China Everbright Water reports 27% rise in 3Q earnings to $32 mil

SINGAPORE (Nov 14): China Everbright Water has reported 3Q19 earnings of HK$183 million ($31.9 million), or HK$0.065, up 27% from a year ago.

In 3Q19 ended September, the environmental protection company with a focus on water recycling, recorded revenue of HK$1.374 billion, representing an increase of 33% versus the same quarter a year ago.

Gross profit increased 24% y-o-y to HK$462 million with a gross profit margin of 34%. EBITDA amounted to HK$372 million, representing an increase of 20% y-o-y.

In the quarter under review, the company added another 75,000 cubic metres of daily wastewater treatment capacity and brought in investments worth a total of RMB477 million.

Sixteen projects also came under construction during the quarter. Of these, nine of them -- including EPC projects -- started construction while one project completed construction and started operation.

For the nine months to Sept, the company completed the construction of 10 projects which also started operation. This increased total designed daily wastewater treatment capacity by another 465,000 cubic metres.

As at Sept 30, the company had 18 projects in preparatory stage, which have a total designed daily water treatment capacity of 1,080,000 cubic metres.

The company also received various subsidies exceeding RMB43 million. In addition, nine wastewater treatment plants received regulatory approval for tariff hikes, ranging from 4% to 61%.

As at Sept 30, gearing ratio stood at 56%, demonstrating the company’s reasonable debt level and good financial position.

In its outlook statement, Wang Tianyi, chairman of China Everbright Water, says, “Following the tightening of regulations on environmental protection and rising demand for ecological protection in recent years, the water industry has gradually transformed from focusing on ‘growing in scale’ to ‘enhancing its quality and efficiency’.”

As at 3pm, shares in China Everbright Water are up 1 cent at 32 cents.

Wang adds that with its dual listing status in Singapore and Hong Kong, Everbright Water will closely follow state policies and industry trends, and adopt a long-term view in its business planning.