Waste firm Biffa remains on track after revenue recovers
Waste management firm Biffa today said it remains on track to meet full-year expectations, with revenue last month recovering to 90 per cent of pre-coronavirus levels.
In a trading update, the FTSE 250 firm said its business was “slightly ahead” of the base scenario it had set at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Alongside its total revenue of £1.1bn, industrial and commercial [I&C] levels recovered to 87 per cent and landfill to 86 per cent.
“The collections division has now completed its first I&C business acquisition of the year, of a trade waste business which had pre-Covid-19 run rate revenues of around £4m. Active negotiations continue on several other deals and the pipeline is expanding as expected,” Biffa said.
The update also outlined how ongoing pressure on plastic prices will impact trading at the Seaham plant until it starts to produce food grade recycled materials in April 2021.
Despite this, Biffa’s established high density polyethylene [HDPE] operations have been largely unaffected by these price weaknesses.
Shares in the firm rose 0.94 per cent by 10.30am.
Biffa also said it aims to bring back furloughed staff by the end of this month.
However, it warned that its outlook for the remainder of 2020 would be “dependent on the pace and shape of the economic recovery”.
Biffa entered the FTSE-250 in March 2020, the same month lockdown restrictions were first imposed.
Its latest trading figures, as the leading firm in waste management, will be welcome news across the industry as many sectors remain on a cliff edge following the impact of Covid-19.