All financial information is in Canadian dollars.
- Financial picture: GFL Environmental reported better-than-expected results in its underlying business in Q1, contributing to a quarter of revenue growth and margin expansion. CEO Patrick Dovigi expressed confidence in his business and ability to execute on an aggressive M&A strategy during an investor call Thursday. Executives also said they would update the company’s full-year guidance on their Q2 call, but were bullish on the company’s prospects. GFL recorded a net loss from continuing operations of $213.9 million, compared with a net loss of $195.8 million in Q1 of 2024.
- Pricing: The company recorded core price of 5.7%, which was ahead of expectations. Dovigi attributed that in part to strong tailwinds on the residential side of business, particularly in Canada. GFL recently renegotiated two contracts in Toronto. One was a $284.3 million curbside collection contract, while the other was a $136.9 million containerized collection contract for multifamily properties.
- Volume: Volumes were also ahead of guidance despite the impact from weather in certain markets in the U.S. Much of that boost came from Canadian extended producer responsibility contracts coming online, CFO Luke Pelosi said. He expects those contracts will continue to provide a tailwind on volumes, although he declined to disclose a steady run rate for their contributions this year.
- M&A: GFL will continue to be aggressive on M&A this year as it reinvests the proceeds from the sale of a stake in its environmental services business, which closed in March. Dovigi said he expected to “meet or exceed” the upper range of the company’s guidance for the year, which was $900 million. So far, GFL’s 2025 acquisitions added $85 million in annualized revenue to the business. Dovigi said the company would focus on investing in solid waste collection assets in its existing footprint to feed into post-collection sites it already owns.
- GIP update: Dovigi provided a brief update on Green Infrastructure Partners, the private infrastructure services company spun out by GFL in 2022. GIP’s base business is expected to generate $225 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year. Dovigi said that M&A was ramping up for the business, starting with a transaction in Eastern Canada that closed at the beginning of the year. Two other deals have a signed letter of intent, Dovigi said. He again acknowledged interest from outside investors in the business, and said executives are considering a “a potential monetization event for GIP, but we are not sellers of the whole business.”
- Environmental services update: Executives also noted M&A would continue for the environmental services business post-spinoff. Pelosi noted the business was more sensitive to macroeconomic factors than solid waste, but it remains steady.
- Debt: The company recorded a debt-leverage ratio of 3.1 times in the first quarter, its lowest ever, by using proceeds of the environmental services sale to pay down debt. GFL received a corresponding increase in credit rating from Moody’s and S&P.