Water firm racks up early profit from cut in power costs
(CNS Business): The private company that supplies West Bay with water and manages a desalination plant made a profit in the first quarter of 2015 despite a fall in sales because of a cut in its electricity bill. In a press release covering Consolidated Water’s first quarter results for 2015, company officials said total revenue fell 10% compared to last year because of a drop in bulk sales, mainly in the Bahamas, but that decline was offset by retail sales here in Cayman and a reduction in power costs incurred by the firm.
Consolidated Water plant in West Bay
Consolidated’s gross profit increased 1% in the first three months of this year compared to the 2014 first quarter. Gross profit on retail revenues rose 2% to approximately $3.3 million in the three months ended 31 March 2015, against approximately $3.2 million in the year before. The slight improvement in retail gross profit margin was due to lower electricity prices and energy reduction efforts that reduced energy costs in 2015 by approximately $95,000, the firm revealed.
Gross profit on bulk revenues increased 3% to approximately $2.9 million compared with approximately $2.8 million a year earlier, again as a result of a reduction in energy prices as the firm cut its power bill by over $1.5 million.
“Although revenues declined in the first quarter of 2015 due to lower fuel and electricity costs that were passed on to our customers, gross profit in terms of dollars increased slightly due to a reduction in operating costs,” said Rick McTaggart, the chief executive officer of Consolidated Water.
“In the Cayman Islands, the Water Authority – Cayman has accepted our proposal to operate its North Sound Desalination Plant on the island of Grand Cayman for an additional two years, subject to receiving approval from the Cayman Islands Government Central Tenders Committee. Although the current operating agreement expired on April 1, 2015, we continue to operate the plant on the same terms and conditions until advised otherwise by the WAC,” McTaggart added.
Category: Local Business, Utilities
