HSC - Harsco Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results

• Fourth Quarter Revenues from Continuing Operations Totaled $462 Million, an Increase of 7 Percent from the Prior Year Quarter
  
  
• Q4 GAAP Operating Income of $16 Million and Adjusted EBITDA Totaled $58 Million; Performance Consistent with Prior Guidance For the Quarter
  
  
• Q4 GAAP Earnings Per Share of $0.13 and Adjusted Earnings Per Share of $0.22
  
  
• Full Year 2021 Revenue from Continuing Operations Increased 20 Percent to $1.8 Billion; GAAP Operating Income Increased to $88 Million and Adjusted EBITDA Increased to $252 Million
  
  
• 2022 Adjusted EBITDA Expected to Increase to Between $255 Million and $275 Million; Free Cash Flow is Projected to Increase to Between $30 Million and $50 Million
  

CAMP HILL, Pa., Feb. 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harsco Corporation (NYSE: HSC) today reported fourth quarter 2021 results. On a U.S. GAAP ("GAAP") basis, fourth quarter of 2021 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.13 including certain strategic costs and other unusual items. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the fourth quarter of 2021 were $0.22. These figures compare with a fourth quarter of 2020 GAAP diluted loss per share from continuing operations of $0.09 and adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.09.

Harsco previously announced it will explore strategic alternatives for the Rail business with the intent to sell, and as a result, the Company is reporting Rail as discontinued operations for the fourth quarter and full year of 2021.

GAAP operating income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $16 million. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $58 million in the quarter, compared to the Company's previously provided guidance range of $55 million to $62 million.

“Harsco had a successful 2021, with our continuing operations meeting the financial and operational expectations we set at the beginning of the year,” said Chairman and CEO Nick Grasberger. “For the fourth quarter, our businesses continued to benefit from increased environmental solutions demand, and I'm pleased to have met our expectations for the quarter. However, steel volumes slowed through the fourth quarter in some markets, inflation pressures persisted, and labor-market tightness and Omicron impacted productivity. We were able to offset these pressures by controlling our overall spending in the fourth quarter. Importantly, I would like to thank our employees, who demonstrated their resilience and commitment throughout this year as they continued to deliver for our customers’ and support them in addressing their most pressing environmental challenges.

“Looking to 2022, we see meaningful opportunities to drive value creation, with both Clean Earth and Environmental positioned to deliver improved operating results relative to 2021. We also expect to maintain our capital and cost discipline and anticipate stronger cash generation in the year ahead. This free cash flow, along with the anticipated sale of the Rail business, will support future deleveraging, a key priority for Harsco. We expect to create shareholder value in the years ahead by achieving these financial goals and as we continue to execute on our strategic initiatives.”

Harsco Corporation—Selected Fourth Quarter Results

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 Fourth Quarter Operating Results

Consolidated revenues from continuing operations were $462 million, an increase of 7 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. Environmental and Clean Earth each realized an increase in revenues, reflective of improving economic conditions versus the comparable 2020 quarter. Foreign currency translation negatively impacted fourth quarter 2021 revenues by approximately $4 million compared with the prior-year period.

GAAP operating income from continuing operations was $16 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with $9 million in the same quarter of last year. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA totaled $58 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 versus $59 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. This adjusted EBITDA change is attributable to lower Corporate spending and a slight improvement in Clean Earth performance, offset by lower adjusted earnings in Environmental, as anticipated.

Harsco Corporation—Selected 2021 Results

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 2021 Operating Results
Consolidated revenues from continuing operations were $1.8 billion in 2021, compared to $1.5 billion in 2020. Revenues in Environmental increased as services and product demand improved during 2021, and Clean Earth revenues also increased, due to increased demand for hazardous waste services and the acquisition of ESOL (in April 2020).

GAAP operating income from continuing operations was $88 million in 2021, while GAAP operating loss from continuing operations in 2020 was $3 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $252 million and $208 million for these years, respectively, with the change in adjusted results reflecting the positive volume impacts noted above.

On a GAAP basis, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in 2021 was $0.28, and this figure compares with a diluted loss per share in 2020 of $0.63. GAAP results included various unusual items including strategic and acquisition integration costs, in each year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations was $0.69 in 2021, compared with $0.28 in 2020.

