Stericycle, Inc. Reports Results For the Second Quarter 2023

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., July 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stericycle, Inc. ( SRCL) today reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Revenues for the second quarter were $669.5 million, a decrease of 1.5% compared to $679.8 million in the second quarter of 2022. Loss from operations was $24.0 million, primarily due to 2023 net divestiture losses of $54.2 million, compared to income from operations of $38.1 million in the second quarter of 2022. Net loss was $49.5 million, or $0.54 diluted loss per share, compared to Net income of $10.5 million, or $0.11 diluted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2022. Adjusted income from operations¹ was $76.0 million, compared to $82.0 million in the second quarter of 2022. Adjusted diluted earnings per share¹ was $0.43, compared to $0.48 in the second quarter of last year. Cash flow from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was an inflow of $154.9 million, compared to an outflow of $18.4 million in the same period of 2022. Free cash flow² was an inflow of $91.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to an outflow of $88.4 million, primarily due to FCPA payments of $75.8 million in 2022.

KEY BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS:

• Grew organic revenues¹ 2.3% compared to the second quarter of 2022 with Regulated Waste and Compliance Services (“RWCS”) growing 4.7%.
• Reduced our Credit Agreement defined debt leverage ratio to 2.70X.
• Improved free cash flow² in the first half of 2023 by $179.6 million compared to 2022.
• Divested our businesses in Brazil, Republic of Korea, Australia, and Singapore for net proceeds of approximately $84 million.

“In the second quarter, we achieved our key business priority of lowering our debt leverage ratio below 3.0X and to the lowest level since 2015. We also made significant progress in executing our portfolio optimization by exiting businesses in four countries and we remain on track to deploy the ERP to U.S. RWCS in the third quarter,” said Cindy J. Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our first half financial performance came in line with our full-year 2023 guidance, which we are reaffirming.”

SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) Results

• Revenues in the second quarter were $669.5 million, compared to $679.8 million in the second quarter of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to impacts of divestitures of $24.0 million and unfavorable foreign exchange rates of $1.2 million, partially offset by organic revenue growth of $14.9 million. Organic revenues in RWCS grew $19.7 million, while Secure Information Destruction (“SID”) organic revenues were lower by $4.8 million.
• Loss from operations in the second quarter was $24.0 million compared to Income from operations of $38.1 million in the second quarter of 2022. The $62.1 million decrease was primarily due to 2023 net divestiture losses of $54.2 million, higher incentive and stock-based compensation of $9.7 million, and higher fleet costs of $4.9 million, partially offset by lower bad debt expense of $8.9 million.
• Net loss in the second quarter was $49.5 million, or $0.54 diluted loss per share, compared to Net income of $10.5 million, or $0.11 diluted earnings per share in the second quarter of 2022. The $60.0 million decrease was primarily attributable to lower Income from operations of $62.1 million, as explained above.
• Cash flow from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was an inflow of $154.9 million, compared to an outflow of $18.4 million in the same period of 2022. The year-over-year increase of $173.3 million was primarily driven by lower FCPA settlement payments of $67.6 million; accounts receivable improvements of $52.1 million, primarily due to an improvement in Days Sales Outstanding; higher cash generated from operating income of $23.3 million; lower annual incentive compensation payments of $22.3 million; and other working capital improvements of $8.0 million.
• Cash paid for capital expenditures for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was $63.7 million, compared to $70.0 million in the same period of 2022.
  

