Casella Waste (CWST) Announces Cost Management Program, Will Reduce Staff; Adjusts FY13 Outlook

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdq: CWST), announces a realignment of its operations that will streamline its support functions and is expected to eliminate approximately $6.5 million of annualized costs. This realignment further builds upon the steps the company has taken over the past 12 months to adjust its cost structure, while still maintaining the company's focus on its main strategic growth objectives.

The realignment includes the following organizational changes:

• Enhancing certain aspects of the sales function to better facilitate customer service and retention, pricing growth, and support of strategic growth initiatives;
  
• Streamlining operations support to better align transportation, route management and maintenance functions at the local level; and
  
• Reducing corporate overhead and staff to match organizational needs and to reduce costs.

The company expects to take a one-time severance and reorganization charge of approximately $1.5 million in its second quarter.

For the quarter ended July 31, 2012, the company continued to experience declines in special waste volumes at its western region landfills and weakness in recycling commodity pricing resulting in weaker than expected performance. While the company expects the cost reductions announced above to substantially offset these revenue losses, the company does not expect these revenue streams to return through the remainder of our fiscal year. As such, the company has revised guidance for its fiscal year 2013, which began May 1, 2012, by estimating results in the following ranges:

• Revenues between $475.0 million and $485.0 million (The Street sees $490.1 million);
  
• Adjusted EBITDA* between $101.0 million and $105.0 million; and
  
• Free Cash Flow* between $4.0 million and $8.0 million.

The above guidance does not include the financial impacts from the potential sale of Maine Energy or the potential refinancing of the 11.0 percent $180.0 million second lien notes due July 2014 during fiscal year 2013.

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