(Alliance News) - Waste management firm Augean PLC on Wednesday said, for the second time this year, profit is set to beat the market's expectations after strong trading.
Augean said results for 2019 will benefit from a 20% rise in landfill volumes across all waste types in the year-to-date, with landfill pricing also rising 20%.
The company has benefited from higher profit from radioactive waste operations as well and a good performance in both its waste treatment and North Sea businesses.
The market sees an adjusted pretax profit for 2019 of GBP16.5 million, Augean said, and the company believes it will be "materially ahead" of this. Augean had said in May as well that 2019 profit was to beat expectations after a good start to the year.
In 2018, pretax profit more than doubled to GBP10.6 million and the adjusted figure rose 69% to GBP11.4 million.
Augean did not give any update on its battle with the UK taxman, after being issued a GBP4.6 million bill in August. HMRC alleges Augean failed to pay the correct amount of landfill tax between June 2013 and May 2018.
Augean, which was hit by a separate GBP34.7 million tax demand in April, is to "vehemently" challenge both claims with a tribunal due in 2020.
Shares were 13% higher on Wednesday morning in London at 132.80 pence each, more than double where they were a year ago.
By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com
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