Biffa said in a trading update this morning (3 March) that its performance has “continued to be ahead of its expectations”, with the impact of the November lockdown on earnings less severe than originally anticipated.
The update was issued ahead of its full results for the 2020/21 financial year in May.
Biffa’s net revenues in the third quarter (October-December 2020) were 97% of the levels achieved in previous year
It said that group net revenues in the third quarter (October-December 2020) were 97% of the levels achieved in previous year, and for the final quarter are now expected to be circa 92%.
Industrial and commercial waste volumes — one of the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic — have stabilised at circa 80% of prior year levels for the fourth quarter, higher than the predicted 70-75% range reported in January.
Biffa added that “all other areas of the group have performed in line with expectations”.
Plastic recycling
On its plastic recycling operations, Biffa says it “continues to consolidate its leadership position in food grade, closed loop plastic recycling”.
Biffa added it had decided to expand its capacity in post-consumer HDPE recycling further with an additional investment of £13 million to be made at its Washington facility.
The additional investment at Washington will increase the group’s HDPE milk bottle recycling capacity by a further 50% to 39,000 tonnes of input per annum (equivalent to 1.6 billion bottles a year), and will grow Biffa Polymers’ business to an annual capacity of 155,000 tonnes and revenue of around £85 million.
“Predominantly, the output from this facility will be used in the manufacture of new HDPE milk bottles in the UK. The investment will create a further 50 jobs and is expected to come on-line during H2 FY22,” the trading update reads.
Phase two of its rPET plant Seaham plant and the previously announced projects at Washington and Aldridge are progressing to plan, and the group expects all three to come online in the early part of FY22.
Acquisitions
Biffa added that negotiations on several potential acquisitions continue and the pipeline of opportunities remains strong.
An artist’s impression of Biffa’s Protos plant, being developed in partnershup American waste management company Covanta and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group
It said the acquisition of the Company Shop Group, announced last week (see letsrecycle.com story), is in line with Biffa’s growth strategy to “leverage its position as the UK’s leading sustainable waste management company”.
Energy from waste
Meanwhile it says its Protos and Newhurst energy from waste developments are “both progressing well, in line with their construction milestones”.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
