I took over the leadership back in 1991, grew the company and saw through two big acquisitions, all culminating in the demerger. I think this is the time to move on and let somebody else takeover.
Martin Bettington, Biffa
The unexpected announcement caused surprise in the sector, especially as Biffa has recently been the subject of a takeover approach and it has reported higher operating profits for the April-September 2007 period, compared to a year earlier.
Mr Bettington told letsrecycle.com: “I took over the leadership back in 1991, grew the company and saw through two big acquisitions, all culminating in the demerger. I think this is the time to move on and let somebody else takeover. We are reporting good numbers and I have agreed my stepping down with the board.”
He added that everyone else at Biffa had played a big part in helping him to achieve the strength of the company today.
Interim results
The chief executive was speaking after this morning's publication of Biffa interim results for the 26 weeks ending 28 September, 2007. These show the company performing well, especially on the landfill side, although the collection business remains under some pressure, particularly in local contracts.
Driving profit from local – as opposed to national contracts – has proved a challenge for several waste companies and Mr Bettington emphasised that this is an area he is trying to tackle.
He said: “In our local accounts were are starting to see some improving data. We are pricing these on a service based on weight data and on what the type of customer is.”
The local service is structured, he explained, so that it can take advantage of Biffa's stronger performance on national accounts.
He said: “These are increasingly important to use and we are able to use the same vehicles to pick up local material. On the national accounts we are also doing more recycling and have expanded our glass, paper and card recycling.
“National customers are much more aware of recycling than local business. The local firms will face higher costs because of landfill prices and the increase in landfill tax including next April. I expect there to be a continuing transition up to April and beyond for these companies to start asking for more of a recycling service.”
Mr Bettington emphasised that one of the strengths of the company is its integrated range of services which include collection, treatment, disposal, recovery/recycling and power generation.
On the municipal side, the results saw completion of the modification works at Biffa's Leicester MBT plant, known as the ball-mill, which has passed performance trials and helped the Leicester contract return to profit.
The results showed that revenues overall were up 4.9% to £395 million (2006/7 £376.5 million). Operating profit was up 7.2% to £52.4 million.
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