the first quarter of 2008. Net income attributable to Waste Connections in the first quarter of 2009 was $22 million, or $0.27 per share on a diluted basis of 80.8 million shares. In the first quarter of 2008, the company reported net income attributable to Waste Connections of $22.5 million, or $0.33 on a diluted basis of 68.1 million shares. The 18.6% year-over-year increase in diluted share count is due to an equity offering completed since the year ago period.
Management noted that current period results included about $3.0 million ($1.8 million net of taxes, or about $0.02 per share) of costs associated with the expensing of acquisition-related costs due to the adoption of SFAS 141(R) effective January 1, 2009, a non-cash loss on the company’s prior corporate office lease due to the relocation of its corporate offices during the quarter, and a non-cash loss on disposition of certain assets.
Non-cash costs for equity-based compensation, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, and amortization of debt discount related to convertible debt instruments in connection with the adoption of FSP No. APB 14-1 on January 1, 2009, were $5.8 million ($3.5 million net of taxes, or about $0.04 per share) in the quarter compared to $4.6 million ($2.8 million net of taxes, or about $0.04 per share) in the year ago period.
We are extremely pleased with our results in the quarter and are off to a good start for the year. A weakened economy has impacted revenue, but operational improvements and cost controls have enabled us to exceed our outlook for operating income before depreciation and amortization in the quarter and increase free cash flow more than 28% year-over-year. More encouraging though, is that the pace of volume deceleration appears to be slowing such that we may be close to finding bottom, stated Ronald J. Mittelstaedt, chairman and chief executive officer of Waste Connections.
Mittelstaedt added, The announced acquisitions of certain divested assets from Republic Services have already produced a record amount of acquired revenue this year and finally deployed the excess capital raised last year. With three quarters of the year ahead of us, still one of the strongest balance sheets in our sector, and a broader strategic footprint, we remain well positioned to pursue additional growth opportunities and further increase our potential upside once the economy begins to improve.
