GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS — (Marketwired) — 11/10/14 — Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CWCO) (“Consolidated Water” or “the Company”), which develops and operates seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas of the world where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent, today reported its operating results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2014. The Company will host an investor conference call on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. EST (see details below) to discuss its operating results and other topics of interest.
Net income attributable to the Company–s stockholders increased 107% to $1,882,692, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2014, compared with net income attributable to CWCO stockholders of $908,690, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2013.
Total revenues for the third quarter of 2014 increased 10% to approximately $17.0 million, compared with approximately $15.4 million in the third quarter of 2013.
Retail water revenues increased 18% to approximately $5.9 million in the most recent quarter, versus approximately $5.0 million in the third quarter of 2013. The increase in retail revenues was primarily due to an approximate 17% increase in the number of gallons of water sold by the Company–s retail operations in the Cayman Islands.
Bulk water revenues declined 3% to approximately $9.9 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared with approximately $10.2 million in the prior-year quarter. The reduction in bulk water revenues was attributable to a decrease in the volume of water sold by the Company–s Bahamas operations to the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas (“WSC”), partially offset by an increase in revenues from the Cayman bulk water operations. In 2013, the WSC purchased water volumes from the Company–s Blue Hills plant that were significantly higher than the minimum amounts it was required to purchase under the water supply agreement for the plant. However, as a result of water conservation and loss mitigation efforts it has conducted since that time, the WSC has reduced the amount of water lost by its distribution system and consequently in 2014 decreased the volume of water it purchased from the Blue Hills plant. However, the WSC continued to purchase more than the minimum amount stipulated in its contract with the Company.
Services segment revenues increased to $1,178,710 in the quarter ended September 30, 2014, compared with $175,438 in the year-earlier quarter, primarily due to construction revenues generated from contracts with the Water Authority-Cayman to refurbish its Lower Valley plant and to build a plant on the island of Cayman Brac.
Consolidated gross profit improved 9% to approximately $5.7 million (33% of total revenues) in the most recent quarter, versus approximately $5.2 million (34% of total revenues) in the third quarter of 2013. Gross profit on retail revenues increased 27% to approximately $3.0 million (50% of retail revenues) in the quarter ended September 30, 2014, compared with approximately $2.4 million (47% of retail revenues) in the prior-year period. The increase in retail gross profit margin as a percentage of sales reflected an increase in water sales, as a significant portion of the Company–s water production expenses are fixed in nature. Gross profit on bulk revenues declined 6% to approximately $2.8 million (28% of bulk revenues), compared with approximately $3.0 million (29% of bulk revenues) a year earlier. Gross profit as a percentage of bulk water sales remained relatively constant, despite the decrease in revenues, because the water sales made in 2013 by the Company–s Bahamas operation that exceeded the contractual minimum for the Blue Hills plant generated relatively small gross profits. The services segment generated a negative gross profit of ($83,236) in the third quarter of 2014, compared with a negative gross profit of ($94,644) in the third quarter of 2013.
Consolidated general and administrative expenses (“G&A”) declined 8% to approximately $4.0 million in the third quarter of 2014, compared with approximately $4.3 million in the year-earlier quarter. Project development expenses incurred by the Company–s Mexico subsidiary, N.S.C. Agua, S.A. de C.V. (“NSC”) decreased by approximately $538,000. Other G&A categories with significant fluctuations included professional fees, which rose by approximately $145,000 due to consulting services, and banking fees, which increased $134,000 from prior-year levels as a result of wire/exchange fees incurred to transfer funds out of The Bahamas to repay intercompany loans.
Interest income increased to $334,499 for the third quarter of 2014, up from $232,820 in the third quarter of 2013, due to interest on past due accounts receivables from the WSC. Interest expense decreased to $70,515 for the three months ended September 30, 2014, versus $117,242 in the prior-year quarter, reflecting the early redemption in February 2014 of the remaining outstanding balance on the Company–s bonds payable.
The Company recognized earnings and profit sharing on its investment in OC-BVI of $111,855 in the most recent quarter, compared with $75,609 in the third quarter of 2013.
“We are very pleased to report that our net income attributable to Consolidated Water stockholders more than doubled in the most recent quarter, when compared with the third quarter of 2013,” stated Mr. Rick McTaggart, Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. “Gross profit margins from our retail business improved, reflecting a healthy 17% increase in the volume of water sold by our retail operations in the Cayman Islands. We are encouraged that retail water volume sales have increased during the past two quarters relative to prior-year periods, reversing a three-year downtrend that began in 2010. We believe that drier weather conditions and an increase in tourist arrivals in the Cayman Islands have contributed to a greater demand for potable water in this key market.”
“We have continued to make significant progress on our 100 million gallon-per-day desalination plant and conveyance pipeline project in northern Baja California, Mexico. In the third quarter of 2014, we benefited from lower development costs when compared with the prior-year period, reflecting the completion of certain outsourced engineering and technical work that was underway a year ago.”
