Covanta Holding Corporation Reports 2012 Full Year and Fourth Quarter Results
Signed $2.5 Billion in Contracts During 2012 With Average Term of 12 Years Projecting 5% Adjusted EBITDA Growth for 2013
(firmenpresse) - MORRISTOWN, NJ -- (Marketwire) -- 02/06/13 -- Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) ("Covanta" or the "Company"), a leading global owner and operator of Energy-from-Waste ("EfW") projects, reported financial results today for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2012.
(1) As of November 7, 2012.
Record year in terms of EfW Boiler availability;
Signed $2.5 billion of waste and energy contracts with average term of 12 years -- secured two million tons of waste and 750,000 MWh of generation per year;
Acquired ~2,700 ton per day Delaware Valley EfW facility; immediately accretive to key metrics;
Successfully refinanced $1.9 billion in debt, creating substantial financial flexibility;
Honolulu EfW project expansion successfully commenced commercial operation; and
Doubled dividend to $0.60/share annually; shareholder returns totaled $169 million.
Commenting on Covanta's 2012 results, Anthony Orlando, Covanta's President and CEO stated, "I'm pleased with both our 2012 operating performance and the execution of organic growth initiatives. This good work enabled us to offset the drop in energy and metals markets, as well as the impact of Hurricane Sandy. We also had a great year extending long-term waste and energy contracts. Our contracted revenue base, combined with our continued investment in organic growth initiatives, positions us to grow in the coming year. Our guidance calls for 5% Adjusted EBITDA growth in 2013, and maintaining our strong Free Cash Flow. Our focus is on investing in the business for the long-term, and we see a number of exciting opportunities that will allow us to grow this year and beyond."
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2012, total operating revenues declined slightly to $1,644 million from $1,650 million in 2011. This was primarily due to the negative impacts of:
Lower revenues earned explicitly to service project debt;
Lower pricing for energy at EfW facilities and recycled metals; and
Hurricane Sandy impact, as certain facilities were briefly forced off-line.
These impacts were substantially offset by:
Organic growth initiatives in special waste, recycled metals and other;
Escalations in service fee contracts; and
New units coming online.
Excluding certain items(2), operating expenses were $1,420 million for 2012 compared to $1,427 million for 2011. The $7 million decrease was primarily due to:
The benefits from various operational improvements.
Offset by:
Expenses related to Hurricane Sandy for repairs at facilities; and
Lower alternative fuel tax credits.
Excluding the items noted above, and the net operating income negative effect of Hurricane Sandy of $9 million in 2012, operating income was $233 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, or an increase of $10 million compared to the prior year period. Operating income improved due to:
Organic growth initiatives; and
New units coming online.
Partially offset by:
Lower debt service pass through revenue;
Lower pricing for EfW energy and recycled metal; and
Lower alternative fuel tax credits.
Adjusted EBITDA declined $2 million to $492 million primarily due to lower debt service pass through revenue, lower EfW energy and lower recycled metal pricing, lower alternative fuel tax credits, and the impact of Hurricane Sandy, mostly offset by organic growth initiatives, and new units coming online.
Free Cash Flow was $262 million, down $20 million versus 2011. The decline was primarily due to net effect of Hurricane Sandy, increased maintenance capital expenditures and higher interest expense.
Adjusted EPS of $0.52 declined by $0.02 compared to $0.54 in 2011, due to a higher effective tax rate, increased interest expense and the negative impact of Hurricane Sandy. These factors were partially offset by higher pre-tax income, increased equity income, and a lower number of shares outstanding due to the Company's stock buyback program.
(2) Includes pension plan settlement expense, net (gains) write-offs and impact of adverse loss development and transition to run-off of our insurance business. For additional information, see Exhibit 4A - Note (a) - (f) of this press release.
In 2012, the Company doubled its annual cash dividend to $0.60 per share and returned $169 million to shareholders, consisting of $81 million in cash dividends and $88 million in share repurchases (3.9% of common stock outstanding). Since the inception of its buyback program the Company has repurchased 25.8 million shares, or 16.7% of shares outstanding, at a weighted average cost of $16.00. As of December 31, 2012, Covanta had $87 million of share repurchase authorization remaining.
Sanjiv Khattri, Covanta's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "2012 was a solid year for us. We were very active in returning capital to shareholders through our dividend and stock repurchase program. We also took advantage of strong debt markets, financing over $1.9 billion of capital. We have a strong balance sheet with flexibility and ample liquidity. As a result of the financing, as well as increased depreciation associated with our Delaware Valley facility acquisition, our 2013 net income and EPS will be negatively impacted by higher interest expense and depreciation. Our other key financial metrics, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow, remain strong and we have some nice growth prospects for 2013 and beyond."
