Harsco Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2022 Results

Camp Hill, PA

Harsco Corporation (NYSE: NVRI)

  • Second Quarter Revenues from Continuing Operations Totaled $481 Million, An Increase of 3% Percent Over Prior-Year Quarter
  • Q2 GAAP Operating Loss from Continuing Operations of $97 Million, Including a Non-Cash Goodwill Impairment Charge of $105 Million
  • Adjusted EBITDA in Q2 Totaled $49 Million
  • Q2 GAAP Loss Per Share of $1.34 and Q2 Adjusted Earnings Per Share of $0.01
  • Profit Improvement Plan of $30+ Million (in Second Half) Implemented at Clean Earth to Strengthen Performance in Response to Extraordinary Inflation
  • Full Year 2022 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance Range of $210 Million to $220 Million; Free Cash Flow is Now Projected to be Between $115 Million and $125 Million

CAMP HILL, Pa. – (August 2, 2022) – Harsco Corporation (NYSE: HSC) today reported second quarter 2022 results. On a U.S. GAAP ("GAAP") basis, second quarter of 2022 diluted loss per share from continuing operations was $1.34, including a Clean Earth non-cash goodwill impairment charge and other unusual items. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2022 was $0.01. These figures compare with second quarter of 2021 GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.11 and adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.20.

The GAAP operating loss from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2022 was $97 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $49 million in the quarter.

“Our team is taking aggressive action to mitigate the extraordinary inflation which impacted our results in the quarter,” said Chairman and CEO Nick Grasberger. “In Clean Earth, the segment most impacted by external inflationary pressures, we are implementing incremental pricing and cost reduction initiatives which we believe will offset these challenges and better position Clean Earth to realize its profit and margin potential in the future. We also remain focused on reducing our leverage and creating value from our unique asset base. While the steps we are taking will take time to deliver results, we remain encouraged by the healthy underlying demand across most of our end markets and are confident in our ability to deliver profitable growth and value creation for shareholders.”

Harsco Corporation—Selected Second Quarter Results

($ in millions, except per share amounts) Q2 2022 Q2 2021
Revenues $      481 $      469
Operating income from continuing operations - GAAP $      (97) $        26
Diluted EPS from continuing operations - GAAP $    (1.34) $      0.11
Adjusted EBITDA $         49 $        67
Adjusted EBITDA margin       10.2 %       14.3 % 
Adjusted diluted EPS $       0.01 $      0.20

Note: Adjusted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA details presented throughout this release are adjusted for unusual items; in addition, adjusted earnings per share details are adjusted for acquisition-related amortization expense.

Consolidated Second Quarter Operating Results

Consolidated revenues from continuing operations were $481 million, an increase of 3 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. Environmental and Clean Earth each realized an increase in revenues compared to the second quarter of 2021. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted second quarter 2022 revenues by approximately $20 million (4 percent), compared with the prior-year period.

The Company's GAAP operating loss from continuing operations was $97 million for the second quarter of 2022 including a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $105 million, compared with GAAP operating income of $26 million in the same quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA totaled $49 million in the second quarter of 2022 versus $67 million in the second quarter of the prior year. Both Environmental and Clean Earth experienced lower adjusted EBITDA relative to the prior year including the impacts of foreign exchange translation in Environmental and inflationary pressures on operating costs.

Second Quarter Business Review

Environmental

($ in millions) Q2 2022 Q2 2021
Revenues $           278 $             273
Operating income - GAAP $             24 $               30
Adjusted EBITDA $             53 $               58
Adjusted EBITDA margin             19.0 %               21.2 %

Environmental revenues totaled $278 million in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 2 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. This increase is attributable to higher demand for mill services and ecoproductsTM, partially offset by FX translation impacts. The segment's GAAP operating income and adjusted EBITDA totaled $24 million and $53 million, respectively, in the second quarter of 2022. These figures compare with GAAP operating income of $30 million and adjusted EBITDA of $58 million in the prior-year period. The year-on-year change in adjusted earnings reflects the above-mentioned FX impacts as well as operating cost inflation and fewer asset sales relative to the prior-year quarter.

Clean Earth

($ in millions) Q2 2022 Q2 2021
Revenues $           203 $             196
Operating income - GAAP $           (112) $                7
Adjusted EBITDA $                5 $               18
Adjusted EBITDA margin              2.3 %                9.4 %

Clean Earth revenues totaled $203 million in the second quarter of 2022, a 4 percent increase over the prior-year quarter as a result of higher pricing for environmental services and volume growth from industrial customers. The segment's GAAP operating loss was $112 million and adjusted EBITDA was $5 million in the second quarter of 2022. These figures compare with $7 million of operating income and $18 million of adjusted EBITDA in the prior-year period. The change in adjusted earnings is mainly attributable to significant cost inflation above price (including transportation, containers and end-disposal costs), which is being addressed in the third quarter through pricing initiatives and cost reductions.