“We recently received initial comments from the Mexican regulator on our environmental impact studies for the project and are pleased that no major issues were identified in this first round of comments,” continued Mr. McTaggart. “We will work diligently to address the regulator–s comments and hope to obtain the necessary permits in due course.”
Net income attributable to the Company–s stockholders for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 totaled $5,297,294, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared with net income attributable to CWCO stockholders of $7,504,542, or $0.51 per diluted share, for the nine months ended September 30, 2013.
Total revenues for the first nine months of 2014 increased 4% to approximately $50.3 million, compared with approximately $48.6 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Retail water revenues rose 5% to approximately $18.5 million (37% of total revenues) in the nine months ended September 30, 2014, versus approximately $17.6 million (36% of total revenues) in the first nine months of 2013. The volume of water sold by the Company–s Cayman retail operations increased by approximately 4% in the first nine months of 2014 when compared with the prior-year period.
Bulk water revenues declined slightly, to approximately $29.8 million (59% of total revenues) in the first nine months of 2014, compared with approximately $30.3 million (62% of total revenues) in the prior-year period. The reduction in bulk water revenues was attributable to a decrease in the volume of water sold by the Company–s Bahamas operations to the WSC, as discussed earlier in this press release, partially offset by an increase in revenues from the Cayman bulk water operations.
Services segment revenues increased to $1,921,004 in the nine months ended September 30, 2014, compared with $706,144 in the corresponding period of 2013, primarily due to construction revenues generated from contracts with the Water Authority-Cayman to refurbish the Lower Valley plant and to build a plant on the island of Cayman Brac.
Consolidated gross profit improved slightly, to approximately $18.0 million (36% of total revenues) in the first nine months of 2014, versus approximately $17.8 million (37% of total revenues) in the first nine months of 2013. Gross profit on retail revenues increased 3% to approximately $9.6 million (51% of retail revenues) in the nine months ended September 30, 2014, compared with approximately $9.2 million (52% of retail revenues) in the year-earlier period. Gross profit on bulk revenues was largely unchanged at approximately $8.7 million (29% of bulk revenues) in the first nine months of both 2014 and 2013. The services segment recorded a negative gross profit of ($222,595) in the 2014 period, compared with a negative gross profit of ($130,801) in the first nine months of 2013.
Consolidated G&A expenses increased 14% to approximately $13.1 million in the first nine months of 2014, compared with approximately $11.5 million in the year-earlier period. Project development expenses incurred by NSC increased by approximately $1.0 million, professional fees rose by approximately $407,000, and employee costs increased by approximately $137,000.
Interest income increased to $874,203 for the first nine months of 2014, from $582,704 a year earlier, due to interest on past due accounts receivables from the WSC. Interest expense increased to $413,783 in the nine months ended September 30, 2014, versus $374,512 in the prior-year period, reflecting the prepayment premium paid for the early redemption in February 2014 of the remaining outstanding balance on the Company–s bonds payable and the amortization of the related bond discount and deferred issuance costs.
The Company recognized earnings and profit sharing on its investment in OC-BVI of $302,809 in the nine months ended September 30, 2014, compared with $1,254,913 in the corresponding period of the previous year. The additional earnings and profit sharing recognized in 2013 from the equity investment in OC-BVI resulted from the payment by the British Virgin Islands government to OC-BVI in January 2013 of $2.0 million of the amount awarded to OC-BVI as a result of the Baughers Bay litigation.
On October 31, 2014, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share for the 22nd consecutive quarter. The Company has paid cash dividends to shareholders since 1985.
CWCO-E
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. develops and operates seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas of the world where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent. The Company operates water production and/or distribution facilities in the Cayman Islands, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and Bali, Indonesia.
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. is headquartered in George Town, Grand Cayman, in the Cayman Islands. The Company–s ordinary (common) stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CWCO”. Additional information on the Company is available on its website at .
This press release includes statements that may constitute “forward-looking” statements, usually containing the words “believe”, “estimate”, “project”, “intend”, “expect”, “should” or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company–s products and services in the marketplace, changes in its relationships with the governments of the jurisdictions in which it operates, the outcome of its negotiations with the Cayman government regarding a new retail license agreement, its ability to successfully secure contracts for water projects, including the projects under development in Baja California, Mexico and Bali, Indonesia, its ability to develop and operate such projects profitably, and its ability to manage growth and other risks detailed in the Company–s periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.
(Financial Highlights Follow)
For further information, please contact:
Frederick W. McTaggart
President and CEO
(345) 945-4277
or
David W. Sasnett
Executive Vice President and CFO
(954) 509-8200
or via e-mail at
or
RJ Falkner & Company, Inc.
Investor Relations Counsel
(800) 377-9893 or
via e-mail at