Fourth Quarter Business Review
Environmental

Environmental revenues totaled $268 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 9 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. This increase is attributable to higher demand for mill services and favorable commodities pricing. The segment's GAAP operating income and adjusted EBITDA totaled $20 million and $49 million, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
These figures compare with GAAP operating income of $23 million and adjusted EBITDA of $52 million in the prior-year period. The year-on-year change in adjusted earnings reflects that the above noted items were offset as expected by a less favorable volume mix, contracts exits, higher operating costs and FX translation impacts.

Clean Earth

Note: The 2020 financial information provided above and discussed below for Clean Earth does not include a corporate cost allocation for ESOL.

Clean Earth revenues totaled $194 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 5 percent compared with the prior-year quarter. The revenue increase is attributable to increased environmental services demand within the Soil-Dredge Materials line of business and Hazardous Materials volume growth from industrial and healthcare customers. Segment operating income was $5 million and adjusted EBITDA totaled $16 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. These figures compare with $3 million of operating income and adjusted EBITDA of $16 million, respectively, in the prior-year period. The change in adjusted earnings is attributable to the above factors, partially offset by operating cost inflation and lower productivity due to staffing levels.

Cash Flow
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $25 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with net cash provided by operating activities of $12 million in the prior-year period. Free cash flow (without Rail) was $(8) million in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with $2 million in the prior-year period. The change in free cash flow compared with the prior-year quarter is principally related to higher capital expenditures, some of which were deferred from 2020.

For the full-year 2021, net cash provided by operating activities totaled $72 million, compared with net cash provided by operating activities of $54 million in 2020. Free cash flow (without Rail) was $(2) million in 2021, compared with $31 million in the prior-year. The change in full-year free cash flow can also be mainly attributed to the above noted items.

2022 Outlook
The Company's 2022 guidance anticipates that each of its two business segments will realize earnings
improvement during the year. This outlook is supported by a positive economic backdrop, improving fundamentals in relevant end markets and anticipated benefits from the Company' s key business initiatives, while also considering certain business challenges such as ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks and labor-market tightness.

Environmental adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase modestly due to higher services and ecoproducts™ demand as well as new environmental contracts, partially offset by contract exits and foreign exchange translation impacts.

Clean Earth adjusted EBITDA is projected to increase due to underlying organic growth for hazardous material services and increased margins from operational efficiency initiatives.

Lastly, adjusted Corporate spending is expected to be within a range of $40 million to $42 million for the year. This range includes the $4 million of Corporate costs previously allocated to Rail.

Summary Outlook highlights are as follows:

Discontinued Operations
Harsco Rail is now reported as a discontinued operation, given it is no longer aligned with Harsco’s strategy and the Company’s plan to divest the business in 2022. In the fourth quarter, Harsco recorded two unusual items for Rail which totaled approximately $36 million. Rail incurred an operating loss ($19 million) for the year, as a result. The first unusual item of $2 million is linked to a restructuring program that is expected to produce annual benefits of approximately $8 million. The second item of $33 million is for estimated future costs to complete three European fixed priced contracts. These contract adjustments relate principally to inflation, supply-chain challenges and Covid-related disruptions that have increased anticipated costs and delayed Rail’s progress.

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. The conference call will be broadcast live through the Harsco Corporation website at www.harsco.com . The Company will refer to a slide presentation that accompanies its formal remarks. The slide presentation will be available on the Company’s website.

The call can also be accessed by telephone by dialing (833) 651-7826 or (414) 238-0989. Enter Conference ID number 1364369.

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 conduct and complete a satisfactory process for the divestiture of the Rail division, as announced on November 2, 2021; (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 and (20) 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 ending September 30, 2021, and Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. 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 from continuing operations 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.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA: Consolidated 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); unused debt commitment fees, amendment fees and loss on extinguishment of debt; 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. Growth capital expenditures are added back to arrive at Free cash flow before growth capital expenditures. The Company's management believes that Free cash flow and Free cash flow before growth capital expenditures are meaningful to investors because management reviews Free cash flow and Free cash flow before growth capital expenditures for planning and performance evaluation purposes. It is important to note that Free cash flow and Free cash flow before growth capital expenditures do 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.

About Harsco

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 .