RUTLAND, Vt., Dec. 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc.(Nasdaq:CWST), a regional solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, today reported financial results for its second quarter fiscal year 2014, and revised its guidance for its fiscal year 2014.
Highlights for the quarter included:

• Revenue growth of $15.5 million, or 13.2 percent, from the same quarter last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA* was $29.2 million for the quarter, up $4.8 million, or 19.8 percent, from the same quarter last year.
• Adjusted Operating Income* was $9.7 million for the quarter, up $3.4 million, or 53.4 percent, from the same quarter last year.
• Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance is revised upward for fiscal year 2014; the second upward revision this fiscal year.

For the quarter ended October 31, 2013, revenues were $132.3 million, up $15.5 million, or 13.2 percent, from the same quarter last year, with revenue growth mainly driven by higher disposal volumes, acquisition activity, and higher solid waste collection pricing. Overall solid waste pricing growth of 1.0 percent was primarily driven by residential and commercial pricing growth of 1.7 percent as a percentage of segment revenues.
The company's net loss attributable to common stockholders was ($0.3) million, or ($0.01) per share for the quarter, compared to ($21.0) million, or ($0.68) per share for the same quarter last year.
Operating income was $9.5 million for the quarter, up $5.0 million from the same quarter last year. The current quarter includes a $0.2 million environmental remediation charge and a $0.1 million severance and reorganization charge related to general realignment activities, whereas, the quarter ended October 31, 2012 included a $1.8 million severance and reorganization charge and a $0.1 million expense related to divestiture, acquisition and financing costs.
Excluding these charges, Adjusted Operating Income* in the current quarter was $9.7 million, up $3.4 million from same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $29.2 millionfor the quarter, up $4.8 million from the same quarter last year.
"We continued to make excellent progress through our second quarter, with results primarily driven by continued execution in key areas of management focus - sourcing incremental landfill volumes; improving collection route profitability; and successfully executing the multi-year Eastern region strategy," said John W. Casella, chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems.
"Landfill volumes were up 122,000 tons from the same quarter last year, or up 298,000 tons year-to-date, excluding volumes from the Worcester landfill closure project," Casella said. "This improvement was driven by enhanced sales efforts in Western New York, ramping of tonnages to the Southbridge landfill, the integration of the BBI acquisition, and a tightening disposal market in Vermont and New Hampshire due to competitor site closures. We continued to experience these same positive landfill tonnage trends into November."
Six Months Financial Results
Highlights for the six months ended October 31, 2013 included:

• Revenue growth of $26.4 million, or 11.3 percent, from the same period last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA* was $57.9 million for the six-month period, up $9.2 million, or 19.0 percent, from the same period last year.
• Adjusted Operating Income* was $19.5 million for the six-month period, up $6.8 million, or 53.8 percent, from the same period last year.

For the six months ended October 31, 2013, revenues were $260.9 million, up $26.4 million, or 11.3 percent, from the same period last year. Operating income was $19.2 million for the six month period, up $9.0 million from the same period last year. The company's net loss attributable to common stockholders was ($0.5) million, or ($0.01) per common share for the six month period, compared to ($29.3) million, or ($1.01) per share for the same period last year.
Fiscal 2014 Outlook
"After a solid first two quarters and better visibility into the remainder of our fiscal year, we have revised our fiscal year 2014 guidance for revenues, Adjusted EBITDA and capital expenditures," Casella said. "This revision is based on a consistent framework for all assumptions outside of our direct control, such as new landfill volumes or economic growth. Free cash flow guidance remains unchanged due to higher capital expenditures at the landfills on higher than expected volumes."
The company updated guidance for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2014, by estimating results in the following ranges:

• Revenues between $480.0 million and $490.0 million (increased from a range of$470.0 million to $480.0 million);
• Adjusted EBITDA* between $95.0 million and $98.0 million (increased from a range of $92.0 million and $96.0 million).
• Capital Expenditures of between $44.0 million and $47.0 million (refined from a range of $42.0 million to $46.0 million).

*Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to disclosing financial results prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP), the company also discloses earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for accretion, depletion of landfill operating lease obligations, gain on sale of assets, development project charge write-offs, legal settlement charges, tax settlement costs, bargain purchase gains, asset impairment charges, environmental remediation charges, severance and reorganization charges, expenses from divestiture, acquisition and financing costs, as well as losses on divestiture (Adjusted EBITDA) which is a non-GAAP measure. The company also discloses earnings before interest, taxes, adjusted for gain on sale of assets, development project charge write-offs, legal settlement charges, tax settlement costs, bargain purchase gains, asset impairment charges, environmental remediation charges, severance and reorganization charges, expenses from divestiture, acquisition and financing costs, as well as losses on divestiture (Adjusted Operating Income) which is a non-GAAP measure. The company also discloses Free Cash Flow, which is defined as net cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures attributable to growth and maintenance (excluding acquisition related capital), less payments on landfill operating leases, less assets acquired through financing leases, plus proceeds from the sale of property and equipment, plus contributions from non-controlling interest holders, which is a non-GAAP measure. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Operating Income are reconciled to net income (loss), while Free Cash Flow is reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities.
The company presents Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Income, and Free Cash Flow because it considers them important supplemental measures of its performance and believes they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of the company's results. Management uses these non-GAAP measures to further understand the company's "core operating performance." The company believes its "core operating performance" represents its on-going performance in the ordinary course of operations. The company believes that providing Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Income, and Free Cash Flow to investors, in addition to corresponding income statement and cash flow statement measures, affords investors the benefit of viewing its performance using the same financial metrics that the management team uses in making many key decisions and understanding how the core business and its results of operations may look in the future. The company further believes that providing this information allows its investors greater transparency and a better understanding of its core financial performance. In addition, the instruments governing the company's indebtedness use EBITDA (with additional adjustments) to measure its compliance with covenants such as interest coverage, leverage and debt incurrence.
Non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with or an alternative for GAAP.  Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Income, and Free Cash Flow should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Operating Income, or Free Cash Flow presented by other companies.
About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services in the northeastern United States. For further information, investors contact Ned Coletta, Chief Financial Officer at (802) 772-2239, media contact Joseph Fusco, Vice President at (802) 772-2247, o