Casella Reports for Quarter

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. reported financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year.

For the quarter ended January 31, the company reported revenues of $116.1 million, an 11.5 percent increase from $104.1 million in the same period of fiscal year 2004. Operating income for the third quarter increased to $7.6 million compared to $7.4 million in the third quarter 2004.

For the first nine months, the company reported revenues of $366.1 million, an 11.2 percent increase from $329.1 million in the same period of fiscal year 2004. Operating income for the period increased to $33.0 million from $27.9 million in the same period of fiscal year 2004.

"We continue to build momentum in our business, primarily through the growing contribution of our newly added disposal capacity but also by focusing on the key day-to-day operating drivers of the business," John Casella, chairman and CEO, said. "Our results are indicative of our confidence that the continued execution of our strategy will return long-term value to our shareholders."

Revenues for the solid waste business totaled $90.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2005, an 11.5 percent increase from $81.5 million in the same period of fiscal year 2004 mainly due to higher hauling and transfer volumes in the Central Region and higher composting volumes in the North Eastern region.

Cost of operations grew in the quarter to $76.7 million from $67.5 million in the same period last year due to higher insurance costs, higher fuel costs and higher cost of commodity purchases due to higher prices.