ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview
We develop and operate seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent. Through our subsidiaries and affiliates, we operate 15 reverse osmosis desalination plants and provide the following services to our customers in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Belize, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda:
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Retail Water Operations.
We produce and supply water to end-users, including residential, commercial and government customers in the Cayman Islands under an exclusive retail license issued by the government to provide water in two of the most populated and rapidly developing areas in the Cayman Islands. In 2010, our retail water operations generated approximately 43% of our consolidated revenues.
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Bulk Water Operations.
We produce and supply water to government-owned distributors in the Cayman Islands, Belize and the Bahamas. In 2010, our bulk water operations generated approximately 50% of our consolidated revenues.
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Services Operations.
We provide engineering and management services for desalination projects, including designing and constructing desalination plants and managing and operating desalination plants owned by other companies. In 2010, our services operations generated approximately 7% of our consolidated revenues.
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Affiliate Operations.
We have three affiliates. We own 50% of the voting rights and 43.5% of the equity rights of Ocean Conversion (BVI) Ltd. (“OC-BVI”), which produces and supplies bulk water to the British Virgin Islands Water and Sewerage Department. We own 40% of the voting rights of Consolidated Water (Bermuda) Limited, which has constructed and sold a plant to the Bermuda government and is presently operating this plant on the government’s behalf. We expect to continue to manage the plant on behalf of the government into mid 2011. In May 2010, we acquired, through our recently organized wholly-owned Netherlands subsidiary, Consolidated Water Cooperatief, U.A.,
a 50% interest in N.S.C. Agua, S.A. de C.V., (“NSC”) a Mexican company. NSC has been formed to pursue a project encompassing the construction, ownership and operation of a large seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico and an accompanying pipeline to deliver water to the U.S. border. NSC is in the development stage.
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As of December 31, 2010, the number of plants we, or our affiliates, manage in each country and the production capacities of these plants are as follows:
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Location
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Plants
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Capacity
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Cayman Islands
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8
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10.2
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Bahamas
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3
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10.4
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Belize
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1
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0.6
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British Virgin Islands
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2
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0.8
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Bermuda
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1
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0.6
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Total
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15
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22.6
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(1)
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In millions of U.S. gallons per day.
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Strategy
Our strategy is to provide water services in areas where the supply of potable water is scarce and we believe the production of potable water by reverse osmosis desalination is, or will be, profitable. We have focused on the Caribbean basin and adjacent areas as our principal markets because they possess the following characteristics which make them attractive for our business:
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little or no naturally occurring fresh water;
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limited regulations and taxes allowing for higher returns;
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a large proportion of tourist properties, which historically have generated higher volume sales than residential properties; and
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growing populations and tourism levels.
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Although we are currently focused primarily on these areas, we believe that our potential market includes any location with a demand for, but a limited supply of, potable water. The desalination of seawater is the most widely used process for producing fresh water in areas with an insufficient natural supply. In addition, in many locations, desalination is the only commercially viable means to expand the existing water supply. We believe that our experience in the development and operation of reverse osmosis desalination plants provides us with the capabilities to successfully expand our operations and we expect to expand our operations beyond our existing Caribbean markets in the future.
Key elements of our strategy include:
• Maximizing the benefits of our exclusive retail license on Grand Cayman.
We plan to continue to increase operations within our exclusive retail license service area through organic growth and possible further investments, if opportunities become available.
• Expanding our existing operations in the Cayman Islands, Belize and The
Bahamas.
We plan to continue to seek new water supply agreements and licenses and will also focus on renewing our existing service contracts with extended terms and greater production levels.
• Penetrating new markets.
We plan to continue to seek opportunities to profitably expand our operations into new markets that have significant unfulfilled demands for potable water. These markets include the rest of the Caribbean basin, North, Central and South America, and elsewhere that we can provide water on a profitable basis and in favorable regulatory environments. We may pursue these opportunities either on our own or through joint ventures and strategic alliances.
• Broadening our existing and future operations into complementary services.
We continue to consider and pursue opportunities to leverage our water-related expertise to enter complementary service industries, such as wastewater management.
Our Company
We conduct our operations in the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Belize, Bermuda and the United States through the following principal operating subsidiaries and affiliates:
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Cayman Water Company Limited (“Cayman Water”)
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In 1998, we established Cayman Water, which operates under an exclusive retail license granted by the Cayman Islands government to provide water to customers within a prescribed service area on Grand Cayman that includes the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas, two of the three most populated areas in the Cayman Islands. The only non-government owned public water utility on Grand Cayman, Cayman Water owns and operates four desalination plants on Grand Cayman.
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Ocean Conversion (Cayman) Limited (“OC-Cayman”).
OC-Cayman provides bulk water under various licenses and agreements to the Water Authority-Cayman, a government-owned utility and regulatory agency, which distributes the water to properties located outside our exclusive retail license service area in Grand Cayman. OC-Cayman operates four desalination plants owned by the Water Authority-Cayman.
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Consolidated Water (Bahamas) Limited (“CW-Bahamas”).
We own a 90.9% equity interest in CW-Bahamas, which provides bulk water under long-term contracts to the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas, a government agency. CW-Bahamas’ operates our largest desalination plant. CW-Bahamas pays fees to two of our other subsidiaries for certain administrative services.
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Consolidated Water (Belize) Limited (“CW-Belize”).
CW-Belize, (formerly Belize Water Limited), has an exclusive contract to provide bulk water to Belize Water Services Ltd., a water distributor that serves residential, commercial and tourist properties in Ambergris Caye, Belize.
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Aquilex, Inc.
This subsidiary, a United States company, provides financial, engineering and supply chain management support services to our subsidiaries and affiliates.
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Ocean Conversion (BVI) Ltd. (“OC-BVI”).
We own 50% of the voting stock of our affiliate, OC-BVI, a British Virgin Islands company, which sells bulk water to the Government of The British Virgin Islands Water and Sewage Department. We own an overall 43.5% equity interest in OC-BVI’s profits and certain profit sharing rights that raise our effective interest in OC-BVI’s profits to approximately 45%. OC-BVI also pays our subsidiary DesalCo Limited fees for certain engineering and administrative services. We account for our investment in OC-BVI under the equity method of accounting.
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DesalCo Limited (“DesalCo”).
A Cayman Islands company, DesalCo provides management, engineering and construction services for desalination projects.
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Consolidated Water (Bermuda) Limited (“CW-Bermuda”)
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In January 2007, our affiliate, Consolidated Water (Bermuda) Limited (“CW-Bermuda”) entered into a design, build, sale and operating agreement with the Government of Bermuda for a desalination plant to be built in two phases at Tynes Bay along the northern coast of Bermuda. Under the agreement, CW-Bermuda constructed and has been operating the plant since the second quarter of 2009. We expect CW-Bermuda to operate the plant into the second quarter of 2011. We have entered into a management services agreement with CW-Bermuda for the design, construction and operation of the Tynes Bay
plant, under which we receive fees for direct services, purchasing activities and proprietary technology. Although we own only 40% of the common shares of CW-Bermuda, we consolidate its results in our consolidated financial statements as we are its primary financial beneficiary.
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Consolidated Water Cooperatief, U.A. (“CW-Coop”).
CW-Coop is a wholly-owned Netherlands subsidiary organized in 2010. In May 2010, CW-Coop acquired a 50% interest in N.S.C. Agua, S.A. de C.V., (“NSC”) a Mexican company. NSC has been formed to pursue a project encompassing the construction, ownership and operation of a large seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico and accompanying pipelines to deliver water to the Baja region and to the U.S. border. NSC is in the development stage. As we are providing all of the initial funding (up to $4.0 million) we consolidate its results in our consolidated financial statements.
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Our Operations
We have three principal business segments: retail water operations, bulk water operations and services operations. Our retail water operations supply water to end-users, including residential, commercial and government customers. Through our bulk water operations we supply water to distributors and commercial suppliers, including governments and wholesalers. Our retail and bulk operations serve customers in the Cayman Islands, Belize, the British Virgin Islands and The Bahamas. Our services operations provide engineering and management services, which include designing and constructing desalination plants, and managing and operating plants owned by other companies.
For fiscal year 2010, our retail water, bulk water and service operations generated approximately 43%, 50% and 7%, respectively, of our consolidated revenues. For information about our business segments and geographical information about our operating revenues and long-lived assets, see Note 16 to our audited consolidated financial statements at Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Retail Water Operations
For fiscal years 2010, 2009 and 2008, our retail water operations accounted for approximately 43%, 40% and 34%, respectively, of our consolidated revenues. This business in the Cayman Islands produces and supplies water to end-users, including residential, commercial and government customers.
We sell water through our retail operations to a variety of residential and commercial customers through our wholly-owned subsidiary Cayman Water, which operates under an exclusive license issued to us by the Cayman Islands government under The Water Production and Supply Law of 1979. As discussed below, this license was set to expire in July 2010 but has since been extended while negotiations for a new license take place. Pursuant to the license, we have the exclusive right to produce potable water and distribute it by pipeline to our licensed service area which consists of the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas of Grand Cayman, two of the three most populated areas in the Cayman Islands.
