By the numbers
2023 revenue: $697.6M
Up 3.3%
2023 net loss: $77.6M
Versus a net loss of $281.8M in 2022
- Financial status: Rubicon, a waste broker and technology company, reported further advancement out of a challenging financial period with its latest earnings results. “Our goals for the year were to have materially improved our operational performance and strengthen our financial position,” said CEO Phil Rodoni, speaking during a Thursday earnings call. He noted the company did both "while achieving record financial performance.”
- Profitability: Adjusted gross profit was $18.3 million for the quarter, and $72.2 million for the year (up 35.5% from 2022). President and CFO Kevin Schubert said this was driven by added higher-margin business with existing customers. The company’s gross profit margin was 6.8% for the year, versus 3.7% in 2022.
- EBITDA: Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were -$437,000. Adjusted EBITDA for the year was -$33 million, up from -$74.3 million in 2022. Executives said the Q4 results would have been in the green when factoring out $3.8 million in non-cash expenses.
- Liquidity and expenses: Rodoni noted the company recently completed a “small but meaningful” workforce reduction of “less than 20 people” and reiterated the company’s realization of $55 million in annualized savings from other efforts in 2023. Rubicon ended the year with about $18.7 million in cash on hand.
- Recycling: Revenue from recyclable commodities was nearly $53 million for 2023, down from $85.6 million in 2022, which the company previously attributed to softness in OCC pricing. Rodoni said the company helped divert 1.6 million tons of material during 2023.
- Software expansion: “Looking ahead, some challenges remain but we remain focused on continuing the accelerated growth in our high-margin [software-as-a-service] offerings,” said Rodoni. The scale of that segment, which targets municipal clients, is not yet known as Rubicon doesn’t report specific revenues within its “service” category.
- Looking ahead: Rubicon, which has seen its stock price dip below the $1 per share mark in recent weeks, did not provide any guidance for Q1 or 2024. No financial analysts were present on the call to ask for further commentary.
