The municipal water utility – Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (CSX:PWSA) – has announced a 6.82% increase in first-half revenue to $39.48 million as net profit amounted to $11.6 million a 12.16% rise compared to the same six-month period last year.
In its 2021 business plan, the company had forecasted $85.12 million in revenue and $25.41 million in profit with 27,006 new connections planned for the year.
The utility met all World Health Organization requirements outlined for potable water adding 7,823 new connections so far this year recording a total of 415,602 connections.
H.E. Oum Sotha, Chairman of PPWSA said the first-half results were attributed to growth in connections. However, the results could have been better with reduced water leakage which has increased due to COVID restrictions causing issues for staff to repair pipe leakages.
“PPWSA keeps supplying clean water that is straight drinkable from the tap on a 24×7 basis. In this quarter, we produced 56,394,518m3 of clean water. We have also replaced alum with polychloride aluminum to improve water quality and reduce raw materials cost.
As a result, in this quarter, we laid the mains and distribution pipes of 37,413.20m and installed 3,635 new house connections, of which 86 connections were for the low-income whom we always care for.
Furthermore, the water loss accounted for 11.42% due to the spread of Covid 19 disease, it is difficult for us to issue bills to the customer and pipe leakage caused by the development and repair of many road infrastructures.”
PPWSA’s main revenues are the sales of safe water which is a basic need of Phnom Penh residents. The water sales represented more than 80% of gross revenue in 2020. PPWSA is also the monopoly water supplier in Phnom Penh and its outskirts.
Revenues may grow, subject to the demography including the enlargement of Phnom Penh capital and the migration of provincial residents to Phnom Penh. The Royal Government has embarked on a policy to enlarge the Phnom Penh area by integrating 20 additional communes into Phnom Penh, which expanded PPWSA service coverage.
This is will be the last financial report under H.E Sim Sitha, who retired and was appointed as Secretary of State of Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation. Prime Minister Hun Sen appointed by Sub Decree H.E Long Naro as the new Director-General of PPWSA.
The majority state-owned company was the first publicly listed company on Cambodia’s securities exchange and is the sole municipal water utility that serves Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh and surrounding areas.
PWSA stock price is currently trading at KHR 7,060. The stock has listed its 2012 IPO at KHR 6,300. In May, the board approved an annual dividend KHR 262 per share equivalent to 3.3% of the stock price, before the announcement, trading at KHR 8,000 a share or 4.2% of its 2012 IPO at KHR 6,300.