Under our license, we pay a royalty to the government of 7.5% of our gross retail water sales revenues (excluding energy adjustments). The selling prices of water sold to our customers, except for the prices under our agreements with the Cayman Beach Suites Hotel, Britannia Golf Course and North Sound Golf Club, are set out under the license and vary depending upon the type and location of the customer and the monthly volume of water purchased. The license provides for an automatic adjustment for inflation or deflation on an annual basis, subject to temporary limited exceptions, and an automatic adjustment for the cost of electricity on a monthly basis. The Water Authority-Cayman, on behalf of the government, reviews and confirms the calculations of the price adjustments for inflation and electricity costs. If we
want to adjust our prices for any reason other than inflation or electricity costs, we have to request prior approval of the Cabinet of the Cayman Islands government. Disputes regarding price adjustments are referred to arbitration. Our last price increase, requested in June 1985, was granted in full.
This license was set to expire on July 10, 2010 however we and the Cayman Islands government have agreed in correspondence to extend the license three times in order to provide sufficient time to negotiate the terms of a new license agreement. The most recent extension of the term of the license by correspondence expired on January 4, 2011, but, based on the acquiescence of the Cayman Islands government, we are continuing to supply water to the service area specified in the license in accordance with the terms and conditions of the original July 1990 license.
The license negotiations have been recently impacted by two matters: (1) on February 14, 2011 the Water Production and Supply Law, 2011 (which replaces the Water (Production and Supply) Law (1996 Revision) under which we are licensed) and the Water Authority (Amendment) Law, 2011 (the "New Laws") were published on terms that they would come into force on such date as may be appointed by Order made by the Governor in Cabinet. We have sought but not yet obtained any official confirmation that such an Order has been issued and the New Laws may therefore not be in force as at this date. If the New Laws are in force it would mean that any further negotiations would be required to be conducted with the Water Authority-Cayman as principal and that any new license would be issued pursuant to the provisions of the New
Laws which contemplate a rate of return on invested capital model as further discussed below; (2) the Cayman Islands government has offered in writing to extend the license until negotiations are completed or April 4, 2011 whichever is the earlier, on terms that we forgo our contractual right to a rate increase in line with inflation as of January 1, 2011, and that April, 4 2011 be agreed as the final termination date for negotiations. We have declined this offer, asserted our contractual rights to the rate increase, and proposed to continue in the interim the production and supply of water as it is an essential service to the Cayman Islands and we are the only entity in a position to continue that production and supply. We are waiting to hear further from the Cayman Islands government. No negotiation meetings have been held since the publication of the New Laws. At this stage we believe it is highly unlikely the license negotiations will be completed before the deadline April 4, 2011
deadline proposed by the Cayman Islands government.
We have been informed during our retail license renewal negotiations conducted with representatives of the Cayman Islands government that the Cayman Islands government seeks to restructure the terms of our license to employ a “rate of return on invested capital model” similar to that governing the sale of water to many U.S. municipalities. We have formally objected to the implementation of a “rate of return on invested capital model” on the basis that we believe that such a model would not promote the efficient operation of our water utility and could ultimately increase water rates to our customers. We believe such a model, if ultimately implemented, could significantly reduce the operating income and cash flows we have historically generated from our retail license and require us to
record an impairment loss to reduce the $1.2 million carrying value of our retail segment’s goodwill.
If a new long-term license agreement is not entered into with the government, we would retain a right of first refusal to renew the license on terms that are no less favorable than those that the government might offer in the future to a third party. See further discussion at Item 1.A. “Risk Factors.”
Facilities
Our retail operations in the Cayman Islands currently produce potable water at four reverse osmosis seawater conversion plants in Grand Cayman located at our Abel Castillo Water Works (“ACWW”, formerly Governor’s Harbour), West Bay and Britannia sites. We own the land for our ACWW and West Bay plants and have entered into a lease for the land for our Britannia plant until January 1, 2027. The current production capacity of the two plants located at ACWW is 2.2 million U.S. gallons of water per day. The production capacity of the Britannia plant is 715,000 U.S. gallons of water per day. The production capacity of the West Bay plant is 910,000 U.S. gallons of water per day.
Electricity to our plants is supplied by Caribbean Utilities Co. Ltd., a publicly traded utility company. At all four plant sites from which we supply water to our distribution pipeline, we maintain diesel driven, standby generators with sufficient capacity to operate our distribution pumps and other essential equipment during any temporary interruptions in electricity supply. Standby generation capacity is also maintained at our West Bay Plant and ACWW plant to operate a portion of the water production capacity as well.
In the event of an emergency, our distribution system is connected to the distribution system of the Water Authority-Cayman. In prior years we have purchased water from the Water Authority-Cayman for brief periods of time. We have also sold potable water to the Water Authority-Cayman.
Our pipeline system in the Cayman Islands covers the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas of Grand Cayman and consists of approximately 71 miles of polyvinylchloride and polyethylene pipeline. We extend our distribution system periodically as demand warrants. We have a main pipe loop covering the Seven Mile Beach area. We place extensions of smaller diameter pipe off our main pipe to service new developments in our service area. This system of building branches from the main pipe keeps construction costs low and allows us to provide service to new areas in a timely manner. During 2010, we completed a number of small pipeline extensions into newly developed properties within our distribution system. Developers are responsible for laying the pipeline within their developments at their own cost, but in
accordance with our specifications. When a development is completed, the developer then transfers operation and maintenance of the pipeline to us.
We have a comprehensive layout of our pipeline system, superimposed upon digital aerial photographs, which is maintained using a computer aided design system. This system is interconnected with a computer generated hydraulic model, which allows us to accurately locate pipes and equipment in need of repair and maintenance. It also helps us to plan extensions and upgrades.
Customers
We enter into standard contracts with hotels, condominiums and other properties located in our existing licensed area to provide potable water. In the Seven Mile Beach area, our primary customers are the hotels and condominium complexes that serve the tourist industry. In the West Bay area, our primary customers are residential homes.
Development continues to take place on Grand Cayman, and particularly in our licensed area, to accommodate both the growing local population and the tourism market. Because our license requires us to supply water to developments in our licensed area, the planning department of the Cayman Islands government routinely advises us of proposed developments. This advance notice allows us to manage our production capacity to meet anticipated demand. We believe that we have a sufficient supply of water to meet the foreseeable future demand.
We bill our customers on a monthly basis based on metered consumption and bills are typically collected within 30 to 35 days after the billing date and receivables not collected within 45 days subject the customer to disconnection from water service. In 2010, 2009 and 2008, bad debts represented less than 1% of our total annual retail sales. Customers who have had their service disconnected must pay re-connection charges.
The following table sets forth our approximate total number of customer connections as of, and for the indicated years ended December 31:
Retail Water Customer Connections
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2010
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2009
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2008
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2007
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2006
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Number of Customer Connections
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5,100
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5,000
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4,600
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4,600
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4,300
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The table above does not precisely represent our actual number of customers or facilities that we serve. For example, in hotels and condominiums, we may only have a single customer who is the operator of the hotel or the condominium while supplying water to all of the units within that hotel or condominium development. Historically, demand on our pipeline distribution has varied throughout the year. Demand depends upon the number of tourists visiting and the amount of rainfall during any particular time of the year. In general, the majority of tourists come from the United States during the winter months.
Before 1991, any owner of property within our licensed area could install water-making equipment for its own use. Since 1991, that option is only available to private residences, although water plants in existence prior to 1991 can be maintained but not replaced or expanded. We know of only one plant that continues to operate under such exemption at a hotel within our license area and we believe that the amount of water produced by this plant is insignificant to our operations.
Bulk Water Operations
For fiscal years 2010, 2009 and 2008, our bulk water operations accounted for approximately 50%, 45% and 46%, respectively, of our consolidated revenues and are comprised of businesses in the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas and Belize. These businesses produce potable water from seawater and sell this water to governments and private customers.
Bulk Water Operations in the Cayman Islands
We sell bulk water in the Cayman Islands through our wholly-owned subsidiary OC-Cayman.
Facilities
We operate four reverse osmosis seawater conversion plants in Grand Cayman that are owned by the Water Authority-Cayman: the Red Gate, Lower Valley, North Sound and North Side Water Works plants, which have production capacities of approximately 1.3 million, 1.1 million, 1.6 million and 2.4 million U.S. gallons of water per day, respectively. The North Side Water Works (“NSWW”) plant was commissioned in June 2009. The Red Gate plant was temporarily de-commissioned in December 2009 in order to carry out extensive rehabilitative and upgrade work to the plant as part of a new seven year operating contract with the Water Authority-Cayman. The refurbished Red Gate plant was re-commissioned in July 2010. The plants that we operate for the Water Authority-Cayman are located on
land owned by the Water Authority-Cayman.
Customers
We provide bulk water on a take-or-pay basis to the Water Authority-Cayman, a government owned utility and regulatory agency, under various licenses and agreements. The Water Authority-Cayman in turn distributes that water to properties in the parts of Grand Cayman that are outside of our retail licensed area.
On November 30, 2008 at the expiration of the operations agreement, the Water Authority-Cayman took possession of the Red Gate plant for no consideration, in accordance with the terms of the water production and supply license. The license and operations agreement were extended for a period of one year, during which time we are required to operate and maintain the plant. In August 2008, the Water Authority-Cayman contracted with us to refurbish and make other improvements to the plant and granted to us a new 7-year operating agreement. This work was completed on 2 July 2010. The new 7-year license and operating agreement for the plant commenced on this date.
In December 2001, we were granted a seven-year water supply license, effective November 2002, by the Cayman Islands government to supply desalinated water from the North Sound plant through November 2009. Under the terms of this license OC-Cayman is obligated to deliver to the Water Authority-Cayman the amount of water it demands or 713,000 U.S. gallons of water per day on average each month, whichever is less. In January 2007, we were granted an extension to this water supply license for a period of seven years by the Cayman Island government, effective on April 1, 2007. Under the terms of this extension, we are obligated to deliver to the Water Authority-Cayman the amount of water it demands from the North Sound Plant or 1.43 million U.S. gallons per day, whichever is less.
