Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO) Looks to Expand in Asia, Mexico and Southern California: Caribbean Desalination Plant Developer and Management Company Looking for New Markets
67 WALL STREET, New York - August 29, 2012 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Utilities, Alternative Energy and Water Services Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: Outlook for Biofuels and Biochemicals - Asia Pacific Demand for Solar Energy - Grid Parity Timelines for Alternative Energy - Water Infrastructure Development - Irrigation and Metering Technology - Water Industry Consolidation
Companies include: Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (CWCO) and many others.
In the following excerpt from the Utilities, Alternative Energy and Water Services Report, the CEO of Consolidated Water discusses the outlook for his company for investors:
TWST: Would you please begin with a brief introduction to Consolidated Water, including a few key highlights from your history and an overview of your operations and business segments?
Mr. McTaggart: Consolidated Water designs, builds and operates seawater desalination plant and public water utility systems providing total water solutions to customers in areas with little or no naturally occurring fresh water, such as several islands in the Caribbean and coastal communities. The company was incorporated in 1973 in the Cayman Islands, initially as a small public water utility on Grand Cayman.
Then in 2000, we acquired a salt desalinated water business in Belize, and my business to the similar economic environment, the tourism-based economy in Ambergris Caye. In 2003, we completed several acquisitions which expanded our geographical area to the Bahamas, Virgin Islands and Barbados, and further expanded our business in the Cayman Islands, including a bulk water business, which goes to the government-owned water utility outside of our exclusive retail franchise area in Grand Cayman. In 2006, we completed our large desalination plant which is the Blue Hills plant in Nassau, Bahamas. And we completed an expansion of that plant in November, which brought the capacity up to 15 million gallons per day.
Regarding business segments, we report in three business segments. We have a retail water business, our bulk water business and services. Our bulk water business, which provides to large customers such as governments under long-term take-or-pay contract, that's been growing nicely over the past few years, and the Blue Hills expansion would be included in that segment.
Our retail business, which is essentially a traditional utility business in Grand Cayman, has remained relatively flat because of the - I guess the worldwide economic conditions. There has been a lot of tourism growth in the islands over the past three or four years. And finally, our services segment. Basically, that is a business where we design and build plants for a customer that wants to pay for it on over some sort of financing arrangements, and own the plant, and then we operate it for a period of time. So that business is - the performance of that segment is directly related to the amount of project which we have. And you can see over the last couple of years that's declined because we simply haven't had projects in that particular area. We built a plant in Bermuda which operated from 2006 to mid-2011, and you can see how that impacted our results historically.
TWST: You had an 18% increase in net income in the first quarter compared to 2011. Would you give us some insight on the factors that contributed to that improved performance?
For more from this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers, and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
