SAFETY-KLEEN REFINANCES
Safety-Kleen Systems Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, has announced the completion of a major refinancing that significantly improves its capital structure, lowers interest expense, increases liquidity and provides greater financial flexibility, according to the company.
"This is another significant step forward as Safety-Kleen continues its turnaround," Frederick J. Florjancic Jr., Safety-Kleen president and chief executive officer, says. "Recapitalizing the company’s debt structure will save us approximately $17 million in interest annually and helps provide the financial flexibility we need to continue to invest in the company and drive future growth."
OWENS CORNING INCREASES RECYCLED CONTENT
Owens Corning has announced that its line of fiberglass insulation products has been certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) to contain an average of 35 percent recycled content, a 5 percent increase from its prior certification.
According to a release from Owens Corning, the company now has the highest certification level in North America.
SCS approved the certification of Owens Corning’s PINK fiberglass insulation, as well as the company’s commercial fiberglass products, after a comprehensive audit of the company’s claims, which involved visiting its facilities to see the manufacturing process and interviewing plant personnel.
Owens Corning says it was able to increase the post-industrial and post-consumer recycled content in its insulation products to 35 percent by enhancing its manufacturing process to use more secondary glass from additional sources.
AERT REPORTS FINANCIALS
Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc., headquartered in Springdale, Ark., has announced financial results for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2004.
Operating income increased in 2004 compared to 2003 in light of higher sales, lower manufacturing costs as a percentage of sales and lower selling and administrative costs as a percentage of sales. Net income was lower than 2003 due to the lower extraordinary gain in 2004.
Net sales were $63.6 million compared to $43.5 million in 2003—an increase of 46.2 percent. Operating income was $3.48 million compared to $79,418 in 2003, an increase of 4,281 percent. Net income before extraordinary items was $1.09 million compared to a net loss before extraordinary items of $941,921 for the prior year, an improvement of $2.03 million.
Net income after extraordinary items was $1.27 million compared to $2.02 million for the prior year, a decrease of $760,000, or 37 percent. Insurance proceeds received to reimburse costs of reconstructing the Junction, Texas, facility following a March 2003 fire resulted in a $173,536 extraordinary gain for 2004 compared to an extraordinary gain of $2.96 million in 2003.
Fully diluted earnings per share after extraordinary items for 2004 were 3 cents, down from 7 cents for 2003.
Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2004 were $15.28 million compared to $10.94 million in Q4 of 2003, an increase of 39.7 percent. Net loss before extraordinary items was $800,000, a $507,000 improvement from the $1.3 million net loss before extraordinary items in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Net loss after extraordinary items for the fourth quarter of 2004 was nearly $1.7 million.
In the first quarter of 2004, AERT booked an insurance receivable of $864,000 and recognized related additional income of such an amount related to additional insurance claims it expects to collect with respect to a 2003 fire at its Junction facility. However, such claims are now being contested. As a result, AERT reversed receivable and related income for these claims with an $864,000 adjustment taken in the fourth quarter.
AERT converts reclaimed plastic and wood scrap into Weyerhaeuser ChoiceDek outdoor decking systems, MoistureShield door and window components, MoistureShield CornerLoc exterior trim and fascia components and MoistureShield outdoor decking. It operates manufacturing plants in Springdale, Lowell and Tontitown, Ark.; Junction, Texas; and Alexandria, La.
ITEC TO BUILD TWO PRODUCTION PLANTS
Itec Environmental Group Inc., Oakdale, Calif., has announced that it is seeking to raise $10 million to expand its operations through the creation of two new plants in California to produce recycled HDPE and PET flakes.
"We believe the state of California can easily support two Itec facilities," Gary De Laurentiis, president of Itec, says. "The state population is approaching 35 million, with two major population centers and the world’s fifth largest economy."
De Laurentiis says California currently recycles more plastic containers than any other state because of AB 939, which he calls "the most comprehensive recycling legislation in the United States."
If Itec raises the working capital needed to construct the plants, it expects the first plant to be in Riverbank, where the company has leased a 58,000-square-foot building between the San Francisco Bay Area and the greater Sacramento Metropolitan Area, a region with a population numbering nearly 10 million.
Itec initially has planned to locate its second plant in the Greater Los Angeles Basin, home to more than 18.5 million people.
The California Integrated Waste Management Board, through the Recycling Market Development Zone Loan Program, has approved a $2 million low-interest loan to Itec to develop its ECO2TM Environmental System conditional upon an equal commitment from a third-party financing source.
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