In August 2005 with effect from January 2006, we were granted a seven-year extension to the water supply license of the Lower Valley plant by the Cayman Islands government. Under the terms of this license, we increased the capacity of the Lower Valley plant to 1.1 million U.S. gallons of water per day in exchange for an increase in the capital component of the total price we charge for the water produced by the plant.
On March 11, 2008, we signed a ten-year agreement with the Water Authority-Cayman to finance, design, build and operate a seawater reverse osmosis water production plant at their NSWW site on Grand Cayman. Under the terms of this license, OC-Cayman is obligated to deliver to the Water Authority-Cayman the amount of water it demands or 2.14 million U.S. gallons of water per day on average each month, whichever is less. The NSWW plant was completed in June 2009 and has a production capacity of 2.4 million U.S. gallons per day.
Bulk Water Operations in Belize
In Belize, we sell bulk water through our wholly-owned subsidiary CW-Belize.
Facilities
We own the reverse osmosis seawater conversion plant in Belize and lease the land on which our plant is located from the Belize government at an annual rent of BZE$1.00. The lease, which was entered into in April 1993 and extended in January 2004, expires in April 2026. The production capacity of the plant is 550,000 U.S. gallons of water per day.
Electricity to our plant is supplied by Belize Electricity Limited. At the plant site, we maintain a diesel driven, standby generator with sufficient capacity to operate our water production equipment during any temporary interruption in the electricity supply. Feed water for the reverse osmosis units is drawn from deep wells with associated pumps on the property. Reject water is discharged into a brine well on the property at a level below that of the feed water intakes.
Customers
We are the exclusive provider of water in Ambergris Caye, Belize to Belize Water Services Ltd. (“BWSL”), which distributes the water through its own pipeline system to residential, commercial and tourist properties. BWSL distributes our water primarily to residential properties, small hotels, and businesses that serve the tourist market. The base price of water supplied, and adjustments thereto, are determined by the terms of the contract, which provides for annual adjustments based upon the movement in the government price indices specified in the contract, as well as monthly adjustments for changes in the cost of diesel fuel and electricity. Demand is less cyclical than in our other locations due to a higher proportion of residential to tourist demand.
We have an exclusive 23-year contract with BWSL to supply a minimum of 1.75 million U.S. gallons of water per week, or upon demand up to 2.1 million U.S. gallons per week, on a take or pay basis. This contract terminates on March 23, 2026. BWSL has the right, with six months advance notice to us before the termination date, to renew the contract for a further 25-year period on the same terms and conditions. The contract was amended on March 1, 2011 to increase the minimum supply to 290,000 U.S. gallons per day (equal to 2.03 million U.S. gallons per week), or upon demand up to approximately 12.7 million U.S. gallons per month.
On October 3, 2005, a controlling interest in BWSL was sold back to the Belize government. This transaction effectively reversed the 2001 privatization of BWSL. This change in control of our customer has not affected our contractual arrangement with BWSL.
Bulk Water Operations in The Bahamas
In The Bahamas, we sell bulk water through our majority-owned subsidiary, CW-Bahamas.
Facilities
We currently supply bulk water in The Bahamas from our Windsor, Blue Hill and Bimini plants. We supply water from our Windsor plant under the terms of a 15-year water supply agreement dated May 7, 1996 effective March 1998. In October 2005, we temporarily expanded this plant’s capacity from 2.6 to 4.1 million U.S. gallons per day. During August 2006, we relocated some of the portable reverse osmosis units used to expand our Windsor plant to our retail water operations in the Cayman Islands, reducing our Windsor plant production capacity to 3.1 million U.S. gallons per day. We supply water from our Blue Hill plant under the terms of a twenty-year water supply agreement dated May 20, 2005, effective July 2006. The Blue Hill plant is capable of producing 7.2 million U.S. gallons of
potable water per day, and is our largest seawater conversion facility to date. The Blue Hill plant water supply agreement was amended effective January 31, 2011. Under the terms of the amended agreement we are required to increase the production capacity of the Blue Hill plant to 12 million U.S. gallons per day on or before September 30, 2011. The Bimini plant has a capacity of 115,000 U.S gallons per day.
Electricity to our plants is supplied by Bahamas Electricity Corporation. We maintain a standby generator with sufficient capacity to operate essential equipment at our Windsor and Blue Hill plants and are able to produce water with these plants during any temporary interruptions in the electricity supply.
Feed water for the reverse osmosis units are drawn from deep wells with associated pumps on the property. Reject water is discharged into brine wells on the property at a deeper level than the feed water intakes.
Customers
We provide bulk water to the Water and Sewerage Corporation of The Bahamas (“WSC”), which distributes the water through its own pipeline system to residential, commercial and tourist properties on the Island of New Providence.
We are required to provide the WSC with at least 16.8 million U.S. gallons per week of potable water from our Windsor plant, and the WSC has contracted to purchase at least that amount from us on a take-or-pay basis. This water supply agreement expires on the later of March 1, 2013 or after the plant has produced approximately 13.1 billion U.S. gallons of water. At the conclusion of the initial term, the WSC has the option to:
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extend the term for an additional five years at a rate to be negotiated;
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exercise a right of first refusal to purchase any materials, equipment and facilities that CW-Bahamas intends to remove from the site, and negotiate a purchase price with CW-Bahamas; or
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require CW-Bahamas to remove all materials, equipment and facilities from the site.
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Within the past three years, we have incurred penalties relating to the Windsor plant for not meeting diesel fuel and electricity efficiencies specified in our water sale agreement with the WSC. These penalties totaled $15,713, $63,433 and $112,622 in 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. We have undertaken a program to replace certain equipment prone to repetitive failure, and in 2008 successfully completed a program which significantly reduced the adverse impact on our operations of the fouling tendency of the feed water to the plant.
We are required to provide the WSC with at least 33.6 million U.S. gallons per week of potable water from the Blue Hill plant, and the WSC has contracted to purchase at least that amount from us on a take-or-pay basis. This water supply agreement expires on the later of July 26, 2026 or after the plant has produced 35.0 billion U.S. gallons of water. The Blue Hill plant water supply agreement was amended effective January 31, 2011. Under the terms of the amended agreement we are required to increase the production capacity of the Blue Hill plant to 12 million U.S. gallons per day on or before September 30, 2011. After the expansion is completed, we will be required to deliver and the WSC will be required to purchase a minimum of 52.5 million U.S. gallons per week. The term of the
water supply agreement will be extended at the date that the expansion is completed for a period of twenty years, or until the plant has delivered approximately 66.9 billion U.S. gallons of water, whichever occurs later. At the conclusion of the initial term, the WSC has the option to:
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extend the term for an additional five years at a rate to be negotiated;
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exercise a right of first refusal to purchase any materials, equipment and facilities that CW-Bahamas intends to remove from the site, and negotiate a purchase price with CW-Bahamas; or
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require CW-Bahamas to remove all materials, equipment and facilities from the site.
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For fiscal years 2010, 2009 and 2008, our services operations accounted for approximately 7%, 15%, and, 20%, respectively, of our consolidated revenues and are comprised of businesses providing services in the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda. These businesses provide engineering and management services, including designing and constructing desalination plants, and managing and operating plants owned by other companies.
Engineering and Management Services Operations
We provide management, engineering and construction services for desalination projects through DesalCo, which is recognized by suppliers as an original equipment manufacturer of reverse osmosis seawater desalination plants for our Company.
In late 2005, we established Aquilex, Inc., a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, to provide financial, engineering and supply chain support services to our operating segments.
Affiliate Operations
Our affiliate, OC-BVI, sells water to one bulk customer in the British Virgin Islands. We own 50% of the voting shares of OC-BVI and have an overall 43.5% equity interest in the profits of OC-BVI. We also own separate profit sharing rights in OC-BVI that raise our effective interest in OC-BVI’s profits from 43.5% to approximately 45%. Sage Water Holdings (BVI) Limited (“Sage”) owns the remaining 50% of the voting shares of OC-BVI and the remaining 55% interest in its profits. Under the Articles of Association of OC-BVI, we have the right to appoint three of the six directors of OC-BVI. Sage is entitled to appoint the remaining three directors. In the event of a tied vote of the Board, the President of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association, a regional trade association comprised
primarily of government representatives, is entitled to appoint a junior director to cast a deciding vote.
We provide certain engineering and administrative services to OC-BVI for a monthly fee and a bonus arrangement which provides for payment of 4.0% of the net operating income of OC-BVI.
We account for our interests in OC-BVI using the equity method of accounting.
Customer
OC-BVI sells bulk water to the Government of The British Virgin Islands Water and Sewerage Department (“BVIW&S”), which distributes the water through its own pipeline system to residential, commercial and tourist properties on the islands of Tortola and Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. During 2010, OC-BVI supplied BVIW&S with 306 million U.S. gallons of water from three desalination plants located at Baughers Bay and Bar Bay, Tortola, and the island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. On March 29, 2010, OC-BVI vacated the Baughers Bay plant and the BVI government assumed direct responsibility for the plant’s operations.
