Perma-Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ:PESI) reported higher third-quarter revenue but a wider year-over-year loss as delays in processing a Hanford-related waste stream and maintenance at two facilities weighed on its treatment business.
Revenue rose to $17.9 million from approximately $17.5 million a year earlier and increased 39% from the second quarter. The net loss widened to $3.5 million, or $0.16 per share, from $1.8 million, or $0.10 per share, in the third quarter of 2025.
President and CEO Mark Duff said the company improved from the first half of the year but did not meet its goal of breaking even in the quarter. Treatment backlog reached $19.6 million, up approximately 25% during the quarter and about 65% from the end of 2025.
Treatment Delays and Pricing Changes
Duff said the largest factor holding back results was a Hanford-related waste stream for which a customer directed changes to treatment protocols. Final approvals did not arrive until late August, and full operations resumed in September. Perma-Fix expects to recognize the delayed revenue over the following months.
Scheduled maintenance and upgrades to thermal treatment systems at the company’s Florida and Kingston, Tennessee, facilities also reduced processing capacity. Duff said the work was completed in September.
CFO Ben Naccarato said treatment segment revenue fell approximately $1.5 million year over year because of lower processing volumes and a less favorable waste mix. Segment gross profit declined approximately $2.5 million, also reflecting higher fixed facility costs, including staffing, depreciation and maintenance.
The company began implementing treatment price increases in August, with full deployment in October, Duff said. Management expects the changes to benefit treatment revenue and margins as higher labor, technology and equipment costs have increased expenses.
Hanford Volumes and Contract Opportunities
Perma-Fix Northwest began receiving liquid effluent from the Department of Energy’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste, or DFLAW, facility in July and has also received smaller quantities of dry waste. Duff said shipments have been delayed partly because the Hanford vitrification plant is transitioning from construction and commissioning to operations.
During the question-and-answer session, Duff said liquid effluent receipts had risen to approximately 16,000 gallons a month since October. He estimated that rate would generate roughly $17 million to $18 million in annual revenue if it remained flat, while noting that volumes are expected to increase as DFLAW production rises. The estimate is not a forecast of a fixed annual amount.
Duff said the company currently sees potential DFLAW revenue of between $35 million and $70 million a year at full production, but cautioned that it still lacks a solid understanding of future dry-waste volumes.
In August, Perma-Fix received one of three master indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity subcontracts from H2C for treatment and disposal of certain Hanford waste. The procurement’s maximum cumulative value of approximately $4.4 billion and maximum quantity of 50 million gallons are shared among all three subcontract holders; they are not guaranteed awards to Perma-Fix. Task orders can be received from January 2027 through December 2041.
Separately, Duff said requests from Washington state regulators for additional information on permit modifications related to East Area tank waste could delay initial shipments by several months. DOE had not formally changed its prior schedule for shipments to begin in the fourth quarter, he said.
Perma-Fix is investing in additional mixing equipment and seeking permit modifications to expand grouting capacity. Duff said the company expects the equipment upgrades to increase total capacity to more than 10 million gallons a year, subject to regulatory approvals.
Services Growth and Financial Position
Nuclear services revenue rose approximately 46% to $6.3 million, helped by new and expanded project activity, including work associated with a roughly $24 million master task agreement with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Duff said the services segment generated approximately $200,000 in operating income, compared with an operating loss of about $460,000 a year earlier.
In its PFAS business, the company reported higher third-quarter sales and receipts than in the first half of the year. Duff said its second-generation treatment system was beginning commissioning and was expected to be fully operational in the first half of 2027, when it is expected to triple PFAS processing capacity.
Perma-Fix ended September with approximately $14.7 million in cash and $1.9 million in debt, excluding debt issuance costs. Cash used by continuing operations totaled $10.8 million for the first nine months of the year. Financing activities provided approximately $20.4 million, primarily from a May equity offering.
Asked about the company’s going-concern disclosure and the possibility of another equity offering, Duff said Perma-Fix was not considering or seeing a need for an equity raise at present. Naccarato said historical losses and customer delays affected the accounting assessment, but management remained optimistic that operations would fund future operations.
About Perma-Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ:PESI)
Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc provides treatment, processing and disposal services for radioactive, mixed and hazardous waste. The company serves customers that generate waste through nuclear energy production, government and defense programs, research, medical activities and other industrial operations.
Its services include the treatment of low-level radioactive waste and mixed waste, which contains both radioactive and hazardous components. Perma-Fix uses specialized technologies and licensed treatment facilities to process waste streams, reduce their volume or hazardous characteristics, and prepare them for compliant disposal.
