Waste Management shares jump on earnings, buy-back

Waste Management (WM) today said it had net income in the fourth quarter of $590 million, or $1.28 per share, up from a loss of $605 million, or minus $1.29 a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted for special items, the net was $308 million, or $0.67 per share, up from $263 or $0.56 a share a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter was $3.44 billion, down from $3.5 billion a year earlier.

The company said it expected to boost the dividend to $1.54 per share, from $1.50, and to spend $1 billion buying back shares

It all looked good to investors. Shares closed at $53,94, up $2.65 or 5.2% from the previous close.

The adjusted fourth quarter 2014 results exclude $0.61 per share gain from selling the waste-to-energy business and a positive tax impact, partly offset by write-down of some assets.

CEO David Steiner said, "We built strong momentum during the first three quarters of 2014, and that momentum continued into the fourth quarter. Our strong pricing and cost controls delivered growth in our traditional solid waste business as income from operations grew $36 million and income from operations margin rose."