Facilities
Through March 29, 2010, OC-BVI operated a seawater reverse osmosis plant at Baughers Bay, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, which had a production capacity of 1.7 million U.S. gallons per day. The plant had an advanced energy recovery system, generated its own electrical power on site using two large diesel driven generator units and also purchased electricity from the BVI Electric Co. to power ancillary equipment and provide building lighting.
In October 2006, we were notified by OC-BVI that the Ministry of Communications and Works of the Government of the British Virgin Islands (the “Ministry”) had asserted a purported right of ownership of OC-BVI’s Baughers Bay desalination plant pursuant to the terms of a Water Supply Agreement dated May 1990 (the “1990 Agreement”) and had invited OC-BVI to submit a proposal for its continued involvement in the production of water at the Baughers Bay plant in light of the Ministry’s planned assumption of ownership. In November 2007 the Ministry commenced litigation against OC-BVI in the Eastern Supreme Court of the Caribbean seeking ownership of the Baughers Bay plant and was awarded ownership and possession of this plant by the Court in October 2009. See further
discussion at “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Material Commitments, Expenditures and Contingencies.”
In 2007, OC-BVI completed the construction of a 720,000 U.S. gallons per day plant at Bar Bay, Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. This plant began supplying water to the BVI government in January 2009. The definitive contract for the sale of water from this plant was signed on March 4, 2010. The contract has a term of seven years with a seven year renewal option exercisable by the BVI government.
OC-BVI’s plant on the island of Jost Van Dyke was expanded in 2009 and has a capacity of 60,000 U.S. gallons per day. This plant operates under a contract with the BVI government that expires July 8, 2013.
Reverse Osmosis Technology
The conversion of seawater to potable water is called desalination. The two primary forms of desalination are distillation and reverse osmosis. Both methods are used throughout the world and technologies are improving to lower the costs of production. Reverse osmosis is a fluid separation process in which the saline water is pressurized and the fresh water is separated from the saline water by passing through a semi-permeable membrane which rejects the salts. The saline (or seawater) water is first passed through a pretreatment system, which generally consists of fine filtration and the addition of treatment chemicals if required. Pre-treatment removes suspended solids and organics which could cause fouling of the membrane surface. Next, a high-pressure pump pressurizes the saline water thus enabling a 40%
conversion of the saline water to fresh water as it passes through the membrane, while more than 99% of the dissolved salts are rejected and remain the concentrated saline water. This remaining feed water which has now been concentrated is discharged without passing through the membrane. The remaining hydraulic energy in the concentrated feed water is transferred to the initial saline feed water with an energy recovery device thus reducing the total energy requirement for the reverse osmosis system. The final step is post-treatment, which consists of stabilizing the produced fresh water, thereby removing undesirable dissolved gases, adjusting the pH and providing chlorination to prepare it for distribution.
We use reverse osmosis technology to convert seawater to potable water at all of the plants we construct and operate. We believe that this technology is the most effective and efficient conversion process for our market. However, we are always seeking ways to maximize efficiencies in our current processes and investigating new, more efficient processes to convert seawater to potable water. The equipment at our plants is among the most energy efficient available and we monitor and maintain the equipment in an efficient manner. As a result of our decades of experience in seawater desalination, we believe that we have an expertise in the development and operation of desalination plants which is easily transferable to locations outside of our current operating areas.
Raw Materials and Sources of Supply
All materials, parts and supplies essential to our business operations are obtained from multiple sources and we use the latest industry technology. We do not manufacture any parts or components for equipment essential to our business. Our access to seawater for processing into potable water is granted through our licenses and contracts with governments of the various jurisdictions in which we have our operations.
Seasonal Variations in Our Business
Our operations are affected by the levels of tourism and are subject to seasonal variations in our service areas. Demand for our water in the Cayman Islands, Belize, Bimini and the Bahamas is affected by variations in the level of tourism and local weather, primarily rainfall. Tourism in our service areas is affected by the economies of the tourists’ home countries, primarily the United States and Europe, terrorist activity and perceived threats thereof, and increased costs of fuel and airfares. We normally sell more water during the first and second quarters, when the number of tourists is greater and local rainfall is less, than in the third and fourth quarters.
Government Regulations, Custom Duties and Taxes
Our operations and activities are subject to the governmental regulations and taxes of the countries in which we operate. The following summary of regulatory developments and legislation does not purport to describe all present and proposed regulation and legislation that may affect our businesses. Legislative or regulatory requirements currently applicable to our businesses may change in the future. Any such changes could impose new obligations on us that may adversely affect our businesses and operating results.
The Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory and have had a stable political climate since 1670, when the Treaty of Madrid ceded the Cayman Islands to England. The Queen of England appoints the Governor of the Cayman Islands to make laws with the advice and consent of the legislative assembly. There are 15 elected members of the legislative assembly and three members appointed by the Governor from the Civil Service. The Cabinet is responsible for day-to-day government operations. The Cabinet consists of five ministers who are chosen by the legislative assembly from its 15 popularly elected members, and the three Civil Service members. The elected members choose from among themselves, a leader who is designated the Premier and is in effect the leader of the elected government. The Governor has reserved
powers and the United Kingdom retains full control over foreign affairs and defense. The Cayman Islands are a common law jurisdiction and have adopted a legal system similar to that of the United Kingdom.
The Cayman Islands have no taxes on profits, income, distributions, capital gains or appreciation. We have exemptions from, or receive concessionaire rates of customs duties on capital expenditures for plant and major consumable spare parts and supplies imported into the Cayman Islands as follows:
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We do not pay import duty or taxes on reverse osmosis membranes, electric pumps and motors and chemicals, but we do pay duty at the rate of 10% of the cost, including insurance and transportation to the Cayman Islands, of other plant and associated materials and equipment to manufacture or supply water in the Seven Mile Beach or West Bay areas. We have been advised by the Government of the Cayman Islands that we will not receive any duty concessions in our new retail water license; and
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OC-Cayman pays full customs duties in respect of all plants that it operates for the Water Authority-Cayman.
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The stamp tax on the transfer of ownership of land in the Cayman Islands is a major source of revenue to the Cayman Islands government. To prevent stamp tax avoidance by transfer of ownership of the shares of a company which owns land in the Cayman Islands (as opposed to transfer of the land itself), The Land Holding Companies (Share Transfer Tax) Law was passed in 1976. The effect of this law is to charge a company, which owns land or an interest in land in the Cayman Islands, a tax based on the value of its land or interest in land attributable to each share transferred. The stamp tax calculation does not take into account the proportion which the value of a company’s Cayman land or interest in land bears to its total assets and whether the intention of the transfer is to transfer ownership of part of a
company’s entire business or a part of its Cayman land or interest in land.
Prior to our common shares becoming publicly traded in the United States, we paid this tax on private share transfers. We have never paid the tax on transfers of our publicly traded shares and requested an exemption in 1994. On April 10, 2003, we received notice that the Cayman Islands government had granted an exemption from taxation for all transfers of our shares. We believe it is unlikely that government will seek to collect this tax on transfers of our publicly traded shares during 1994 through April 10, 2003.
The Bahamas
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is an independent nation and a constitutional parliamentary democracy with the Queen of England as the constitutional head of state. The basis of the Bahamian law and legal system is the English common law tradition with a Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and a Magistrates court.
We have not been granted any tax exemptions for our Bahamian operations. Bahamian companies are subject to an annual business license fee ranging from 1% to 2% of their gross revenues.
Belize
Belize (formerly British Honduras) achieved full independence from the United Kingdom in 1981. Today, Belize is a constitutional monarchy with the adoption of a constitution in 1991. Based on the British model with three independent branches, the Queen of England is the constitutional head of state, represented by a Governor General in the government. A Prime Minister and cabinet make up the executive branch, while a 29 member elected House of Representatives and a nine member appointed Senate form a bicameral legislature. The cabinet consists of a prime minister, other ministers and ministers of state who are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister, who has the support of the majority party in the House of Representatives. Belize is an English common law jurisdiction with a Supreme
Court, Court of Appeals and local Magistrate Courts.
The Government of Belize has exempted CW-Belize from certain customs duties and all revenue replacement duties until April 18, 2026, and had exempted CW-Belize from company taxes until January 28, 2006. Belize levies a gross receipts tax on corporations at a rate varying between 0.75% and 25%, depending on the type of business, and a corporate income tax at a rate of 25% of chargeable income. Gross receipts tax payable amounts are credited towards corporate income tax. The Government of Belize also implemented certain environmental taxes and a general sales tax effective July 1, 2006 and increased certain business and personal taxes and created new taxes effective March 1, 2005. Belize levies import duty on most imported items at rates varying between 0% and 45%, with most items attracting a rate of 20%. In 2008,
it was determined that the tax exemption was no longer valid and CW-Belize paid approximately $156,000 of business and corporate income tax for the period 2004 through 2008. Under the terms of our water supply agreement with BWSL we are reimbursed by BWSL for all taxes and customs duties that we are required to pay and have recorded this reimbursement as an offset to our tax expense.
The British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands (the “BVI”) is a British Overseas Territory, with the Queen as the Head of State and Her Majesty’s representative, the Governor, responsible for external affairs, defense and internal security, the Civil Service and administration of the courts. Since 1967, the BVI has held responsibility for its own internal affairs.
The BVI Constitution provides for the people of the BVI to be represented by a ministerial system of government, led by an elected Premier, a Cabinet of Ministers and the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly comprises 13 elected representatives, the Attorney General, and the Speaker.
The judicial system, based on English law, is under the direction of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, which includes the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal. The ultimate appellate court is the Privy Council in London.
