American Recycler, July 2010 | Waste Management first quarter 2010 earnings improve

Waste Management, Inc. announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2010. Net income for the quarter was $182 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared with $155 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2009. This is an increase in earnings per diluted share of over 19 percent. Revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were $2.93 billion compared with $2.81 billion for the same 2009 period.

The Company noted several items that impacted results in the 2010 and 2009 first quarters. Results in the first quarter of 2010 included a $17 million after-tax charge related to the partial withdrawal from a Teamsters’ under-funded multi-employer pension plan. Results in the first quarter of 2009 included a $23 million reduction in net income due to charges related to the restructuring announced in February 2009, and a $30 million reduction in net income related to the abandonment of a revenue management system. Excluding these items, net income would have been $199 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2010 compared with $208 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2009.

David P. Steiner, chief executive officer of Waste Management, commented, “We saw further signs of improvement in our business during the first quarter of 2010. Revenue increased over 4 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009, primarily because of improving commodity prices and year-over-year yield increases. And volume comparisons continued to show improving trends.”

Some of the key highlights for the first quarter are:

•Revenue increased by 4.4 percent, or $125 million, in the first quarter.

•Average recycling commodity prices more than doubled in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the prior year period. This favorable year-over-year impact contributed over $0.06 to earnings per diluted share in the first quarter of 2010, compared with the prior year period, which was consistent with the company’s previously announced estimate.