Harsco Q2 revenues jump by more than 25 percent YOY due to Stericycle, Clean Earth acquisitions

Harsco Corp., Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, announced its Q2 results on Aug. 5.

Some of the Q2 highlights include:

• Revenues were $447 million in the quarter compared to $351 million for Q2 2019, which represented a 27 percent increase.
• On a GAAP basis, second quarter diluted loss per share from continuing operations was 14 cents (versus 4 cents for the same period the year prior), which included acquisition and integration costs as well as expenses incurred to amend the company's credit facilities.
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the second quarter were 13 cents (versus 23 cents the year prior).
• GAAP operating income from continuing operations for the second quarter was $2 million, compared to $18 million for the prior year period
• Adjusted EBITDA excluding unusual items totaled $59 million in the quarter, down from $63 million for the prior year period

“Against a challenging operating environment in the second quarter, we took further action to control costs, optimize spending and enhance our overall financial flexibility,” Harsco chairman and CEO Nick Grasberger says. “Working together, we are controlling what we can control and moving the company forward with a focus on safety, cost management and the flawless execution of operational initiatives.

“Despite persistent headwinds, we made significant progress in the quarter on a number of key strategic and operational initiatives. Our transformation into a pure-play environmental solutions company continued as we began the integration of [Stericycle’s Environmental Solutions business] ESOL with Clean Earth, and reached our first 100 days of ownership. ESOL represents a tremendous value-creating opportunity, and the integration process has been running smoothly, with a focus on instilling greater process discipline within the organization and strengthening its operational and commercial effectiveness.”

"While we are cautiously optimistic that business activity in our end markets troughed in the second quarter, we expect the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and market volatility to persist. We continue to believe that our ongoing transformation efforts position Harsco to be a stronger, more resilient company, poised to capitalize on growth opportunities. I am confident that our continued focus on costs, cash flow, debt reduction and serving our customers will continue to help us navigate these uncertain times and guide us as the global economy recovers.”

Consolidated Q2 operating results

Consolidated total revenues from continuing operations were $447 million, an increase of 27 percent compared with the prior-year quarter due to acquisitions of Clean Earth and ESOL since mid-2019. The revenue contributions from the acquired businesses were partially offset by lower demand for products and services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and Forex (FX) impacts. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted second quarter revenues by approximately $13 million compared with the prior-year period.

GAAP operating income from continuing operations was $2 million for the second quarter of 2020, compared with $18 million in the same quarter of last year. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA totaled $59 million in the second quarter versus $63 million in the second quarter of 2019. This change is attributable to lower profitability in the Harsco Environmental and Rail segments due to COVID-19, partially offset by acquisition contributions and lower adjusted corporate spending.

Environmental

Environmental revenues totaled $204 million in the second quarter, compared with $269 million in the prior-year quarter. This change is principally attributable to lower demand for environmental services and applied products as a result of COVID-19 and foreign currency translation impacts. The segment's GAAP operating income and adjusted EBITDA totaled $14 million and $40 million, respectively, in the second quarter of 2020. These figures compare with GAAP operating income of $28 million and adjusted EBITDA of $58 million in the prior-year period. The change in the segment's adjusted EBITDA relative to the prior-year quarter is attributable to the above factors, partially offset by lower SG&A and operating costs resulting from company actions to mitigate the COVID-19 economic headwinds. Environmental's adjusted EBITDA margin was 19.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020.

Clean Earth

Clean Earth revenues totaled $162 million in the second quarter, compared with $69 million in the prior-year quarter. Segment operating income was nominal and adjusted EBITDA totaled $11 million in the second quarter. These figures compare with $4 million and $11 million, respectively, in the prior-year period. The increase in revenues is attributable to the ESOL acquisition in April, while the EBITDA comparison for the periods reflects that the positive acquisition contributions were offset by lower demand for hazardous and non-hazardous materials services as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

Note: The 2019 financial information provided for Clean Earth is not incorporated within Harsco's consolidated results and is provided only for comparison purposes. Also, these prior-year figures do not include a corporate cost allocation and do not include ESOL.

Rail

Rail revenues were essentially unchanged at $82 million. The segment's operating income and adjusted EBITDA totaled $9 million and $10 million, respectively, in the second quarter. These figures compare with operating income of $9 million and adjusted EBITDA of $12 million in the prior-year quarter. The EBITDA change year-on-year is attributable to a less favorable product mix and lower aftermarket parts and technology product volumes, partially offset by higher contracting contributions and lower administrative expenses. Rail's adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.2 percent in the second quarter.

Cash flow

Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $33 million in the second quarter, compared with net cash used by operating activities of $9 million in the prior-year period. Free cash flow was $18 million (before transaction expenses) in the second quarter, compared with $45 million in the prior-year period. The improvement in free cash flow compared with the prior-year quarter is attributable to changes in net cash from operating activities, including cash generated from working capital and lower capital expenditures.

COVID-19 update and outlook

The company believes that underlying business volumes stabilized early in the second quarter. However, business conditions remain dynamic and uneven across various markets, and the pace of the recovery remains slow. In this context, Harsco continues to take the necessary steps to minimize the operational and financial impacts of the pandemic on the business, while providing critical services and products to its customers and adhering to its Global Principles, which set operating standards for current business needs as well as workplace safety and flexibility measures, the company says.

Capital expenditures will remain tightly controlled for the foreseeable future and Harsco continues to defer certain tax and pension payments. These efforts will strengthen the company's free cash flow and preserve its financial flexibility, it says. The Company is also taking more aggressive actions to further flex its cost structure. In this regard, the company is now targeting cost savings of $20 million for the year versus $15 million previously.

Based on recent and current market conditions and the company's performance, Harsco anticipates that its revenues in the third quarter will increase relative to the second quarter. However, the company believes that its third quarter adjusted EBITDA will be slightly below second quarter results. This outlook contemplates some modest improvement in end-markets during the third quarter, with this positive impact offset by the timing of certain expenditures which were less impactful on the company's second quarter results.