Market and Service Area
Although we currently operate in the Cayman Islands, Belize, The British Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and Bermuda, we believe that our potential market consists of any location where there is a need for potable water. The desalination of seawater, either through distillation or reverse osmosis, is the most widely used process for producing fresh water in areas with an insufficient natural supply. We believe our experience in the development and operation of distillation and reverse osmosis desalination plants provides us with a significant opportunity to successfully expand our operations beyond the markets in which we currently operate.
Prior to our acquisition of OC-Cayman in February 2003, the market that we serviced under our exclusive license in the Cayman Islands consisted of Seven Mile Beach and West Bay, Grand Cayman, two of the three most populated areas in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands Government, through the Water Authority-Cayman, supplies water to parts of Grand Cayman, which are not within our licensed area, as well as to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. We operate all the reverse osmosis desalination plants owned by the Water Authority-Cayman on Grand Cayman and supply water under licenses and supply agreements held by OC-Cayman with the Water Authority-Cayman.
According to the most recent information published by the Economics and Statistics Office of the Cayman Islands Government, the population of the Cayman Islands was estimated in December 2009 to be approximately 52,830. According to the figures published by the Department of Tourism Statistics Information Center, during the year ended December 31, 2010, tourist air arrivals increased by 6% and tourist cruise ship arrivals increased by 5.1% over the 2009.
Total visitors for the year increased from 1.8 million in 2009 to 1.9 million in 2010. We believe that our water sales in the Cayman Islands are more positively impacted by tourists that arrive by air than by those arriving by cruise ship, since cruise ship tourists generally only remain on island for one day or less as they do not remain on island overnight.
Tourist air arrivals increased 5.75% and cruise ship arrivals increased 6.1% in January 2011, compared to the same period in 2010. At this time we believe these trends will continue through 2011.
In December 2005, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, condominiums and golf course development began operations. This development is required to purchase potable water from us for the hotel and condominiums under the terms of our exclusive license agreement, but not for irrigation of its golf course
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During 2002, the government of the Cayman Islands amended the Development and Planning Law to permit construction of buildings up to seven stories in certain zones within our license area, including commercial and hotel zones. Previously, buildings in these zones were only permitted to be built to three stories. We believe that this change in the law has and will continue to facilitate the development of certain properties within our license area that may have otherwise not developed under the old height restriction, and it has already facilitated the re-development of a number of existing properties, which have been demolished re-built under the terms of the new height restrictions.
The Town of Camana Bay commenced construction in 2005 and will be developed over several decades. The Camana Bay development is situated on 500 acres stretching from the Caribbean Sea to the North Sound within our retail license area on West Bay Beach, and is mixed-use master-planned community, which includes retail, residential and institutional properties.
Our current operations in Belize are located on Ambergris Caye, which consists of residential, commercial and tourist properties in the town of San Pedro. This town is located on the southern end of Ambergris Caye. Ambergris Caye is one of many islands located east of the Belize mainland and off the southeastern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. Ambergris Caye is approximately 25 miles long and, according to the Central Statistical Office “Belize: 2005 Mid-Year Population Estimates by Region and Sex”, has a population of about 12,400 residents and is the second largest city in the Belize District and the largest city in the Belize Rural South constituency. We provide bulk potable water to BWSL, which distributes this water to this market. BWSL currently has no other source of potable
water on Ambergris Caye. Our contract with BWSL makes us their exclusive producer of desalinated water on Ambergris Caye though 2026.
A 185 mile long barrier reef, which is the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, is situated just offshore of Ambergris Caye. This natural attraction is becoming a choice destination for scuba divers and tourists. According to information published by the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service, tourism is Belize’s second largest source of foreign income, next to agriculture.
Our current operations in The Bahamas are located on South Bimini Island and in Nassau on New Providence. The Bimini Islands consist of North Bimini and South Bimini, and are two of 700 islands which comprise The Bahamas. The Bimini Islands are located approximately 50 miles east of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and are a premier destination for sport fishing enthusiasts. The population of the Bimini Islands is approximately 1,600 persons and the islands have about 200 hotel and guest rooms available for tourists. The total land area of the Bimini Islands is approximately 9 square miles. New Providence, Lyford Caye and Paradise Island, connected by several bridges, are located approximately 150 miles east southeast of the Bimini Islands. With an area of 151 square miles and a population of approximately
211,000, Nassau is the political capital and commercial hub of The Bahamas, and accounts for more than two-thirds of the 4 million tourists who visit The Bahamas annually.
The British Virgin Islands are a British Overseas Territory and are situated east of Puerto Rico. They consist of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands, of which Tortola is the largest and most populated island. The islands are the center for many large yacht-chartering businesses.
Competition
Cayman Islands.
Pursuant to our license granted by the Cayman Islands government, we have the exclusive right to provide potable, piped water within our licensed service area on Grand Cayman. At the present time, we are the only non-government-owned public water utility on Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands government, through the Water Authority-Cayman, supplies water to parts of Grand Cayman located outside of our licensed service area. Although we have no competition within our exclusive retail license service area, our ability to expand our service area is at the discretion of the Cayman Island government. Prior to 1991, any owner of property within our exclusive retail license service area could install water-making equipment for its own use. Since 1991,
that option is only available to private residences, although water plants in existence prior to 1991 can be maintained but not replaced or expanded. The Cayman Islands government, through the Water Authority-Cayman, supplies water to parts of Grand Cayman outside of our licensed service area. We have competed with such companies as GE Water, Veolia, and IDE for bulk water supply contracts with the Water Authority-Cayman.
Belize.
On Ambergris Caye in Belize, our water supply contract with Belize Water Services Limited is exclusive, and Belize Water Services Limited can no longer seek contracts with other water suppliers, or produce water themselves, to meet their future needs in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.
The Bahamas.
On South Bimini Island in The Bahamas, we supply water to a private developer and do not have competitors. GE Water operates a seawater desalination plant on North Bimini Island. We competed with companies such as GE Water, Veolia, IDE, OHL Inima and Biwater for the new contract with the Bahamian government to build and operate a seawater desalination plant at Blue Hill, New Providence, Bahamas. We expect to compete with these companies and others for future water supply contracts in The Bahamas.
British Virgin Islands.
In the British Virgin Islands, GE Water operates seawater desalination plants in West End and Sea Cows Bay, Tortola, and on Virgin Gorda and generally bids against OC-BVI for projects. Biwater PLC was recently awarded a 16 year contract to construct and operate a 2.75 million U.S. gallon per day desalination plant in Tortola for the British Virgin Islands government.
To implement our growth strategy outside our existing operating areas, we will have to compete with some of the same companies we competed with for the Blue Hill project in Nassau, Bahamas such as GE Water, Veolia, IDE Technologies, OHL Inima, and Biwater and as well as other smaller companies. Some of these companies currently operate in areas in which we would like to expand our operations and already maintain worldwide operations having greater financial, managerial and other resources than our company. We believe that our low overhead costs, knowledge of local markets and conditions and our efficient manner of operating desalinated water production and distribution equipment provide us with the capabilities to effectively compete for new projects in the Caribbean basin and surrounding
areas.
Environmental Matters
Cayman Islands.
With respect to our Cayman Islands operations, although not required by local government regulations, we operate our water plants in accordance with guidelines of the Cayman Islands Department of Environment. We are licensed by the government to discharge concentrated seawater, which is a byproduct of our desalination process, into deep disposal wells.
Our Cayman Islands license requires that our potable water quality meet the World Health Organization’s Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality and contain less than 200 mg/l of total dissolved solids.
Belize, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands.
With respect to our Belize and Bahamas operations and OC-BVI’s British Virgin Islands operations, we and OC-BVI are required by our water supply contracts to take all reasonable measures to prevent pollution of the environment. We are licensed by the Belize and Bahamian governments to discharge concentrated seawater, which is a byproduct of our desalination process, into deep disposal wells. OC-BVI is licensed by the British Virgin Islands government to discharge concentrated seawater into the sea. We operate our plants in a manner so as to minimize the emission of hydrogen sulfide gas into the environment.
We are not aware of any existing or pending environmental legislation, which may affect our operations. To date we have not received any complaints from any regulatory authorities.
Employees
As of March 10, 2011, we employed a total of 113 persons, 66 in the Cayman Islands, 17 in The Bahamas, 22 in the United States, two in Bermuda and six in Belize. We also managed the five employees of OC-BVI in the British Virgin Islands. We have 10 management personnel and 26 administrative and clerical employees. The remaining employees are engaged in engineering, purchasing, plant maintenance and operations, pipe laying and repair, leak detection, new customer connections, meter reading and laboratory analysis of water quality. None of our employees is a party to a collective bargaining agreement. We consider our relationships with our employees to be good.
Available Information
Our website address is
http://www.cwco.com
. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report, and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this Annual Report.
We have adopted a written code of conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees and directors, including, but not limited to, our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. The code of conduct and ethics, the charters of the audit, compensation, and nomination committees of our Board of Directors, are available at the Investors portion of our website.
You may access, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, plus amendments to such reports as filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, on our website and on the website of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. In addition, paper copies of these documents may be obtained free of charge by writing us at the following address: Consolidated Water Co. Ltd., Regatta Office Park, Windward Three, 4th Floor, West Bay Road, P.O. Box 1114, Grand Cayman, KY1-1102, Cayman Islands, Attention: Investor Relations; or by calling us at (345) 945-4277.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common shares involves risks. Prior to making a decision about investing in our common shares, you should consider carefully the factors discussed below and the information contained in this Annual Report. Each of these risks, as well as other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial, could adversely affect our business, operating results, cash flows and financial condition, and cause the value of our common shares to decline, which may result in the loss of all or part of your investment.
