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The earnings call conveyed a generally positive tone: management emphasized resilience and durable, infrastructure-backed cash flows, delivered year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth, strong cash generation, significant shareholder returns (dividends and buybacks), successful project commissioning and a constructive 2026 adjusted EBITDA guide. Notable challenges were discussed, including metal recycling disruption from U.S. tariffs (with an estimated 10–15% EBITDA impact), modest decline in discretionary free cash flow due to higher interest and taxes, volume softness in some service lines tied to lower commodity prices, inventory/logistics constraints in metals and an unresolved patent litigation with a potential ~$100 million claim. Overall, the positive items (stable recurring cash flows, balance sheet strength, project execution, shareholder returns and upward guidance) materially outweigh the headwinds, though management acknowledged several execution and macro risks that could influence near-term outcomes.
SECURE guided 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $520–$550 million (midpoint ≈ $535M, ~ $34–35M above 2025’s $501M) and said Q1 should be broadly consistent with Q4 2025 (Q4 revenue $372M, adjusted EBITDA $135M, funds flow $118M, discretionary free cash flow $84M); they expect to spend at least $75M of organic growth capital in 2026 (with ability to build on that), roughly $10M of metals‑recycling investments (pre‑shredder/railcars), and to continue selective tuck‑in M&A and opportunistic buybacks, while targeting >50% discretionary FCF conversion, cash taxes likely not above ~$60M, a 5% dividend increase to $0.42/share annualized beginning Q2 2026, and preserving financial flexibility (total debt/adjusted EBITDA 2.1x; 1.8x excl. leases; $300M senior notes due 2032); for context, FY2025 funds flow was $378M, DFCF $273M, and they returned $373M to shareholders in 2025, repurchasing nearly 19M shares (~8% of float) at an average < $15 and 1.1M shares at $17.10 since renewing the NCIB.
Full-year adjusted EBITDA of $501 million, representing approximately 5% year-over-year pro forma growth. Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $135 million, up 15% year-over-year and up 24% on a per-share basis versus the prior-year quarter.
Fourth-quarter revenue of $372 million, up 10% year-over-year. Q4 funds flow from operations of $118 million and discretionary free cash flow of $84 million. Full-year funds flow from operations of $378 million and discretionary free cash flow of $273 million with industry-leading conversion of over 50% of adjusted EBITDA to free cash flow.
Returned $373 million to shareholders in 2025 through dividends and buybacks. Repurchased nearly 19 million shares at an average price below $15 (~8% of outstanding shares) and, since renewing the NCIB, repurchased an additional 1.1 million shares at a weighted average price of $17.10.
Deployed $138 million of organic growth capital in 2025 (above the original $75 million plan) focused on produced water infrastructure in the Montney, industrial waste processing and metal recycling optimization. Commissioned the first produced water disposal facility in the Montney in Q4 with a second facility expected online in March 2026.
Provided adjusted EBITDA guidance for 2026 of $520 million to $550 million (midpoint ~$535 million, implying continued growth versus 2025) and announced a 5% dividend increase to $0.42 per share annualized beginning Q2 2026.
Maintained a strong balance sheet with total debt to adjusted EBITDA of 2.1x (1.8x excluding leases). Refinanced a portion of debt by issuing $300 million of senior unsecured notes due 2032 to extend maturity profile and enhance financial flexibility.
Demonstrated platform scale and recurring volumes: disposed ~95,000 barrels per day of produced water (Q4), processed ~38,000 barrels per day of liquid waste, recovered ~1 million barrels of oil from waste streams, safely disposed of ~3.2 million tons of solid waste, and handled over 133,000 barrels per day of crude oil across 13 terminals and 3 gathering pipelines.
Voluntary accounting policy change to present realized and unrealized gains/losses from physically settled commodity contracts and related derivatives on a net basis within revenue rather than gross proceeds and offsetting costs. No impact to net income, adjusted EBITDA, cash flow or the statement of financial position; prior periods restated for comparability and expected to support reclassification to a waste infrastructure industry code.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the SECURE Waste Infrastructure Corp. 2025 Q4 and Annual Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Friday, February 20, 2026. And I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Chad Magus. Thank you. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning to everyone who is listening to the call. Welcome to SECURE Waste Infrastructure Corp.'s Conference Call to discuss our Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results. I'm Chad Magus, Chief Financial Officer. And joining me on the call today are Allen Gransch, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Corey Higham, our Chief Operating Officer. During the call, we will make forward-looking statements related to future performance and refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that do not have standardized meanings under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations and are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable. However, actual results may differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our press release, management's discussion and analysis and annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, all available on SEDAR+ for a discussion of these risks and for definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures.
Today, we'll review our financial and operational results for the 3 and 12 months ended December 31, 2025, and provide our outlook for 2026. I will now turn the call over to Allen.
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