US Ecology's Earnings Hurt by Hurricanes and Other Unanticipated Factors
US Ecology (NASDAQ: ECOL) reported third-quarter 2017 results after the market closed on Oct. 26. Business conditions are improving, but the environmental services company's results were hurt by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, a charge related to a property tax assessment, and some event business pushed back.
The market sent US Ecology shares tumbling to a closing loss of 10.4% on Friday, which we can attribute to the weaker-than-expected results and the ratcheting back of full-year 2017 guidance.
US Ecology's results: The raw numbers
For context -- though long-term investors shouldn't pay too much attention to Wall Street's near-term estimates -- analysts were looking for US Ecology to turn in adjusted EPS of $0.60 on revenue of $135.5 million. So the company fell short of both expectations.
What happened with US Ecology in the quarter?
Here are how the two segments performed:
| Segment |
Q3 Revenue |
Year-Over-Year Change |
Q3 Gross Profit |
Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental services |
$97.7 million |
11% |
$33.1 million |
(1.5%) |
| Field and industrial services |
$36.4 million |
(1.6%) | $4.6 million |
(19.3%) |
| Total |
$134.1 million |
7.5% | $37.7 million | (4.3%) |
Within environmental services (ES), treatment and disposal (T&D) revenue rose 9% and transportation revenue jumped 21% year over year. Slicing and dicing the ES business another way, base business' revenue grew about 3%, adjusting for the impacts of Hurricane Harvey, while event business' revenue soared 40% over the year-ago quarter. (The event business includes non-recurring projects of 1,000 tons or more.) The decrease in gross profit was due to a decline in T&D gross margin, driven primarily by a less favorable service mix and incremental costs associated with Hurricane Harvey that affected US Ecology's Robstown, Texas, operation.
Field and industrial services revenue result was negatively affected by the expiration of a contract that wasn't renewed in late 2016 and softer overall market conditions for industrial and remediation services. The decline in gross profit was due to lower route density in the company's small-quantity generation services as it rebuilds and replaces business it has lost in the prior year, and a less profitable mix in its industrial service and remediation business.
What management had to say
Here's what CEO Jeff Feeler had to say in the press release:
CFO Eric Gerratt expounded on the factors that negatively affected the company's business in the quarter:
Looking ahead
US Ecology has reached an agreement with its insurance carriers and expects to receive $2.6 million of business interruption proceeds related to its treatment facility that suffered severe wind damage in the first quarter. It expects to record the proceeds in the fourth quarter.
Because of its worse-than-expected third quarter, the company lowered its previously issued full-year 2017 outlook as follows:
| Metric |
2017 Guidance |
Projected Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted EPS |
$1.60 to $1.72 (Previous: $1.69 to $1.93) |
4.6% to 12.4 % |
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Beth McKenna has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends U.S. Ecology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.