net income for Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. for its third quarter.

Net income for the Vaughan, Ontario-based waste and recycling company dropped 20.3 percent for the period ended Sept. 30, to $32.2 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, according to a news release. That compares with $40.3 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, in the 2011 period.

Revenue for the latest quarter slipped 0.7 percent to $487.2 million from $490.5 million in 2011.

The company had strong core business activity that was offset by a mixed volume performance and lower recycled commodity prices, said Joseph Quarin, Progressive vice chairman and CEO. The quarter-to-quarter impact of the lower commodity prices totaled $12.4 million.

For the first nine months, Progressive’s net income fell 17.4 percent to $82.6 million, or 71 cents per diluted share, compared with $100.1 million, or 83 cents per diluted share, in the 2011 year-to-date period.

Revenue rose 1.3 percent to $1.4 billion compared with $1.38 billion in 2011.

Progressive adjusted its guidance for 2012 in anticipation that recycled commodity prices will not improve for the rest of the year, along with lower transfer station and landfill volumes. Revenue is estimated to be about $1.88 billion; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to be $515 million to $520 million; and adjusted net income per diluted share to be 99 cents to $1.