Profits flow in for PPWSA in 2020

Profits flow in for PPWSA in 2020

Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), in its annual disclosure document released on Tuesday, reported a pre-tax profit of approximately $29.68 million for 2020.

The increase is a substantial increase over 2019 when the firm reported a pre-tax profit of some $12.1 million.

The disclosure, which lists figures in riels, is subject to a currency conversion rate of $1 being the equivalent of 4,067.14 riels.

PPWSA registered approximately $79.73 million in revenue, about $69.23 million of which was derived from sales.

The utility company spent some $49.3 million on the purchase of property, plant and equipment.

Basic earnings per share for the fiscal year also increased substantially, rising from about $0.081 per share in 2019 to approximately $0.249 per share in 2020.

Shares of PPWSA have traded steadily throughout 2019 and 2020. The stock trades on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) under the symbol PWSA.

The firm was the first to be listed on the Cambodia Securities Exchange in 2012 at an initial price offering of 6,300 riels per share (approximately $1.57 at the then exchange rate).

The company was chosen as the CSX index’s first listing not only for its transparent corporate governance, but also to help expand the capital’s potable water supply by injecting it with capital.

Since its initial public offering in 2012, PPWSA has gone from servicing 195,261 households to more than 408,000 by the end of 2020. The firm added a total of 14,175 additional residential connections and a further 4,527 commercial connections in 2020, according to official figures.

PPWSA’s pricing structure provides water at a loss to households and instead charges a higher price to commercial enterprises in order to help subsidise public water access.

Beginning on Jan 1, the utility company raised its rate for commercial clients by $0.07 to $0.32 per cubic metre for commercial clients.

Earlier this year, the company announced it had raised $500 million in funding to support its goal of servicing 100 percent of the capital with potable water by 2030.

The funding will support new infrastructure, including the new Bakheng water treatment facility, the Chamkar Mon water treatment plant capacity expansion project as well as a 580 kilometre water-pipe network to reach the 300,000 people living on the outskirts of the capital.

Shares of PPWSA rose 60 riels to 6,060 riels per share after the report’s release. Khmer Times