Non-GAAP Results^1,2

• For the second quarter of 2023, organic revenues¹ increased 2.3%, which excludes the impacts of divestitures and foreign exchange rates. RWCS organic revenues¹ increased 4.7% while SID decreased 2.1%.
• Adjusted income from operations¹ was $76.0 million, compared to $82.0 million in the second quarter of 2022. As a percentage of revenues, the 70 basis points decrease was mainly due to higher incentive and stock-based compensation of 150 basis points and higher fleet costs of 70 basis points, partially offset by lower bad debt expense of 130 basis points.
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share¹ was $0.43, compared to $0.48 in the second quarter of 2022. Excluding the impacts of divestitures and foreign exchange rates of $0.01, the remaining $0.04 decrease was driven by higher incentive and stock-based compensation of $0.08 and higher fleet costs of $0.04. These were partially offset by lower bad debt expense of $0.07 and lower tax expense of $0.01.
• Free cash flow² for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was an inflow of $91.2 million, compared to an outflow of $88.4 million in the same period of 2022. The $179.6 million increase was primarily due to higher cash flow from operations of $173.3 million, as explained above, and lower cash paid for capital expenditures of $6.3 million.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Stericycle is holding its second quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, July 27, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. central time. Dial (833) 470-1428 in the U.S., (833) 950-0062 in Canada, or visit investors.stericycle.com for global dial-in numbers. Upon dialing the number, you will be prompted to enter the Access Code: 119356. To access presentation materials or listen to the call via an internet webcast, visit investors.stericycle.com.

The second quarter earnings call is being recorded and a replay will be available approximately one hour after the end of the conference call until August 24, 2023. To access a replay of the call, dial (866) 813-9403 and enter the Replay Access Code: 979851. A replay of the webcast will also be available at investors.stericycle.com.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to the most comparable U.S. GAAP measures in the schedules attached hereto.

ABOUT STERICYCLE

Stericycle, Inc., is a U.S. based business-to-business services company and leading provider of compliance-based solutions that protects people and brands, promotes health and well-being and safeguards the environment. Stericycle serves customers in the U.S. and 12 countries with solutions for regulated waste and compliance services and secure information destruction. For more information about Stericycle, please visit stericycle.com.

^1. Adjusted financial measures are Non-GAAP measures and exclude adjusting items as described and reconciled to comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures in the Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures contained in this Press Release.

^2. Free cash flow is calculated as Net cash from operating activities less Capital expenditures.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This document may contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When we use words such as “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “may”, “plan”, “will”, “goal”, or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of our management about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include, among others, inflationary cost pressure in labor, supply chain, energy, and other expenses, decreases in the volume of regulated wastes or personal and confidential information collected from customers, the ability to implement the remaining phases of our ERP system, and disruptions resulting from deployment of our ERP system, disruptions in our supply chain, disruptions in or attacks on information technology systems, labor shortages, a recession or economic disruption in the U.S. and other countries, SOP pricing volatility or pricing volatility in other commodities, rising interest rates or a downgrade in our credit rating resulting in an increase in interest expense, changing market conditions in the healthcare industry, competition and demand for services in the regulated waste and secure information destruction industries, foreign exchange rate volatility in the jurisdictions in which we operate, changes in governmental regulation of the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of regulated waste or the proper handling and protection of personal and confidential information, the level of government enforcement of regulations governing regulated waste collection and treatment or the proper handling and protection of personal and confidential information, charges related to portfolio optimization or the failure of acquisitions or divestitures to achieve the desired results, failure to consummate transactions with respect to non-core businesses, the obligations to service substantial indebtedness and comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in our credit agreements and notes, political, economic, and other risks related to our foreign operations, pandemics and the resulting impact on the results of operations, long-term remote work arrangements which may adversely affect our business, supply chain disruptions, disruptions in transportation services, restrictions on the ability of our team members to travel, closures of our facilities or the facilities of our customers and suppliers, changes in the volume of paper processed by our secure information destruction business and the revenue generated from the sale of SOP, weather and environmental changes related to climate change, requirements of customers and investors for net carbon zero emissions strategies, and the introduction of regulations for greenhouse gases, which could negatively affect our costs to operate, the outcome of pending, future or settled litigation or investigations including the investigation by the DEA discussed in our SEC reports and litigation or investigations with respect to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and foreign anti-corruption laws, failure to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, as well as other factors described in our filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. As a result, past financial performance should not be considered a reliable indicator of future performance, and investors should not use historical trends to anticipate future results or trends. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking or other statements contained herein other than in accordance with legal and regulatory obligations.