Clean Harbors, Inc. (CLH) reported first-quarter of fiscal 2012 earnings of 60 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 58 cents as well as the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 43 cents.

Total revenues increased 32% year over year to $572 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $559 million. The improvement stemmed from the acquisitions that the company made in 2011 apart from its organic growth.

Cost and Margins

Cost of revenues increased 28.1% to $400.3 million in the quarter. Gross profit rose 40.3% to $171.7 million. Consequently, gross margin expanded 190 basis-points (bps) to 30%.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 29.1% to $70.8 million. Operating income jumped 55% to $61.7 million. Consequently, operating margin inflated 170 bps to 10.8% in the quarter.

Financial Updates

Cash and cash equivalents were $241.5 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $260.7 million as of December 31, 2011. Long-term debt amounted to $523.8 million as of March 31, 2012, compared with $524.2 million as of December 31, 2011.

Outlook

The company expects revenues to be in the range of $2.20-$2.25 billion for fiscal 2012. Further, it anticipates EBITDA in the range of $400-$410 million.

Our View

Clean Harbors is all set to reap the benefits from the ongoing positive trends in Energy and Industrial areas of its business. Moreover, its strategic growth plans through capital investments and cross-selling opportunities will also help it improve margins moving ahead.

However, Clean Harbors faces tough competition from Waste Management (WM). During the first quarter of fiscal 2012, Waste Management reported earnings of 52 cents per share, falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1 cent. Revenues increased 3.3% to $3.46 billion from $3.35 billion in the year-ago quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.52 billion.

Clean Harbors retains a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold). We have a long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock.

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