Paris - French environmental services company Suez Environnement has released its annual results 2009. For Waste Europe division this year was marked, on the one hand, by the sharp fall in industrial productions and, on the other hand, by weak demand for secondary raw materials.

In this context, the Waste Europe division generated revenue of Euro 5,319m, a 5 percent decrease at constant forex (-7.5 percent organic change). EBITDA was Euro 798m, down 12.1 percent at constant forex (organic growth down -15.5 percent). Continuous cost reduction efforts (Euro 70m COMPASS savings generated in 2009) such as the optimization of waste flow management (saturation of treatment capacity and internalization of volumes) helped to protect profitability which came to 15 percent of revenues (15.5 percent excluding the effect of fuel hedges). The division also optimised its maintenance capex, increasing its free cash flow generation by 4.5 percent to Euro 341m.

Sorting and Recovery were particularly affected in 2009. The fall in these activities, with revenues of Euro 850m in 2009, represents almost 40 percent of the dividions turnover decline. The volumes processed in landfills and energy recovery plants slipped by 2.6 percent over the year, notably from industrial and commercial customers, with a sharp decline in early 2009 followed by stabilisation from the 2nd quarter. The last quarter of 2009 benefited from a favourable base effect.

With the emergence of the circular economy, the Sorting and Recovery activities remain attractive over the long term. At Limay, Suez Environnement has commissioned the industrial site of France Plastiques Recyclage to recover 40,000 tonnes of PET plastic bottles into R-PET. The granulates are re-used by packaging companies to produce new plastic bottles that use less raw materials.

More information under suez-environnement.com.

Quelle: Suez Environnement

Zurück