Waste Connections (WCN) Q1 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

For the period ending March 31, 2022

May 4, 2022 8:30 a.m. ET

Prepared Remarks

Questions and Answers

Call Participants

Prepared Remarks:

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the Waste Connections First Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.

Now I would like to turn the conference over to Worthing Jackman, President and CEO. Please go ahead.

Worthing Jackman

Thank you, operator, and good morning. I'd like to welcome everyone to this conference call to discuss first quarter results and to provide a detailed outlook for the second quarter. Joining me this morning is Mary Whitney, our CFO. As noted in our earnings release, we are extremely pleased by our strong start to the year with record solid waste pricing growth, driving underlying margin expansion in spite of inflationary pressures.

Our 50 basis points year-over-year decline in adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter included 90 basis points combined margin impact, as expected, from $10 million of COVID-related frontline support in January and acquisitions completed since the prior year period. Looking ahead, further sequential improvement in solid waste pricing growth, increasing E&P waste activity and strong operational execution should continue to differentiate our performance.

We are on track to meet or exceed our full year adjusted free cash flow outlook of $1.15 billion and the elevated cadence of solid waste acquisition activity has continued with approximately $175 million in annualized revenue year-to-date, confirming our expectations for another outsized year of such activity. Before we get into much more detail, let me turn the call over to Mary Anne for our forward-looking disclaimer and other housekeeping items.

Mary Whitney

Thank you, Worthing, and good morning. The discussion during today's call includes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.

Actual results could differ materially from those made in such forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ are discussed both in the cautionary statement included in our May 3 earnings release, and in greater detail in Waste Connections filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Securities Commissions or similar regulatory authorities in Canada.

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there may be additional risks of which we are not presently aware or that we currently believe are immaterial, which could have an adverse impact on our business. We make no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may change after today's date.