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Waste Management 4Q loss
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March 27, 2000: 9:24 a.m. ET
No. 1 waste services hauler falls short of estimates, records $360M in special costs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Waste Management Inc., the nation's No.1 trash hauler, Monday posted a steep decline in fourth-quarter earnings that caused the company to miss Wall Street's expectations.
The Houston-based company earned $200 million, or 32 cents a diluted share for the quarter, excluding approximately $360 million in unusual items. Analysts surveyed by research firm First Call Corp. forecast 34 cents a share for the period, compared with earnings of 58 cents per share a year earlier.
Including all unusual items and costs, Waste Management (WMI: Research, Estimates) actually lost $114.7 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, during the quarter, compared to net income of $63.5 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter increased slightly to $3.34 billion, up from $3.23 billion in the year-earlier period.
The unusual costs and expenses recorded during the quarter were primarily related to an ongoing effort to stabilize the company's billing and accounting efforts. Waste Management was rocked by accusations of insider trading and accounting irregularities last year that have now resulted in more than $1.5 billion in special charges to the company's balance sheet and sent its stock into a freefall.
 Company officials said those costs would continue in 2000, but should shrink to approximately $135 million. The company estimated its first quarter revenue would fall between $3 billion and $3.1 billion.
Helping the cause will be a new fuel surcharge the company plans to implement on April 1, helping it to mitigate the impact of the recent rise in oil prices.
For the full year, Waste Management posted revenue of $13.1 billion, a 4 percent increase from the $12.6 billion recorded a year earlier.
The company posted a net loss of $397.6 million, or 65 cents per share, during 1999, improving on its $770.7 million, or $1.32 per share, loss from a year earlier.
Waste Management shares lost 7/16 to 13-9/16 in trading Friday. 
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Waste Management Inc.
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