Clean Harbors (NYSE: CLH) reported Q1 EPS of $0.28, $0.20 better than the analyst estimate of $0.08. Revenue for the quarter came in at $858.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $793.66 million.

“We delivered record Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 with strong growth in both operating segments,” said Alan S. McKim, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We drove substantial volumes of high-value waste streams into our disposal and recycling network, benefitting from consistent base business, multiple projects and favorable weather. These factors contributed to a 21% increase in Adjusted EBITDA over the first quarter of 2019 and a 130 basis-point improvement in Adjusted EBITDA margin.”

GUIDANCE:

Withdrawing 2020 annual guidance until market conditions stabilize

“Our prudent cost actions position us well for the anticipated reopening of the U.S. and Canadian economies in the second half of 2020,” McKim said. “Although we have seen some cancellations and project delays due to COVID-19, we expect Environmental Services to weather the current downturn well. We exited Q1 with a healthy backlog of waste streams in our disposal network and have not seen a meaningful decline from most of our large quantity generators. In addition, we are continuing to perform COVID-19 decontamination work and handling growing volumes of infectious waste for a variety of customers.

“With stay-at-home orders greatly reducing vehicle travel across North America, the pandemic is limiting near-term demand for our core Safety-Kleen offerings, including used motor oil (UMO) collection. We expect our branch business to rebound when shelter-in-place mandates are lifted and low gasoline prices and a reduction in air travel encourage a steady increase in driving. In our SK Oil business, our re-refining spread has contracted with the drop in crude prices. Despite our aggressive increase in charge-for-oil pricing, near-term demand for base oil has dropped precipitously, prompting us to shutter some re-refining capacity until the markets improve.

“Our first-quarter results further demonstrated the strength of our business model, the value of our irreplaceable portfolio of disposal assets and our front-line role in emergency response,” McKim concluded. “Our market leadership, financial liquidity and positive free cash flow will enable us to navigate this global crisis.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Clean Harbors (CLH) click here.