Operating revenues of $430 million were flat with the prior year period. Significant factors included the positive impacts of:
Organic growth initiatives in special waste, recycled metals and other; and
Escalations in service fee contracts.
Negative impacts were:
Hurricane Sandy as certain facilities were briefly forced off-line;
Lower revenues earned explicitly to service project debt;
Lower recycled metals pricing; and
Lower revenues from our insurance business.
Excluding the items noted above, operating expenses were $351 million in 2012 compared to $345 million for 2011, an increase of $6 million. Benefits from various operational improvements were more than offset by the negative impact of Hurricane Sandy and normal cost escalations.
Excluding the items noted above and the net operating income effects of Hurricane Sandy, operating income was $88 million for the year ended December 31, 2012, or an increase of $3 million compared to the prior year period.
Adjusted EBITDA declined $4 million to $143 million in 2012, primarily due to the negative impact of Hurricane Sandy, lower recycled metals pricing, lower alternative fuel tax credits, partially offset by the benefits of organic growth initiatives.
Free Cash Flow of $57 million in 2012 declined $6 million versus 2011 primarily due to higher interest expense, which was partially offset by the timing of other working capital.
Adjusted EPS of $0.20 declined by $0.07 from the prior year period due to a higher effective tax rate, increased interest expense and the negative impact of Hurricane Sandy. These declines were partially offset by a lower number of shares outstanding due to the Company's common stock buyback program.
The Company is establishing guidance for 2013 for the following key metrics:
(In millions, except per share amounts)
Covanta will host a conference call at 8:30 am (Eastern) on Thursday, February 7, 2013 to discuss its fourth quarter results. The conference call will begin with prepared remarks, which will be followed by a question and answer session. To participate, please dial 800-860-2442 approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. If calling from Canada, please dial 866-605-3852. If calling outside of the United States and Canada, please dial 412-858-4600. Please request the "Covanta Holding Corporation call" when prompted by the conference call operator. The conference call will also be webcast live from the Investor Relations section of the Company's website. A presentation will be made available during the call and will be found on the Investor Relations section of the Covanta website at .
A replay will be available one hour after the end of the conference call through 9:00 AM (Eastern) Friday, February 15, 2013. To access the replay, please dial 877-344-7529, or from outside of the United States 412-317-0088 and use the replay conference ID number 10023855. The webcast will also be archived on .
The Company expects its 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed the week of February 11, 2013.
Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) is an internationally recognized owner and operator of large-scale Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy projects and a recipient of the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Covanta's 44 Energy-from-Waste facilities provide communities with an environmentally sound solution to their solid waste disposal needs by using that municipal solid waste to generate clean, renewable energy. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste facilities safely and securely convert approximately 20 million tons of waste into 9 million megawatt hours of clean renewable electricity and approximately 9 billion pounds of steam that are sold to a variety of industries. For more information, visit .
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries ("Covanta") or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. For additional information see the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements at the end of the Exhibits.
We use a number of different financial measures, both United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and non-GAAP, in assessing the overall performance of our business. To supplement our assessment of results prepared in accordance with GAAP, we use the measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, and Adjusted EPS, which are non-GAAP measures as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow, and Adjusted EPS as described below, and used in the tables above, are not intended as a substitute or as an alternative to net income, cash flow provided by operating activities or diluted earnings per share as indicators of our performance or liquidity or any other measures of performance or liquidity derived in accordance with GAAP. In addition, our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes.
The presentations of Adjusted EBITDA, Free Cash Flow and Adjusted EPS are intended to enhance the usefulness of our financial information by providing measures which management internally use to assess and evaluate the overall performance of its business and those of possible acquisition candidates, and highlight trends in the overall business.
We use Adjusted EBITDA to provide further information that is useful to an understanding of the financial covenants contained in the credit facilities as of December 31, 2012 of our most significant subsidiary, Covanta Energy, through which we conduct our core waste and energy services business, and as additional ways of viewing aspects of its operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of our core business. The calculation of Adjusted EBITDA is based on the definition in Covanta Energy's credit facilities as of December 31, 2012, which we have guaranteed. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as adjusted for additional items subtracted from or added to net income. Because our business is substantially comprised of that of Covanta Energy, our financial performance is substantially similar to that of Covanta Energy. For this reason, and in order to avoid use of multiple financial measures which are not all from the same entity, the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and other financial measures presented herein are ours, measured on a consolidated basis for continuing operations, less the results of operations of our insurance subsidiaries.
