Waste firms embracing MBT report confidence in results

Pre-trading statements came from Shanks Group plc and Pennon Group plc late last week, regarding the financial year to March 31, 2007.

Shanks Group reported good progress developing mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants for the treatment of mixed municipal waste in East London and in Dumfries, Scotland.

Pennon Group – parent company of Viridor Waste Management – also reported a confident outlook, having won preferred bidder status for the Greater Manchester Waste Authority contract, which will also involve developing MBT plants.

Both Shanks and Viridor said their results, which are to be published in full on May 31, are in line with management expectations.

Shanks
Shanks Group plc celebrated its advance in Scotland with the acquisition of waste management and recycling company John W Hannay and Co Ltd, and the opening of a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant in Dumfries and Galloway.

The company is to invest further in its Scottish recycling infrastructure which is “expected to be of increasing significance when new regulations require the pre-treatment of all waste prior to landfill from October 2007”.

Shanks also secured a contract to build waste management facilities including an MBT for Cumbria County Council.

And it was busy in London, with its MBT for the East London Waste Authority (ELWA), at Frog Island in Havering, now fully operational.

But Shanks has also said that the second phase of its ELWA project, which will include a MRF and three MBT units, in Jenkins Lane, Newham, has “experienced a delay due to the insolvency of a subcontractor” which will lead to “higher than planned operating costs” for 2007/08.

Viridor


Viridor has also announced it is pleased with its own results and is “confident of delivering continued full year growth in operating profit before intangibles”.

In 2006/07, it secured a PFI contract with Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority, which includes construction of a materials recycling facility (MRF) and an MBT plant.
Viridor bought Skipaway Holdings Ltd for 14.7 million and Wyvern Waste Services Ltd for 25m, from Somerset County Council.

It also entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with Somerset County Council and submitted a planning application to build an MBT in December.