Cleanaway Waste Management reports half-year profit and upgrades FY26 guidance

Cleanaway Waste Management lifts half-year profit and guidance, with strong revenue growth and a higher dividend for FY26.

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The Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY) share price is in focus after the company reported a 13.0% increase in net revenue to $1,875.3 million and a 16.9% rise in underlying EBIT to $228.2 million for the half-year ended 31 December 2025.

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What did Cleanaway Waste Management report?

  • Net revenue up 13.0% to $1,875.3 million
  • Underlying EBIT up 16.9% to $228.2 million
  • Underlying net profit after tax up 17.8% to $109.7 million
  • Underlying EBIT margin improved by 40 basis points to 12.2%
  • Interim fully franked dividend of 3.35 cents per share, up 19.6%
  • Statutory EBIT down 21.2% to $137.2 million due to significant one-off items

What else do investors need to know?

The company's upgraded FY26 underlying EBIT guidance, now expected between $480 million and $500 million, reflects strong operational momentum and early integration benefits from the Contract Resources acquisition. The Solid Waste Services segment delivered earnings and margin growth, supported by robust price discipline, labour productivity improvements, and lower fleet costs.

Cleanaway rolled out advanced AI pedestrian detection technology and in-vehicle monitoring systems across its fleet, furthering its focus on health, safety, and efficiency. The company maintained its capital expenditure guidance and remains on track with key projects, including integrating recent acquisitions.

What did Cleanaway Waste Management management say?

Cleanaway CEO & Managing Director Mark Schubert said:

We are pleased to upgrade our FY26 underlying EBIT guidance to between $480 million and $500 million following a robust first-half and outlook. This upgrade to guidance demonstrates both the underlying strength of our business and the delivery on commitments we have made to shareholders to build a stronger, more profitable business. Our core solid waste business delivered earnings growth and margin expansion. Price increases, strong contract management, improved labour productivity and lower fleet costs drove the result. The period included a five-month contribution from Contract Resources that exceeded our expectations. Having built positive momentum in the first half, we are confident that earnings and free cash flow will accelerate in the second half.

What's next for Cleanaway Waste Management?

Looking ahead, Cleanaway expects positive earnings growth in the second half of FY26, driven by organic volume and price growth, benefits from recent acquisitions, and the first phase of indirect cost reduction. The company will continue to focus on strategy execution, efficiency improvements, and synergy delivery from acquisitions. An investor strategy briefing is planned for April 2026, with the aim of sustaining free cash flow growth and returns through 2030.

Cleanaway Waste Management share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Cleanaway Waste Management shares have risen 2%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 11% over the same period.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

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