Dive Brief:

• Waste Connections’ fourth quarter and year-end results reported $2.12 billion in revenue for the year ending Dec. 31, 2015 — up from $2.08 billion in 2014 — while the company experienced a net loss of $95.8 million. The net loss was in part due to about $497.1 million in impairment charges against its exploration and production (E&P) segment, as reported in Waste360.
• Other financial highlights include: 2015 fourth quarter revenues of $531.9 million, up from $526.2 million in the last quarter of 2014; commercial revenue increased 8% year-over-year and roll-up revenue on same-store sales grew 7%; and operating loss was $61.5 million for the entire year.
• Landfill tonnage expanded 6% year-over year, construction and demolition debris tonnage increased 19%, special waste tonnage grew 5%, and MSW tonnage grew 4% with tonnage outpacing previous years at 75% of Waste Connection’s landfills.

Dive Insight:

While Waste Connections experienced a substantial net loss last year, the revenue climb from 2014 was also marked.

Waste Connections Chairman and CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt recently told investors, "Favorable revenue trends and an approximate 180 basis point year-over-year margin expansion in solid waste drove exceptional results and an almost 50% conversion of EBITDA [Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization] to free cash flow in 2015."

He attributed solid pricing growth and better-than-anticipated volume during the first three quarters to the company’s ability to "once again exceed our expectations and outlook for the [last] quarter."

But even the big players feel the hit to the recycling market. Mittelstaedt blamed the company’s loss in this subsector (4th quarter revenue down $1.6 million year-over-year) to weaker commodities prices for plastics and metals and lower third-party volumes. Commenting on the downward spiral he said, "...Year-over-year headwinds will persist in Q1."

As far as the company’s perceived economic outlook for 2016, Waste Connections assumes a status quo but does not take into account impact from the Progressive Waste acquisition .