Covanta Holding Corporation Reports 2021 Third Quarter Results

MORRISTOWN, N.J., Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE: CVA) ("Covanta" or the "Company"), a world leader in sustainable waste and energy solutions, reported financial results today for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Key Highlights

• Adjusted EBITDA up $41 million year-over-year
• Waste-to-energy tip fee price growth of 4.5% year-over-year
• Capturing materially higher prices for energy and recycled metals
• UK construction and commissioning activities on track
• EQT transaction received shareholder approval on October 12, and is expected to close by end of year, subject to final regulatory approvals

"Our team continues to execute extremely well, with consistent operating performance positioning the Company to maximize revenue in a strong market environment that includes upward pressure on disposal prices, growing demand for sustainable waste solutions, and higher values for the commodities we generate," said Michael Ranger, President and CEO. "While we work toward closing our transaction with EQT and preparing for the Company's next chapter, we remain focused on our customers and communities, operating safely and efficiently, and leveraging the unique value of our assets."

Discussion of Third Quarter 2021 Results
Total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2021 was $539 million, up $48 million as compared to the prior year period, driven by the following:

• Waste revenue improved by $20 million, with growth in nearly all areas, including:
• Tip fees up $16 million on higher prices and volumes; and 
• Material processing and recycling revenue up $7 million amid strong recovery in demand for environmental services;
• Energy revenue increased by $11 million due to higher market prices and increased revenue from renewable energy credits, partially offset by lower wholesale load serving revenue; and
• Materials sales increased by $21 million, with a $15 million increase in ferrous revenue and a $6 million increase in non-ferrous revenue due to higher market prices for metal products.

Total operating expenses were $465 million in the quarter, up $24 million over the prior year period, driven by the following:

• Wages and benefits rose by $9 million, with normalized compensation costs compared to COVID-related cost mitigation actions taken in the third quarter of 2020 and higher accruals for incentive compensation based on financial performance;
• Maintenance expense decreased by $7 million due to the timing of planned outage activity;
• Other operating costs increased by $5 million primarily related to higher insurance premiums, transportation and fuel costs; and
• General and administrative expense rose by $9 million, with the cost mitigation actions taken in the prior year period and increased costs relating to the strategic review impacting the comparison.

Adjusted EBITDA increased by $41 million to $169 million, driven primarily by higher waste and commodity prices and lower maintenance expense, partially offset by higher costs compared to the prior year cost mitigation program.

Free Cash Flow was $60 million in the quarter, up $58 million compared to the prior year. This improvement was driven primarily by higher Adjusted EBITDA and reduced maintenance capital expenditures.

The Company ended the quarter with $2.4 billion of net debt outstanding and a leverage ratio of 5.2x.

About Covanta
Covanta is a world leader in providing sustainable waste and energy solutions.  Annually, Covanta's modern Waste-to-Energy ("WtE") facilities safely convert approximately 21 million tons of waste from municipalities and businesses into clean, renewable electricity to power one million homes and recycle 600,000 tons of metal. Through a vast network of treatment and recycling facilities, Covanta also provides comprehensive industrial material management services to companies seeking solutions to some of today's most complex environmental challenges. For more information, visit www.covanta.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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. Forward-looking statements are those that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intend, expect, project, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future. They are based on management's assumptions and assessments in light of past experience and trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other relevant factors. They are not guarantees of future performance or actual results. Developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by our forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the consummation of the transaction with EQT, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Covanta Holding Corporation ("Covanta"), its subsidiaries and joint ventures or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, in particular, the announced business combination with EQT depends on the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the business combination, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the business combination will be consummated. For additional information see the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in the Company's 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as Risk Factors in the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

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 and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP financial measures as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow 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 and Free Cash Flow 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.

Adjusted EBITDA

We use Adjusted EBITDA to provide additional ways of viewing aspects of operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results provide a more complete understanding of our core business. As we define it, Adjusted EBITDA represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, as adjusted for additional items subtracted from or added to net income including the effects of impairment losses, gains or losses on sales, dispositions or retirements of assets, adjustments to reflect the Adjusted EBITDA from our unconsolidated investments, adjustments to exclude significant unusual or non-recurring items that are not directly related to our operating performance plus adjustments to capital type expenses for our service fee facilities in line with our credit agreements. We adjust for these items in our Adjusted EBITDA as our management believes that these items would distort their ability to efficiently view and assess our core operating trends. As larger parts of our business are conducted through unconsolidated investments, we adjust EBITDA for our proportionate share of the entity's depreciation and amortization, interest expense, tax expense and other adjustments to exclude significant unusual or non-recurring items that are not directly related to the entity's operating performance. in order to improve comparability to the Adjusted EBITDA of our wholly owned entities. We do not have control, nor have any legal claim to the portion of our unconsolidated investees' revenues and expenses allocable to our joint venture partners. As we do not control, but do exercise significant influence, we account for these unconsolidated investments in accordance with the equity method of accounting. Net income (losses) from these investments are reflected within our consolidated statements of operations in Equity in net income from unconsolidated investments. In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, we are providing information with respect to our Adjusted EBITDA for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, reconciled for each such period to net income and net cash provided by operating activities, which are believed to be the most directly comparable measures under GAAP.

Our projections of the proportional contribution of our interests in joint ventures to our Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are not based on GAAP net income/loss or cash flow provided by operating activities, respectively, and are anticipated to be adjusted to exclude the effects of events or circumstances in 2021 that are not representative or indicative of our results of operations and that are not currently determinable. Due to the uncertainty of the likelihood, amount and timing of any such adjusting items, we do not have information available to provide a quantitative reconciliation of projected net income/loss to an Adjusted EBITDA projection.

Free Cash Flow

Free Cash Flow is defined as cash flow provided by operating activities, plus changes in operating restricted funds, less expenditures for software implementation and 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 nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, reconciled for each such period to net cash provided by operating activities, which we believe to be the most directly comparable measure under GAAP.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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. 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:

• potential delay or failure to consummate the announced transaction with EQT;
• the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our employees, business, and operations, or on the economy in general, including commercial and financial markets;
• our ability to identify opportunities and execute on strategies and transactions, including in connection with a strategic review of our business and including acquisitions, divestitures, and restructuring opportunities;
• seasonal or long-term fluctuations in the prices of energy, waste disposal, scrap metal and commodities;
• our ability to renew or replace expiring contracts at comparable prices and with other acceptable terms;
• adoption of new laws and regulations in the United States and abroad, including energy laws, environmental laws, tax laws, labor laws and healthcare laws;
• failure to maintain historical performance levels at our facilities and our ability to retain the rights to operate facilities we do not own;
• our ability to avoid adverse publicity or reputational damage relating to our business;
• 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;
• 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 cost of business development over time;
• limits of insurance coverage;
• our ability to avoid defaults under our long-term contracts;
• performance of third parties under our contracts 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, including limitations on strategic alternatives or transactions;
• 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;
• the scalability of our business;
• our ability to attract and retain talented people;
• failures of disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting;
• our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards;
• general economic conditions in the United States and abroad, including the availability of credit and debt financing; and
• other risks and uncertainties affecting our business described in Item 1A. Risk Factors of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in Part II Item 1A in the most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2021 and in other filings by Covanta with the SEC.

Although Covanta believes that its plans, cost estimates, returns on investments, 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 forward-looking statements. Covanta's and the joint ventures future financial condition and results of operations, as well as any forward-looking statements, are subject to change and to inherent risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date hereof and Covanta does 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.

SOURCE Covanta Holding Corporation