Waste Connections is an integrated solid waste services company that provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer and disposal services, including by rail, along with resource recovery primarily through recycling and renewable fuels generation. The Company serves approximately nine million residential, commercial and industrial customers in mostly exclusive and secondary markets across 46 states in the U.S. and six provinces in Canada.
Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste treatment, recovery and disposal services in several basins across the U.S. and Canada, as well as intermodal services for the movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest.
For WCN shareholders, 2023 marked another year of positive returns, our 19th increase over the past 20 years. Additionally, continued growth in adjusted free cash flow1 per share maintained our ten-year double-digit compounded annual growth rate. The strength of our operating performance and free cash flow generation continue to provide the flexibility for growth and return of capital to our shareholders.
During the year, we increased our regular quarterly cash dividend by 11.8% to $0.285 per share, our thirteenth consecutive double-digit annual increase since initiating our dividend, and we renewed our normal course issuer bid providing for the repurchase of up to 5% of our outstanding shares, which we intend to utilize opportunistically.
We also deployed over $675 million for acquisitions to expand our business, while preserving the strength of our balance sheet. Our leverage ratio,3 as defined in our credit agreement, improved to 2.60x, and we ended 2023 with liquidity of over $1.5 billion, well-positioned to fund acquisitions and pursue future growth opportunities.
In 2023, we delivered outsized margin expansion from price-led organic growth, more than overcoming the headwinds from lower commodity values and higher employee turnover-related costs.
Underlying solid waste margins expanded by 130 basis points, as we more than overcame a 60-basis point headwind from lower commodity values. Moreover, adjusted free cash flow1 increased to $1.224 billion, or 15.3% of revenue and 48.5% of adjusted EBITDA1. Robust acquisition activity continued, with over $215 million closed in 2023, plus another $250 million anticipated to close early in 2024, setting us up for continued above average contributions. Along with our ongoing reinvestment in the business, we deployed over $1.7 billion for capital expenditures and acquisitions to maintain and strategically expand our business, while preserving balance sheet strength and flexibility for continuing growth. Most importantly, we demonstrated improvements in safety, employee retention and engagement, all of which we believe will yield benefits in 2024 and beyond.
Following two challenging years, 2023 was a turning point for retention, including a 20% improvement in voluntary turnover along with a 30% reduction in open positions. To this end, we expanded our technology to maximize recruiting effectiveness; we overhauled the onboarding process; and we more than doubled our training opportunities for frontline leaders. In 2024, we are continuing to introduce additional avenues to augment recruiting and retention, including developing our own pipelines for commercial drivers and diesel technicians through ownership interests or partnerships with training schools. We are already seeing the benefits of increased retention in reduced overtime and hours of service; in addition, we are seeing improvement in safety metrics as turnover declines.
We recognize the high correlation between retention and safety and the critical importance of a safety-driven culture. We believe every member of our team has a responsibility to protect our employees and the members of the communities we have the privilege to serve. Therefore, we hold our leaders accountable, and we support their efforts through continued investment in technology and training. Our behavioral-based approach to safety resulted in a 120 basis point reduction in our incident rate, including a reduction of over 500 basis points in many of our newest acquisitions. In 2023, 60% of our operating locations either posted zero safety-related incidents or reduced incident frequency versus the prior year, and our Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) remains at less than half the industry average, resulting in lower cost of risk.
In spite of outsized growth, we also demonstrated progress towards achievement of our sustainability-related targets, including expanding our commitment towards reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As more fully described in our 2023 Sustainability Report, following the achievement of our 15% emissions reduction target, we doubled our reduction commitment to 30%. In addition to increased transparency around our activities, we continue to make progress on our other targets, including recycling and recovery; harvesting landfill gas to generate renewable energy; and implementing technology to process landfill leachate on-site, including the treatment of PFAS.
Coming into 2024, we are already positioned for outsized growth and contribution from the foundations laid during 2023, including the benefits of a renewed focus on human capital.
Our 2024 outlook already provides for high quality revenue growth from continued solid waste price-led organic growth plus rollover acquisition contribution of approximately $325 million already in place. This provides visibility for adjusted EBITDA1 margin expansion of 120 basis points and underlying free cash flow conversion in line with recent levels. Further moderation in inflationary pressures, increases in recycled commodity or renewable fuels values, contribution from additional volume growth or acquisitions would provide upside.
As we look ahead, incremental capital expenditures of $150 million in 2024 for renewable natural gas projects will position us for incremental EBITDA1 and free cash flow contribution by 2026 as our efforts drive continued value creation and deliver progress towards our sustainability-related objectives.
At Waste Connections, we recognize the importance of both Relationships and Results. Moreover, we believe that not only are they both achievable, but they are necessarily interrelated. We’re proud of these results and the leaders who embody Waste Connections’ enduring operating values
As we position Waste Connections for the future, our efforts remain firmly rooted in the culture that has defined us and driven our success. We recognize the importance of honoring our commitments, and we look forward to the opportunity to earn the trust of each of our stakeholders every day.
As always, we thank you for your continuing support.
Ronald J. Mittelstaedt
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mary Anne Whitney
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
1 Non-GAAP measure. See Non-GAAP Measures on pages 74-76 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
2 Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) defined as profit generated from all share appreciation and dividends; Source—FactSet financial data and analytics and historical dividends.
3 Leverage Ratio (total debt to EBITDA), a non-GAAP ratio, is used supplementally for the purpose of calculating financial covenants under our revolving credit and term loan agreement.
This 2023 Annual Report should be read together with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, including Item 1A—Risk Factors.
Markets across 46 states in the U.S. and 6 provinces in Canada
~9M
Customers
~23,000
Employees
>10,000
Routed Vehicles
~2M
Tons Recycled
2022 Annual Report (PDF)
2021 Annual Report (PDF)
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