Goodwill Impairment Charge - Clean Earth

Harsco recorded a non-cash goodwill impairment for Clean Earth in the second quarter. This $105 million charge reflects the impacts of a higher discount rate and lower near-term earnings expectations for Clean Earth as a result of extraordinary inflation. In response to these pressures, the Company recently launched a Profit Improvement Plan in Clean Earth targeting benefits of more than $30 million through commercial pricing initiatives and cost reductions. These improvements are expected to strengthen margins in the coming quarters, and the Company remains committed to a Clean Earth long-term EBITDA margin target of 15 percent.

Cash Flow

Net cash provided by operating activities was $152 million in the second quarter of 2022, compared with net cash provided by operating activities of $37 million in the prior-year period. Free cash flow (excluding Rail) was $132 million in the second quarter of 2022, compared with $20 million in the prior-year period. The change in free cash flow compared with the prior-year quarter is principally related to the Company's accounts receivable securitization transaction (approximately $120 million), which was completed in June 2022.

2022 Outlook

The Company has updated its 2022 guidance to reflect heightened inflation challenges as well as the effects of foreign exchange translation. Actions are underway to mitigate these impacts through commercial efforts and cost reductions, however these actions are not expected to fully offset these pressures until 2023. Summary Outlook highlights are as follows:

 

2022 Full Year Outlook (Continuing Operations)  Current May Outlook
 GAAP Operating Income/(Loss) $(53) - $(63) million $81 - $96 million
Adjusted EBITDA $210 - $220 million $250 - $265 million
GAAP Diluted Earnings/(Loss) Per Share $(1.58) - $(1.72) $0.02 - $0.10
Adjusted Diluted Earnings/(Loss) Per Share $0.00 - $(0.13) $0.35 - $0.44
Free Cash Flow $115 - $125 million $25 - $40 million
Net Interest Expense $68 - $70 million unchanged
Pension Income (Non-Operating) $9 million $10 million
Net Capital Expenditures  $125 - $ 130 million unchanged

Q3 2022 Outlook (Continuing Operations) 

GAAP Operating Income  $12 - $17 million
Adjusted EBITDA $54 - $59 million
GAAP Diluted Earnings/(Loss) Per Share $(0.10) - $(0.16)
Adjusted Diluted Earnings/(Loss) Per Share $(0.02) - $(0.08)

Rail / Discontinued Operations

The sales process for Rail is ongoing, and the Company remains in discussions with select interested parties. Rail is a non-core business with unique asset base and a positive long-term outlook, and the Company remains committed to selling Rail on a disciplined basis, thereby creating value for shareholders. Further transaction updates will be provided when appropriate.

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its results and respond to questions from the investment community. Those who wish to listen to the conference call webcast should visit the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.harsco.com. The live call also can be accessed by dialing (833) 634-5019, or (412) 902-4237 for international callers. Please ask to join the Harsco Corporation call. Listeners are advised to dial in approximately ten minutes prior to the call. If you are unable to listen to the live call, the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website.

