Performance for the six months ended 30 June 2005 saw landfill revenues up but overall down according to the company. A statement from the Group said it had continued to perform well in markets which have shown “somewhat less volume than anticipated”.
Total revenues for the Group for the six month period ended 30 June 2005 were 263.0 million (including landfill tax of 95.4 million) with landfill operations (including transfer stations) accounting for 116.1 million, the combined Waste-to-Energy and Energy-from-Waste operations producing revenues of 29.6 million and ancillary businesses including civic amenity site management, composting and recycling, waste treatment and quarrying accounting for 21.9 million.
Earnings before tax was 73.3 million for the same period. Operating profit was 13.1 million and net cash inflow from operating activities was 47.5 million.
Seasonal
Landfill revenues were up 22% on the first quarter reflecting “the typical seasonal increase in levels of waste arising as activity within the building and demolition sectors along with garden waste increases at this time of year. Overall landfill tonnage was less than expectation as a result of higher recycling, the slowdown in the economy and a sustained strategy of price leadership. Contaminated soil volumes continue to be lower than last year.”
The Group says it was able to recover some of the revenue shortfall from lower volumes through its pricing strategy. This include electricity generation from landfill gas and it entered into a 2-year price contract from April 2006 “that will deliver a significant premium on existing prices for a proportion of our output”.
Local authority
Local authority contracts with the authorities of North Yorkshire and Sandwell and have also negotiated short-term extensions to receive waste on improved terms from the authorities of Nottingham City, Northamptonshire and Cumbria. In the first six months of 2005, WRG failed to win the Nottinghamshire PFI contract but now says that it hopes to shortly win preferred bidder status “with one local authority elsewhere and we have also agreed outline terms to acquire a PFI project with another, both of which will require investment in Energy-from-Waste facilities.”
The company added that work continues on the Berkshire re3 project for which it is the preferred bidder. And, it reported that progress continues to be made in the construction of the Group’s 500,000 tonne per annum energy-from-waste facility in Allington, Kent with it coming on line in 2006.
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