Thomas G. Vadaketh
Thank you, Nick, and good morning, everyone. In the third quarter, total revenue was $575 million and adjusted EBITDA was $74 million. Both figures are highs for the year, but lower than our expectations at the beginning of the quarter. Rail accounted for much of the shortfall, whereas we discussed last quarter and as Nick just mentioned, demand for standard products and aftermarket parts remain very sluggish. Also, some contract services work for certain US customers was deferred into future quarters. Our product orders did improve somewhat from the prior quarter, but the increase was from a low base, and this activity will not benefit Rail in 2025. Performance at Harsco Environmental was also slightly lower than expectations due to higher operating costs and lower contributions from new sites. Actions are underway that are expected to help offset the challenges in both segments, as Nick mentioned. Still, we have lowered our outlook for the fourth quarter, which I will provide details on shortly. Now let me turn to our third quarter performance details on slide four. In the third quarter, our revenues were unchanged as reported and 1% higher on an organic basis. Adjusted EBITDA was lower year on year as anticipated with record earnings at Clean Earth offset by our other segment. The impact of divestitures on EBITDA within HE was $3 million compared with the prior year. Our adjusted diluted loss per share was $0.08 for the quarter, excluding the impact of unusual items. These unusual items totaled $12 million pretax, with most of this related to strategic project costs and various restructuring actions across the company. Excuse me. Adjustments on our large ETO contract in Rail were less than $2 million and much lower than in recent quarters. We believe this illustrates our progress in derisking these projects. Our adjusted free cash flow for the quarter was $6 million, which was $20 million above Q2 and in line with our expectations. Working capital management and capital spending controls offset the impact of lower earnings for the quarter. Before moving on to segment performance, let me add to Nick's comments on the amendment to our credit agreement. First, I would like to thank our bank group for their continued support of the company and their flexibility to support our strategic initiatives and changing financial situation. In addition to allowing for the potential sale or separation of Clean Earth, we modified our financial covenants to provide additional flexibility. The credit agreement also now provides a capital structure framework for our remaining businesses if we complete a Clean Earth sale. Under this scenario, our initial net leverage ratio post-transaction would be two times or less, and our maximum net leverage would be three times. Further details on this amendment are available in our SEC filings this morning. Please turn to slide five and our Harsco Environmental segment. Segment revenues totaled $261 million and adjusted EBITDA totaled $44 million. The year-over-year change in earnings is the result of divestitures and site exits or closures. ECO product contributions were also slightly lower with this impact attributable to our Excel operations in the U.S. and steel felt business in Europe. Steel production at our customer locations on a continuing site basis rose modestly compared with the prior year, with puts and takes across our global portfolio as you would expect. Higher output in the U.S., India, and the Middle East was mostly offset by lower production in Canada and Brazil. Volumes in our largest market, Europe, were unchanged year over year. And while quarterly revenues and steel output were the highest this year, overall production rates remain subdued. Customer utilization rates remain in the mid-seventies as a percentage of capacity, with our largest market Europe being below 70%. So we see lots of room for improvement across our service portfolio. Next, please turn to slide six to discuss Clean Earth. For the quarter, revenues totaled $250 million, which was up 6% compared with the 2024 quarter, and adjusted EBITDA reached $43 million. CE's adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.3% in the quarter. Revenue growth was slightly more weighted to volume over price. CE's volume growth was realized across end markets in hazardous waste and reflects the team's success executing on a commercial growth plan that it developed over a year ago. Meanwhile, contributions from CE's soil and dredge business were lower compared with the prior year quarter as anticipated. This change reflects the timing of work activity and business mix. Now please turn to slide seven and our Rail business. Rail revenues totaled $64 million and its adjusted EBITDA loss was $4 million in the quarter. Compared with the prior year quarter, lower equipment and service volumes as well as higher manufacturing costs and a weaker business mix were partially offset by higher aftermarket sales. Operationally, Rail continues to make steady progress as Nick mentioned, although further manufacturing and supply chain improvements are needed and targeted to strengthen the business. On Rail's large European ETOs, we continue to make steady progress as well, particularly with Deutsche Bahn and SBB. For Deutsche Bahn or DB, the next key milestone is for the first three vehicles to progress through homologation or the formal acceptance process. The first vehicle has already started this process, and we expect that all three vehicles will be undergoing homologation as we move into 2026. As we have said before, once we complete homologation, the risk on this project from a cost and schedule perspective will significantly diminish, and we would move into a repeatable manufacturing process for the remaining vehicles. For SBB, delivery of the first group of vehicles is to be completed by 2026. The second vehicle type is currently undergoing homologation, and we expect to complete all deliveries of this second group of vehicles in early 2027. On the Network Rail contract, negotiations with the customers have continued to progress. Although progress has been slower than we would like, our customer is focused on the delivery of the machines and is negotiating in good faith. Good progress has been made recently to gain alignment on several technical design areas which had been opened. This is an important step for us to be able to complete manufacturing the machine. Additionally, we are seeking a meaningful improvement in the economics of this contract in order for us to continue, or we will negotiate a mutually acceptable exit from the contract. Now let me turn to our full-year outlook on Slide eight. The midpoint of EBITDA guidance is reduced by $27 million, and the midpoint for free cash flow is reduced by $50 million. The EBITDA change is largely driven by Rail and to a lesser extent HE. For Rail, we have removed from our outlook certain unsold equipment and parts that are not supported by our order books and pipeline. And for HE, we anticipate that the challenges in Q3 will persist through year-end. Our updated free cash flow guidance reflects this revised earnings outlook as well as some previously anticipated milestone payments on certain rail contracts being deferred into 2026. Let me conclude on Slide nine with our fourth quarter guidance. Q4 adjusted EBITDA is expected to range from $62 million to $72 million. Clean Earth is again expected to show nice year-over-year growth in Q4. Harsco Environmental earnings are anticipated to be modestly below the prior year quarter due to contract exits, and rail results are projected to be lower due mainly to volumes. Thanks, and I will now hand the call back to the operator for Q&A.