Forward-Looking Statements

The nature of the Company's business, together with the number of countries in which it operates, subject it to changing economic, competitive, regulatory and technological conditions, risks and uncertainties.  In accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Company provides the following cautionary remarks regarding important factors that, among others, could cause future results to differ materially from the results contemplated by forward-looking statements, including the expectations and assumptions expressed or implied herein.  Forward-looking statements contained herein could include, among other things, statements about management's confidence in and strategies for performance; expectations for new and existing products, technologies and opportunities; and expectations regarding growth, sales, cash flows, and earnings.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of such terms as "may," "could," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "likely," "estimate," "outlook,"  "plan" or other comparable terms.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ, perhaps materially, from those implied by forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (1) changes in the worldwide business environment in which the Company operates, including changes in general economic conditions or changes due to COVID-19 and governmental and market reactions to COVID-19; (2) changes in currency exchange rates, interest rates, commodity and fuel costs and capital costs; (3) changes in the performance of equity and bond markets that could affect, among other things, the valuation of the assets in the Company's pension plans and the accounting for pension assets, liabilities and expenses; (4) changes in governmental laws and regulations, including environmental, occupational health and safety, tax and import tariff standards and amounts; (5) market and competitive changes, including pricing pressures, market demand and acceptance for new products, services and technologies; (6) the Company's inability or failure to protect its intellectual property rights from infringement in one or more of the many countries in which the Company operates; (7) failure to effectively prevent, detect or recover from breaches in the Company's cybersecurity infrastructure; (8) unforeseen business disruptions in one or more of the many countries in which the Company operates due to political instability, civil disobedience, armed hostilities, public health issues or other calamities; (9) disruptions associated with labor disputes and increased operating costs associated with union organization; (10) the seasonal nature of the Company's business; (11) the Company's ability to successfully enter into new contracts and complete new acquisitions or strategic ventures in the time-frame contemplated, or at all; (12) the Company's ability to negotiate, complete, and integrate strategic transactions; (13) failure to complete a divestiture of the Rail division, as announced on November 2, 2021 on satisfactory terms, or at all; (14) potential severe volatility in the capital or commodity markets; (15) failure to retain key management and employees; (16) the outcome of any disputes with customers, contractors and subcontractors; (17) the financial condition of the Company's customers, including the ability of customers (especially those that may be highly leveraged, have inadequate liquidity or whose business is significantly impacted by COVID-19) to maintain their credit availability; (18) implementation of environmental remediation matters; (19) risk and uncertainty associated with intangible assets; (20) the risk that the Company may be unable to implement fully and successfully the expected incremental actions at Clean Earth due to market conditions or otherwise and may fail to deliver the expected resulting benefits; and (21) other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. A further discussion of these, along with other potential risk factors, can be found in Part II, Item 1A “Risk Factors,” of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2022, and Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.  The Company cautions that these factors may not be exhaustive and that many of these factors are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict.  Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results.  The Company undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. 

NON-GAAP MEASURES

Measurements of financial performance not calculated in accordance with GAAP should be considered as supplements to, and not substitutes for, performance measurements calculated or derived in accordance with GAAP.  Any such measures are not necessarily comparable to other similarly-titled measurements employed by other companies.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share: Adjusted diluted earnings per share is a non-GAAP financial measure and consists of diluted earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations adjusted for unusual items and acquisition-related intangible asset amortization expense.  It is important to note that such intangible assets contribute to revenue generation and that intangible asset amortization related to past acquisitions will recur in future periods until such intangible assets have been fully amortized. The Company’s management believes Adjusted diluted earnings per share is useful to investors because it provides an overall understanding of the Company’s historical and future prospects. Exclusion of unusual items permits evaluation and comparison of results for the Company’s core business operations, and it is on this basis that management internally assesses the Company’s performance. Exclusion of acquisition-related intangible asset amortization expense, the amount of which can vary by the timing, size and nature of the Company’s acquisitions, facilitates more consistent internal comparisons of operating results over time between the Company’s newly acquired and long-held businesses, and comparisons with both acquisitive and non-acquisitive peer companies.

Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and consists of income from continuing operations adjusted to add back income tax expense; equity income of unconsolidated entities, net; net interest expense; defined benefit pension income (expense); facility fees and debt-related income (expense); and depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs); and excludes unusual items. Segment Adjusted EBITDA consists of operating income from continuing operations adjusted to exclude unusual items and add back depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs).  The sum of the Segments’ Adjusted EBITDA and Corporate Adjusted EBITDA equals consolidated Adjusted EBITDA. The Company‘s management believes Adjusted EBITDA is meaningful to investors because management reviews Adjusted EBITDA in assessing and evaluating performance.

Free cash flow: Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure and consists of net cash provided (used) by operating activities less capital expenditures and expenditures for intangible assets; and plus capital expenditures for strategic ventures, total proceeds from sales of assets and transaction-related expenditures.  The Company's management believes that Free cash flow is meaningful to investors because management reviews Free cash flow for planning and performance evaluation purposes. It is important to note that Free cash flow does not represent the total residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures since other non-discretionary expenditures, such as mandatory debt service requirements and settlements of foreign currency forward exchange contracts, are not deducted from this measure. Free cash flow excludes the former Harsco Rail Segment since the segment is reported as discontinued operations.  This presentation provides a basis for comparison of ongoing operations and prospects.

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About Harsco Corporation

Harsco Corporation is a global market leader providing environmental solutions for industrial and specialty waste streams. Based in Camp Hill, PA, the 12,000-employee company operates in more than 30 countries. Harsco’s common stock is a component of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and the Russell 2000 Index. Additional information can be found at www.harsco.com.