Our exclusive license to provide water to retail customers in the Cayman Islands may not be renewed in the future.
In the Cayman Islands, we provide water to retail customers under a 20 year license issued to us in July 1990 by the Cayman Islands government that grants us the exclusive right to provide water to retail customers within our licensed service area. Our service area is comprised of an area on Grand Cayman that includes the Seven Mile Beach and West Bay areas, two of the three most populated areas in the Cayman Islands. For the year ended December 31, 2010, we generated approximately 43% of our consolidated revenues and 70% of our consolidated gross profits from the retail water operations conducted pursuant to our exclusive license. If we are not in default of any terms of the license, we have a right of first refusal to renew the license on terms that are no less favorable than those that the
government offers to any third party.
This license was set to expire on July 10, 2010 however we and the Cayman Islands government have agreed in correspondence to extend the license three times in order to provide sufficient time to negotiate the terms of a new license agreement. The most recent extension of the term of the license by correspondence expired on January 4, 2011, but, based on the acquiescence of the Cayman Islands government, we are continuing to supply water to the service area specified in the license in accordance with the terms and conditions of the original July 1990 license.
The license negotiations have been recently impacted by two matters: (1) on February 14, 2011 the Water Production and Supply Law, 2011 (which replaces the Water (Production and Supply) Law (1996 Revision) under which we are licensed) and the Water Authority (Amendment) Law, 2011 (the "New Laws") were published on terms that they would come into force on such date as may be appointed by Order made by the Governor in Cabinet. We have sought but not yet obtained any official confirmation that such an Order has been issued and the New Laws may therefore not be in force as at this date. If the New Laws are in force it would mean that any further negotiations would be required to be conducted with the Water Authority-Cayman as principal and that any new license would be issued pursuant to the provisions of the New
Laws which contemplate a rate of return on invested capital model as further discussed below; (2) the Cayman Islands government has offered in writing to extend the license until negotiations are completed or April 4, 2011 whichever is the earlier, on terms that we forgo our contractual right to a rate increase in line with inflation as of January 1, 2011, and that April, 4 2011 be agreed as the final termination date for negotiations. We have declined this offer, asserted our contractual rights to the rate increase, and proposed to continue in the interim the production and supply of water as it is an essential service to the Cayman Islands and we are the only entity in a position to continue that production and supply. We are waiting to hear further from the Cayman Islands government. No negotiation meetings have been held since the publication of the New Laws. At this stage we believe it is highly unlikely the license negotiations will be completed before the deadline
April 4, 2011 deadline proposed by the Cayman Islands government.
We have been informed during our retail license renewal negotiations conducted with representatives of the Cayman Islands government that the Cayman Islands government seeks to restructure the terms of our license to employ a “rate of return on invested capital model” similar to that governing the sale of water to many U.S. municipalities. We have formally objected to the implementation of a “rate of return on invested capital model” on the basis that we believe that such a model would not promote the efficient operation of our water utility and could ultimately increase water rates to our customers. We believe such a model, if ultimately implemented, could significantly reduce the operating income and cash flows we have historically generated from our retail license and require us to
record an impairment loss to reduce the $1.2 million carrying value of our retail segment’s goodwill. Such impairment loss could be material to our results of operations.
If a new long-term license agreement is not entered into with the government, we would retain a right of first refusal to renew the license on terms that are no less favorable than those that the government might offer in the future to a third party.
If we do not enter into a new license agreement, and no other party is awarded a license, we expect to be permitted to continue to supply water to its service area. However, the terms of such continued supply may not be as favorable to us as the terms in the July 11, 1990 license agreement. It is possible that the government could offer a third party a license to service some or all of our present service area. In such event, we may assume the license offered to the third party by exercising our right of first refusal. The terms of the new license agreement may not be as favorable to us as the terms under which we are presently operating and could reduce the operating income and cash flows we have historically generated from our retail license and require us to record
an impairment loss to reduce the $1.2 million carrying value of our retail segment’s goodwill. Such impairment loss could be material to our results of operations.
We rely on fixed-term water supply and/or service agreements with our bulk
customers in the Cayman Islands, Belize and The Bahamas, which may not be
renewed or may be renewed on terms less favorable to us.
All of our bulk water supply agreements are for fixed terms ranging originally from seven to 23 years and with a range of approximately two to 16 years remaining. Upon expiration, these agreements may not be renewed or may be renewed on terms less favorable to us. In addition, certain of these agreements for plants not owned by us provide for our customers to take over the operations of the plant upon expiration of the contract term. If this occurs, we may no longer generate income from such plant. In instances where we own the plant that produces the water under an agreement that is not renewed or renewed with lower production quantities, we may not be able to find a new customer for the plant’s excess production capacity. If our fixed-term agreements are not renewed or are renewed on terms less favorable
to us, our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected.
The value of our investment in our affiliate OC-BVI is dependent upon the collection of amounts recently awarded by the Eastern Supreme Court of the Caribbean.
In October 2006, the British Virgin Islands government notified OC-BVI that it was asserting a purported right of ownership of OC-BVI’s desalination plant in Baughers Bay, Tortola pursuant to the terms of the 1990 Agreement and invited OC-BVI to submit a proposal for its continued involvement in the production of water at the Baughers Bay plant. Early in 2007, the British Virgin Islands government unilaterally took the position that until such time as a new agreement is reached on the ownership of the Baughers Bay plant and for the price of the water produced by the plant, the BVI government would only pay that amount of OC-BVI’s invoices that the BVI government purports constitutes OC-BVI’s costs of producing the water. OC-BVI responded to the BVI government that the amount the Ministry
proposed to pay was significantly less than OC-BVI’s production costs. Payments made by the BVI government to OC-BVI since the BVI government’s assumption of this reduced price were sporadic. On November 22, 2007, OC-BVI’s management was informed that the BVI government had filed a lawsuit with the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (the “Court”) seeking ownership and possession of the Baughers Bay plant. OC-BVI counterclaimed that it was entitled to continued possession and operation of the Baughers Bay plant until the BVI government pays OC-BVI approximately $4.7 million, which it believed represented the value of the Baughers Bay plant at its present expanded production capacity. OC-BVI also took the legal position that since the BVI government never paid the $1.42 million to purchase the Baughers Bay plant, the 1990 Agreement terminated on May 31, 1999, which was eight months after the date that the Ministry provided written notice
of its intention to purchase the plant.
On July 4, 2008, OC-BVI filed a claim with the Court, and on April 22, 2009 amended and increased this claim, seeking recovery of amounts for water sold and delivered to the BVI government from the Baughers Bay plant through May 31, 2009 based upon the contract prices in effect before the BVI government asserted its purported right of ownership of the plant.
The Court held a trial in July 2009 to address both the Baughers Bay ownership issue and OC-BVI’s claim for payment of amounts owed for water sold and delivered to the BVI government. On September 17, 2009, the Court issued a preliminary ruling with respect to the litigation between the BVI government and OC-BVI. The Court determined that the BVI government was entitled to immediate possession of the Baughers Bay plant and dismissed OC-BVI’s claim for compensation of approximately $4.7 million for improvements to the plant. However, the Court determined that OC-BVI was entitled to full payment of water invoices issued up to December 20, 2007, which had been calculated under the terms of the original 1990 water supply agreement, and ordered the BVI government to make an immediate interim payment of
$5.0 million to OC-BVI for amounts owed to OC-BVI. The Court deferred deciding the entire dispute between the parties until it could conduct a hearing to determine the reasonable rate for water produced by OC-BVI for the period from December 20, 2007 to the present.
After conducting hearings in October 2009 the Court ordered the BVI government to pay OC-BVI at the rate of $13.91 per thousand imperial gallons for water produced by OC-BVI from December 20, 2007 to present, which amounted to a total recovery for OC-BVI of $10.4 million as of September 17, 2009. The BVI government made a payment of $2.0 million to OC-BVI under the Court order during the fourth quarter of 2009, a second payment of $2 million under the Court order in July 2010 and a third payment of $1 million under the Court order in February 2011.
On October 28, 2009, OC-BVI filed an appeal with the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeals (the “Appellate Court”) asking the Appellate Court to review the September 17, 2009 ruling by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court as it relates to OC-BVI’s claim for compensation for improvements to the Baughers Bay plant. On October 29, 2009, the BVI government filed an appeal with the Appellate Court seeking the Appellate Court’s review of the September 17, 2009 ruling of the Court that the BVI government pay OC-BVI the reasonable rate for water produced by OC-BVI for the period from December 20, 2007 to the present. The BVI government is requesting a ruling from the Appellate Court that the BVI government should only pay OC-BVI the actual cost of water produced at the plant.