Under the credit facilities as of December 31, 2012, Covanta Energy is required to satisfy certain financial covenants, including certain ratios of which Adjusted EBITDA is an important component. Compliance with such financial covenants is expected to be the principal limiting factor which will affect our ability to engage in a broad range of activities in furtherance of our business, including making certain investments, acquiring businesses and incurring additional debt. Covanta Energy was in compliance with these covenants as of December 31, 2012. Failure to comply with such financial covenants could result in a default under these credit facilities, which default would have a material adverse affect on our financial condition and liquidity.
These financial covenants are measured on a trailing four quarter period basis and the material covenants are as follows:
maximum Covanta Energy leverage ratio of 4.00 to 1.00, which measures Covanta Energy's Consolidated Adjusted Debt (which is the principal amount of its consolidated debt less certain restricted funds dedicated to repayment of project debt principal and construction costs) to its Adjusted EBITDA (which for purposes of calculating the leverage ratio and interest coverage ratio, is adjusted on a pro forma basis for acquisitions and dispositions made during the relevant period); and
minimum Covanta Energy interest coverage ratio of 3.00 to 1.00, which measures Covanta Energy's Adjusted EBITDA to its consolidated interest expense plus certain interest expense of ours, to the extent paid by Covanta Energy.
In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, reconciled for each such periods to net income from continuing operations and cash flow provided by operating activities from continuing operations, which are believed to be the most directly comparable measures under GAAP.
Free Cash Flow is defined as cash flow provided by operating activities from continuing operations, excluding the cash flow provided by or used in our insurance subsidiaries, less maintenance capital expenditures, which are capital expenditures primarily to maintain our existing facilities. We use the non-GAAP measure of Free Cash Flow as a criterion of liquidity and performance-based components of employee compensation. We use Free Cash Flow as a measure of liquidity to determine amounts we can reinvest in our core businesses, such as amounts available to make acquisitions, invest in construction of new projects, make principal payments on debt, or amounts we can return to our stockholders through dividends and/or stock repurchases.
In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Free Cash Flow for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, reconciled for each such periods to cash flow provided by operating activities from continuing operations, which we believe to be the most directly comparable measure under GAAP.
Adjusted EPS excludes certain income and expense items that are not representative of our ongoing business and operations, which are included in the calculation of Diluted Earnings Per Share in accordance with GAAP. The following items are not all-inclusive, but are examples of reconciling items in prior comparative and future periods. They would include the results of operations of our insurance subsidiaries, write-off of assets and liabilities, the effect of derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments, significant gains or losses from the disposition or restructuring of businesses, gains and losses on assets held for sale, transaction-related costs, income and loss on the extinguishment of debt and other significant items that would not be representative of our ongoing business.
We will use the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted EPS to enhance the usefulness of our financial information by providing a measure which management internally uses to assess and evaluate the overall performance and highlight trends in the ongoing business.
In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Adjusted EPS for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2012 and 2011, reconciled for each such periods to diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, which is believed to be the most directly comparable measure under GAAP.
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries ("Covanta") or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as the words "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," or "scheduled to," or other similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the "safe harbor" provisions of such laws. Covanta cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by us are not guarantees or indicative of future performance. Important factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:
fluctuations in the prices of energy, waste disposal, scrap metal and commodities;
adoption of new laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, including energy laws, environmental laws, labor laws and healthcare laws;
the fee structures of our contracts;
our ability to avoid adverse publicity relating to our business expansion efforts;
advances in technology;
difficulties in the operation of our facilities, including fuel supply and energy delivery interruptions, failure to obtain regulatory approvals, equipment failures, labor disputes and work stoppages, and weather interference and catastrophic events;
failure to maintain historical performance levels at our facilities and our ability to retain the rights to operate facilities we do not own;
difficulties in the financing, development and construction of new projects and expansions, including increased construction costs and delays;
our ability to realize the benefits of long-term business development and bear the costs of business development over time;
the scalability of our business;
limits of insurance coverage;
our ability to avoid defaults under our long-term contracts;
performance of third parties under our contractual arrangements and such third parties' observance of laws and regulations;
concentration of suppliers and customers;
geographic concentration of facilities;
increased competitiveness in the energy and waste industries;
changes in foreign currency exchange rates;
limitations imposed by our existing indebtedness and our ability to perform our financial obligations and guarantees and to refinance our existing indebtedness;
exposure to counterparty credit risk and instability of financial institutions in connection with financing transactions;
our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards;
restrictions in our certificate of incorporation and debt documents regarding strategic alternatives;
failures of disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting;
our ability to attract and retain talented people;
general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, including the availability of credit and debt financing and market conditions at the time our contracts expire; and
other risks and uncertainties affecting our businesses described in Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings by Covanta with the SEC.
Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from a projection or assumption in any of our forward-looking statements. Our future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are made only as of the date hereof and we do not have, or undertake, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law.
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