The Dutch subsidiary of British waste management company Shanks Group plc is profiting from improved conditions in the construction and commercial waste sectors, and is seeing the results in increased sales and higher earnings in euros. Although commercial waste collection volumes remained largely unchanged, prices have improved in response to higher incineration costs resulting from greater capacity utilisation and the Dutch incineration tax, Shanks reported last week with the release of its half-year report.
Shanks recorded higher revenues at home in the UK as well, where the company is active in municipal waste management. Altogether, Shanks had a turnover of £297m (about €415m), which nevertheless remained under the previous year's level due to the weaker euro exchange rate. The company showed a half-year profit of £1.1m after tax, following a loss of £9.7m a year earlier.