GFL Boasts 28.4 Percent Revenue Growth in Q1 2023 Following Mid-Atlantic Divestiture to Casella

GFL Environmental delivered strong Q1 2023 earnings, executing its strategy to achieve 28.4 percent revenue growth.

A core pricing increase of 12.6 percent contributed to the boost along with volume growth and acquisition performance, according to Patrick Dovigi, GFL founder and CEO.

"Our success in the first quarter sets us up for a strong 2023," he said. "Our financial performance exceeded our internal expectations across every key metric and we are on track to finalize the divestitures faster and for considerably more proceeds than we originally anticipated. We could not ask for a better start to the year and we continue to see upside opportunities ahead of us. With the strength of our first quarter results, we are well on track to meet or exceed the high end of our full year guidance range and expect to provide a guidance update for our base business when we report our second quarter results."

Revenue reached $1.799 billion, up from $1.4 billion year over year (YOY). Adjusted EBITDA grew up $440.5 million, up 24.3 percent from the previous year's quarter.

Speaking on the GFL's performance, Dovigi commented that the company "demonstrated the effectiveness of our pricing and efficiency initiatives to counteract continuing inflationary cost pressures, resulting in organic Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 190 basis points, excluding the impact of fuel and commodity prices. We remain highly confident that these initiatives will drive significant margin expansion over the balance of 2023."

Earlier this week, Casella Waste Systems entered a purchase agreement for GFL's collection, transfer, and recycling operations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The $525 million deal, which is expected to close in Q3, transfers ownership of nine hauling operations, one transfer station and one MRF.

“Today’s announcement marks an important step forward in the company’s growth strategy by using the strength of our balance sheet and proven capital discipline to make a compelling investment,” said John W. Casella, chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems, said in a statement. "After successfully extending our footprint into the adjacent Connecticut market with an acquisition in mid-2021, this acquisition will enable us to expand into the Mid-Atlantic region with these well-run solid waste operations that provide a platform for future growth.”

Q1 2023 Highlights:

Revenue: $1.799 billion
Net (loss) from continuing operations: $217.8 million 
Adjusted EBITDA: $440.5 million