Consolidated Water Co., Ltd., which develops and operates seawater conversion plants and water distribution systems in areas where natural supplies of drinking (i.e., potable) water are scarce, announced higher revenue and net income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2001.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, 2001, revenue increased 17 percent to approximately $2.8 million, compared with approximately $2.4 million in the third quarter of 2000. Net income improved to a record $646,253, or $0.16 per diluted share, in the most recent quarter, versus $596,945, or $0.15 per diluted share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2000. Earnings per share were calculated on 4,019,269 diluted shares outstanding in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2001, compared with 3,937,377 diluted shares outstanding in the prior-year quarter.
For the nine-month period ended Sept. 30, 2001, revenue rose 17 percent to approximately $8.8 million and the company reported net income of $2,352,474, or $0.59 per diluted share. These figures compare with revenue of approximately $7.6 million and net income of $2,118,830, or $0.60 per diluted share, in the corresponding period of the previous year. The weighted average number of fully-diluted shares outstanding increased 14 percent to 4,000,804 in the first nine months of 2001, compared with 3,504,438 in the prior-year period, primarily reflecting new shares issued in conjunction with the company's public stock offering in May 2000. The company generated cash flow from operations (EBITDA) of $0.84 per diluted share in each period, amounting to $3.4 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2001, compared with $2.9 million in the first nine months of the previous year.
"We are pleased to announce continued growth in revenues and earnings for the third quarter and first nine months of 2001," commented Jeffrey Parker. "While profit margins narrowed somewhat due to higher than normal repair and maintenance expenses in Belize, improved efficiencies at our water production and distribution operations in the Cayman Islands allowed Consolidated to report record earnings in the most recent quarter."
"While hotel occupancy rates in the Cayman Islands declined significantly following the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11th, they have been steadily improving in recent weeks," continued Parker. "Demand for water in our primary market on Grand Cayman was not adversely impacted, because (1) we supply many residential and commercial customers on the island that are unrelated to tourism, (2) hotels and other tourist properties have a basic demand for water that is independent of occupancy levels, and (3) percentage occupancy rates partially reflect a greater number of hotel rooms available on Grand Cayman Island this year. Looking forward, we believe that such tourist destinations as the Cayman Islands, Belize and the Bahamas, which are close to the United States and are considered politically stable, may attract a greater share of the American tourism market during a period of world anxiety."
The company declared a $0.10 cash dividend during each of the first three quarters of 2001.
Source: PRNewswire