After considering the September and October 2009 rulings of the Court of the Caribbean relating to the Baughers Bay dispute, we determined that the carrying value of our investment in OC-BVI exceeded the estimated fair value for our investment in OC-BVI by approximately $160,000 as of September 30, 2009 and therefore recognized an impairment loss of this amount on this investment during the three months ended September 30, 2009. In February 2010, the BVI government announced it had signed a long-term contract with another company for the construction of a new water plant to serve Tortola. We believe this new contract with another company makes it unlikely that OC-BVI will be able to obtain a new long-term operating contract for Baughers Bay. Accordingly, our calculation of the estimated fair value of our equity
investment in OC-BVI as of December 31, 2009 did not include any future cash flows to OC-BVI from a long term operating contract for the Baughers Bay plant and as a result we recorded an additional impairment loss for our equity investment in OC-BVI of $(4,500,000) during the fourth quarter of 2009. The remaining carrying value of our investment in OC-BVI of $7.8 million as of December 31, 2010 assumes OC-BVI will collect in full the remaining $5.4 million awarded by the Court and will not be required to return any of the $5.0 million paid to date by the BVI government under the Court order. Should the BVI government be successful in its appeal to reduce the $10.4 million award, we will be required to record an additional impairment charge in an amount equal to any reduction in the amount previously awarded. Such impairment loss would reduce our earnings and could have a significant adverse impact on our results of operations, financial condition and cash
flows.
We do not have sole control over our affiliate, OC-BVI. A divergence of our
interests and the interests of OC-BVI’s other voting shareholder could adversely
affect the operations of OC-BVI and decrease the value of our
investment in OC-BVI.
We own 43.5% of the equity and 50% of the voting shares of OC-BVI. We and Sage, which owns the remaining 50% of the voting shares, are each entitled to appoint three of the six directors of OC-BVI. If there is a tie vote of the directors on any matter, the president of the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association, a regional trade association comprised primarily of government representatives, is entitled to appoint a temporary director to cast the deciding vote. As a result, although we provide operating management and engineering services to OC-BVI, we share the overall management of OC-BVI with Sage and do not fully control its operations. A divergence of our interests and the interests of Sage could adversely affect the operations of OC-BVI and in turn decrease the value of our investment in OC-BVI, in which
case we could be required to record an impairment charge to reduce the carrying value of our investment in OC-BVI. Such an impairment charge would reduce our earnings and have a significant adverse impact on our result of operations and financial condition.
The profitability of our plants is dependent upon our ability to accurately
estimate the costs of their construction and operation.
The cost estimates prepared in connection with the construction and operation of our plants are subject to inherent uncertainties. Additionally, the terms of our supply contracts may require us to guarantee the price of water on a per unit basis, subject to certain annual inflation and monthly fuel cost adjustments, and to assume the risk that the costs associated with producing this water may be greater than anticipated. Because we base our contracted price of water in part on our estimation of future construction and operating costs, the profitability of our plants is dependent on our ability to estimate these costs accurately. The cost of materials and services and the cost of the delivery of such services may increase significantly after we submit our bid for a plant, which could cause the gross margin and
net return on investment for a plant to be less than we anticipated when the bid was made. The profit margins we initially expect to generate from a plant could be further reduced if future operating costs for that plant exceed our estimates of such costs. These future operating costs could be affected by a variety of factors, including lower than anticipated production efficiencies and hydrological conditions at the plant site that differ materially from those that existed at the time we submitted our bid. Any construction and operating costs for our plants that significantly exceed our initial estimates could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
A significant portion of our consolidated revenues are derived from two
customers. A loss of, or a less favorable relationship with, either of these
customers would adversely affect our results of operations.
Our top two bulk water customers, the Water Authority-Cayman and the WSC, accounted for approximately 14 % and 31%, respectively, of our consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2010. If either of these customers terminate or decide not to renew their contracts with us, or renew such contracts on terms that are less favorable to us, or become unable for financial or other reasons to comply with the terms of our contracts with them, our results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected.
Our operations are affected by tourism and are subject to seasonal fluctuations
which could affect demand for our water and impact our revenues and results of
operations.
Our operations are affected by the levels of tourism and are subject to seasonal variations in our service areas. Demand for our water in the Cayman Islands, Belize, Bimini and the Bahamas is affected by variations in the level of tourism and local weather, primarily rainfall. Tourism in our service areas is affected by the economies of the tourists’ home countries, primarily the United States and Europe, terrorist activity and perceived threats thereof, and increased costs of fuel and airfares. We normally sell more water during the first and second quarters, when the number of tourists is greater and local rainfall is less, than in the third and fourth quarters. A downturn in tourism or greater than expected rainfall in the locations we serve could adversely affect our revenues and results of
operations.
We may have difficulty accomplishing our growth strategy within and outside of
our current operating areas
.
Our expansion both within our current operating areas and into new areas involves significant risks, including, but not limited to, the following:
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regulatory risks, including government relations difficulties, local regulations and currency controls;
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receiving and maintaining necessary permits, licenses and approvals;
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risks related to operating in foreign countries, including political instability, reliance on local economies, environmental problems, shortages of materials, immigration restrictions and limited skilled labor;
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risks related to development of new operations, including inaccurate assessment of the demand for water, engineering difficulties and inability to begin operations as scheduled; and
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risks relating to greater competition in these new territories, including the ability of our competitors to gain or retain market share by reducing prices.
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Even if we successfully expand our operations, we may have difficulty managing our growth. We cannot assure you that any new operations within or outside of our current operating areas will attain or maintain profitability or that the results from these new operations will not negatively affect our overall profitability.
Production shortfalls under any of our bulk supply contracts could result in
penalties or cancellation of the contract.
Our bulk water supply contracts require us to deliver specified minimum volumes of water. During a period from October 2004 to February 2008, we were unable to deliver the minimum water volumes required under one of our bulk water supply contracts because of mechanical equipment problems and membrane fouling. At present, we believe we have resolved the minimum supply issues for this plant. However, membrane fouling or other technical problems could occur at any of our plants, and if we are unable to meet the production minimums due to such operating issues, we could be in technical default of the supply contract and subject to various adverse consequences, including financial penalties or cancellation of the contract.
We have committed up to $4 million to fund the developmental costs for a possible project in Mexico, and may elect to expend more than this $4 million to pursue this project. However, we could decide in the future, after expending these funds, that the project is not viable.
In May 2010, we acquired, through our wholly-owned Netherlands subsidiary, Consolidated Water Cooperatief, U.A., a 50% interest in N.S.C. Agua, S.A. de C.V., (“NSC”) a Mexican company. NSC has been formed to pursue a project encompassing the construction, ownership and operation of a 100 million gallon per day seawater reverse osmosis desalination plant to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico and an accompanying pipeline to deliver water to the U.S. border. We and our partners in NSC believe such a project can be successful due to what we anticipate will be a growing need for a new potable water supply for the areas of northern Baja California, Mexico and Southern California, United States. To complete this project we have engaged an
engineering group with extensive regional experience and have partnered with Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, a global leader in the engineering, procurement and construction of large seawater desalination plants. Once completed, we would operate the plant while retaining a minority position in its ownership
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NSC is in the development stage, and is presently involved in seeking contracts for the purchase of land on which to build the plant and for the electric power and feed water sources for the plant’s proposed operations. In addition to obtaining these contracts, NSC will be required to complete various other steps before it can commence construction of the plant and pipeline including, but not limited to, obtaining approvals and permits from various governmental agencies in Mexico and the United States, securing contracts with its proposed customers to sell water in sufficient
quantities and at prices that make the project financially viable, and obtaining equity and debt financing for the project. NSC’s potential customers will also be required to obtain various governmental permits and approvals in order to purchase water from NSC.
For our 50% interest in NSC, we have agreed to provide initial funding of up to $4 million in the form of equity for NSC’s development activities. Because we exercise effective financial control over NSC and our partners in NSC will not participate in funding the first $4 million in losses that NSC may incur, we consolidate NSC’s results of operations. Included in our consolidated results of operations for year ended December 31, 2010 is approximately $1.7 million in general and administrative expenses, consisting of organizational, legal, accounting, engineering, consulting and other costs relating to the project development activities of NSC. Approximately $1.8 million and $800,000 of our initial funding commitment remained as of December 31, 2010 and the date of
this filing, respectively. We anticipate that substantially all of the initial funding we provide for NSC’s development activities will be expensed.
We may decide to expend significant funds beyond the initial $4 million to continue to pursue this project, including those necessary to purchase the land for the plant.
We estimate that it will take approximately one year for NSC to complete all of the activities (which include purchasing the land for the plant, securing feed water and power supplies, completing the engineering and feasibility studies, negotiating the customer contracts, obtaining the required permits and arranging the project financing) necessary to commence construction of the plant. However, completing these activities could take significantly longer than a year. NSC may ultimately be unable to complete all the activities required to proceed with the project.
Our operations could be harmed by hurricanes or tropical storms.
A hurricane or tropical storm could cause major damage to our equipment and properties and the properties of our customers, including the large tourist properties in our areas of operation. For example, in September 2004 Hurricane Ivan caused significant damage to our plants and our customers’ properties, which adversely affected our revenues. Any future damage could cause us to lose use of our equipment and properties and incur additional repair costs. Damage to our customers’ properties and the adverse impact on tourism could result in a decrease in water demand. A hurricane or tropical storm could also disrupt the delivery of equipment and supplies, including electricity, necessary to our operations. These and other possible effects of hurricanes or tropical storms could have an adverse impact on
our results of operations and financial condition.
Contamination of our processed water may cause disruption in our services and
adversely affect our revenues
.
Our processed water may become contaminated by natural occurrences and by inadvertent or intentional human interference, including acts of terrorism. In the event that a portion of our processed water is contaminated, we may have to interrupt the supply of water until we are able to install treatment equipment or substitute the flow of water from an uncontaminated water production source. In addition, we may incur significant costs in order to treat a contaminated source of plant feed water through expansion of our current treatment facilities, or development of new treatment methods. An inability by us to substitute processed water from an uncontaminated water source or to adequately treat the contaminated plant feed water in a cost-effective manner may have an adverse effect on our revenues and our results of
operations.
