Waste and recycling firm Republic Services Inc. posted a 30-percent increase in net earnings for its first period in 2014, attributed the results to successful execution of its strategic plan.

For the period ended March 31 the Phoenix-based Republic Services reported net income climbing 30.1 percent to $172.4 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, compared with $132.5 million, or 37 cents per diluted share, according to a news release.

Revenue increased 4.4 percent to $2.17 billion from $2.08 billion in the 2014 initial period.

"We started the year strong and continued to execute our strategic initiatives, which helped drive earnings and free cash flow growth," said Donald Slager, Republic president and CEO. "Our 2015 plan assumed business conditions would continue to improve, which we confirmed with our first quarter performance. We remain well-positioned to achieve our full year goals."

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations, according to the AP. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 44 cents per share.

Republic was aggressive in the first quarter. It purchased Iowa City, Iowa-based City Carton Recycling, which provides recycling services including computer destruction, carton recycling and sustainability audits for Iowa and the Midwest. It also opened a transfer station in Chandler, Ariz., to serve the southeast Valley region.

In March the company also unveiled a new sustainability plan, emphasizing reduced emissions, renewable energy and new landfill technology, among other factors.