Republic Services reports slight decline in earnings

Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc. has reported net income of $180.8 million, or 52 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2016, a decline from the $190.3 million, or 54 cents per share, earned during the comparable 2015 period.

For the first half of 2016 the company’s net income was $337.4 million, or 98 cents per share, versus $362.7 million, $1.03 per share, in the first half of 2015.

“Our second quarter results continue to demonstrate the stability and predictability of our business, and the strength of our operating model,” says Donald W. Slager, Republic’s president and CEO. “Strong pricing performance, positive volume growth and contributions from our strategic initiatives keep us well positioned to achieve our full year financial guidance.”

Republic says it “advanced its revenue enhancing initiatives that focused on creating a better customer experience and further differentiating its service offerings” and is continuing to increase the number of customers that conduct business with it digitally. More than 1.6 million customers are now enrolled in Republic’s MyResource customer portal and mobile app, according to the firm.

The company also says it has been rolling out a standardized maintenance program and expects its entire fleet to be certified under the program by the second quarter of 2017. Currently, 85 percent of its fleet is certified, up from 70 percent in the prior year.

Other fleet-based initiatives Republic says it is engaged in designed to improve productivity and lower its costs: 17 percent of its fleet operates on natural gas, up from 15 percent in the prior year; and 73 percent of its residential fleet is automated, up from 70 percent in the prior year.