Water CompanyProfits Up
Consolidated Water, which has service inCayman Islands, is reporting a 31 per cent rise in 2001secondquarter earnings and a declared dividend of 10 cents per sharewhich represents a 2 cents increase over the corresponding periodof last year.
The company's second quarter report indicatesthat in the first quarter there was a declared dividend of 10cents per share which also represented a 2 cents increase overthe first three months of last year.
Consolidated Water produces desalinatedwater and operates a public water facility here under a 20-yearlicence and has services in Belize and the Bahamas.
Company official Jeffrey Parker said thatthe Cayman Islands operation continues to be lucrative havingaccounted for all its sales during the first half of last yearand making an impact on the bottom line so far this year.
"Net profit margins improved to 28.2per cent of revenue in the most recent quarter, when comparedwith 26.7 per cent in the prior-year period, reflecting the excellentprofitability of our Belize operations and a 2.7 per cent rateincrease for our Cayman water customers earlier in the year. Theseresults are even more impressive because they were achieved duringa period when Caribbean tourism has been negatively impacted byan economic slowdown in the United States. Our second quarterresults, which were assisted by sales to government, representedan improvement over this company's first quarter performance,when demand for water from customers on Grand Cayman declineddue to heavy rainfall in late December and early January. Plantcapacity at the government-owned Water Authority-Cayman is currentlyfully utilized during periods of peak demand and we expect thisposition to continue into next year," he added.
The release said: "For the three monthsended June 30, 2001, the company's revenue increased 24% to approximately$3.1 million, compared with approximately $2.5 million in theprior-year quarter. Net income rose 31% to 875,332, or $0.22 perdiluted share, in the most recent quarter, versus $667,002, or0.19 per diluted share, in the quarter ended June 30, 2000. Earningsper share were calculated on 3,993,668 diluted shares outstandingin the quarter ended June 30, 2001, which represented a 15 percent increase when compared with 3,470,423 diluted shares outstandingin the second quarter of 2000. The increase in shares outstandingprimarily resulted from new shares issued in conjunction withthe company's public stock offering in May 2000.
The company said that for these six monthsthere was a net income of $1,706,222 or 43 cents per diluted sharefrom a total revenue of $6.1 million.
"These figures compared with revenueof approximately $5.2 million and net income of $1,521,885, or$0.46 per diluted share, in the corresponding period of the previousyear. The weighted average number of fully-diluted shares outstandingincreased 21 per cent to 3,978,420 in the first half of 2001,compared with 3,289,857 in the prior-year period, primarily reflectingnew shares issued in conjunction with the company's public stockoffering in May 2000. The company generated cash flow from operations(EBITDA) of $2.4 million in the first half of 2001, compared withEBITDA of $2.1 million in the six months ended June 30, 2000,"the release read.