Potential government decisions, actions and regulations could negatively affect
our operations.
We are subject to the local regulations of the Cayman Islands, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and Bermuda, all of which are subject to change. Any government that regulates our operations may issue legislation or adopt new regulations, including but not limited to:
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restricting foreign ownership of us;
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providing for the expropriation of our assets by the government;
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providing for nationalization of public utilities by the government;
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providing for different water quality standards;
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unilaterally changing or renegotiating our licenses and agreements;
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restricting the transfer of U.S. currency; or
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causing currency exchange fluctuations/devaluations or making changes in tax laws.
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As new laws and regulations are issued, we may be required to modify our operations and business strategy, which we may be unable to do in a cost-effective manner. Failure by us to comply with applicable regulations could result in the loss of our licenses or authorizations to operate, the assessment of penalties or fines, or otherwise may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The rates we charge our retail customers in the Cayman Islands are subject to
regulation. If we are unable to obtain government approval of our requests for
rate increases, or if approved rate increases are untimely or inadequate to
cover our projected expenses, our results of operations may be adversely
affected.
Under our exclusive retail license in the Cayman Islands, we must obtain prior approval from the Cayman Islands government to increase our water supply rates, except for inflation-related and energy-related adjustments. However, the expenses we incur in supplying water under this license may increase due to circumstances that were unforeseen at the time we entered into the license. We may incur additional costs in attempting to obtain government approval of any rate increase, which may be granted on a delayed basis, if at all. Failure to obtain timely and adequate rate increases could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.
We rely on the efforts of key employees. Our failure to retain these employees
could adversely affect our results of operations.
Our success depends upon the abilities of our executive officers. In particular, the loss of the services of Fredrick W. McTaggart, our President and Chief Executive Officer, could be detrimental to our operations and our continued success. Mr. McTaggart has an employment agreement expiring on December 31, 2013. Each year, the term of this agreement may be extended for an additional year. However, we cannot guarantee that Mr. McTaggart will continue to work for us during the term of his agreement or will enter into any extensions thereof.
We are exposed to credit risk through our relationships with several customers
and our affiliate.
We are subject to credit risk posed by possible defaults in payment by our bulk water customers in the Cayman Islands, Belize, the British Virgin Islands and The Bahamas and by possible defaults in payment of loan receivables by OC-BVI and the Water Authority-Cayman. Adverse economic conditions affecting, or financial difficulties of, those parties could impair their ability to pay us or cause them to delay payment. We depend on these parties to pay us on a timely basis. Our outstanding accounts receivable are not covered by collateral or credit insurance. Any delay or default in payment could adversely affect our cash flows, financial condition and results of operations.
We are exposed to the risk of variations in currency exchange rates.
Although we report our results in United States dollars, the majority of our revenue is earned in other currencies. All of the currencies in our operating areas other than the Mexican peso have been fixed to the United States dollar for over 20 years and we do not employ a hedging strategy against exchange rate risk associated with our reporting in United States dollars. If any of these fixed exchange rates becomes a floating exchange rate our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We may enter new markets in the future in which we do not have a contractual
commitment for our products or existing customers.
Our strategy contemplates potential entry into new markets, such as Mexico, where we believe a demand for potable water exists beyond the current supply of potable water in those markets. We may incur significant business development expenses in the pursuit of new markets prior to obtaining a contract for services in these markets, and such expenses could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. We may decide to enter such markets by building new reverse osmosis desalination plants before we have obtained a contract for the sale of water produced by the new plant or before we have established a customer base for the water produced by the new plant. If after completing such plant we are unable to obtain a contract or sufficient number of customers for the plant, we may be unable
to recover the cost of our investment in the plant, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Future sales of our common shares may depress the market price of our common
shares
.
If we or our existing shareholders sell substantial amounts of common shares or if it is perceived that such sales could occur, the market price of our common shares could decline. In addition, if these sales were to occur, we may find it difficult to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem desirable.
We may not pay dividends in the future. If dividends are paid, they may be in
lesser amounts than past dividends
.
Our shareholders may receive dividends out of legally available funds if, and when, they are declared by our Board of Directors. We have paid dividends in the past, but may cease to do so at any time. Under the agreements governing certain of our outstanding debt obligations, we may only pay dividends from “cash flows,” defined under the applicable agreement as consolidated net income plus non-cash charges less capital expenditures and scheduled debt repayment, calculated annually on a fiscal year basis. We may incur increased capital requirements or additional indebtedness in the future that may restrict our ability to declare and pay dividends. We may also be restricted from paying dividends in the future due to restrictions imposed by applicable corporate laws, our financial condition and results
of operations, covenants contained in our financing agreements, management’s assessment of future capital needs and other factors considered by our Board of Directors. We may not continue to pay dividends in the future or, if dividends are paid, they may not be in amounts similar to past dividends.
Service of process and enforcement of legal proceedings commenced against us in
the United States may be difficult to obtain.
We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and a substantial portion of our assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, 11 out of 15 of our directors and officers reside outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to affect service of process within the United States upon us and such other persons, or to enforce judgments obtained against such persons in United States courts, and bring any action, including actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the United States securities laws. In addition, it may be difficult for investors to enforce, in original actions brought in courts or jurisdictions located outside of the United States, rights predicated upon the United States securities laws.
Based on the advice of our Cayman Islands legal counsel, we believe there is no reciprocal statutory enforcement of foreign judgments between the United States and the Cayman Islands, and that foreign judgments originating from the United States are not directly enforceable in the Cayman Islands. A prevailing party in a United States proceeding against us or our officers or directors would have to initiate a new proceeding in the Cayman Islands using the United States judgment as evidence of the party’s claim. A prevailing party could rely on the summary judgment procedures available in the Cayman Islands, subject to available defenses in the Cayman Islands courts, including, but not limited to, the lack of competent jurisdiction in the United States courts, lack of due service of process in the United
States proceeding and the possibility that enforcement or recognition of the United States judgment would be contrary to the public policy of the Cayman Islands.
Depending on the nature of damages awarded, civil liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (or the Securities Act), or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (or the Exchange Act), for original actions instituted outside the Cayman Islands may or may not be enforceable. For example, a United States judgment awarding remedies unobtainable in any legal action in the courts of the Cayman Islands, such as treble damages, would likely not be enforceable under any circumstances.
Low trading volume of our stock may limit your ability to sell your shares at
or above the price you pay for them.
During the year ended December 31, 2010, the average daily trading volume of our common shares was approximately 76,900 shares, a much lower trading volume than the stock of many other companies listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. A public trading market having the desired characteristics of depth, liquidity and orderliness depends on the presence in the market of willing buyers and sellers of our common shares at any given time. This presence in turn depends on the individual decisions of investors and general economic and market conditions over which we have no control. As a consequence of the limited volume of trading in our common shares, an investor in our stock may have difficulty selling a large number of our common shares in the manner or at the price that might be attainable if our common shares
were more actively traded. In addition, as a result of our low trading volume, the market price of our common shares may not accurately reflect their value.
Competition may threaten the sustainability and growth of our current
operations and impede the expansion of our operations into new areas.
We face competition in our areas of operation in renewing our present supply contracts and in our efforts to expand our current operations within those areas. We also face competition in attempting to expand our operations to new areas. We often compete with larger companies, including units of General Electric Company and Veolia Environment. Some of our current and potential competitors have technical and financial resources and marketing and service organizations that are significantly greater than ours. Moreover, our competitors may forecast the course of market developments more accurately and could in the future develop new technologies that compete with our services. Additional competitors with significant market presence and financial resources may enter those markets, thereby further intensifying
competition. These competitors may be able to reduce our market share by adopting more aggressive pricing policies than we can adopt or by developing technology and services that gain wider market acceptance than our technology and/or services. If we do not compete successfully, we may be unable to maintain or increase our operations and our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We are subject to anti-takeover measures that may discourage, delay or prevent
changes of control of Consolidated Water Co. Ltd.
Classified Board of Directors
. We have a classified Board that consists of three groups of directors. Only one group of directors is elected each year. Our classified Board may increase the length of time necessary for an acquirer to change the composition of a majority of directors in order to gain control of our Board.
Option Deed
. Our Board of Directors has adopted an Option Deed that is intended to improve the bargaining position of our Board of Directors in the event of an unsolicited offer to acquire our outstanding stock. Under the terms of the Option Deed, a stock purchase right is attached to each of our current or future outstanding common shares issued prior to the time the purchase rights become exercisable, are redeemed or expire. The purchase rights will become exercisable only if an individual or group has acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, or announced a tender or exchange offer that if consummated would result in such individual or group acquiring beneficial ownership of 20% or more of our outstanding common shares. Upon the occurrence of a
triggering event, the rights will entitle every holder of our common shares, other than the acquirer, to purchase our shares or shares of our successor on terms that would likely be economically dilutive to the acquirer. Under certain circumstances, instead of common shares, our Board of Directors may issue cash or debt securities. Our Board of Directors, however, has the power to amend the Option Deed so that it does not apply to a particular acquisition proposal or to redeem the rights for a nominal value before they become exercisable. These features will likely encourage an acquirer to negotiate with our Board of Directors before commencing a tender offer or to condition a tender offer on our Board of Directors taking action to prevent the purchase rights from becoming exercisable. In March 2007, our Board extended the expiration date of the Option Deed through July 2017.
As a result of these anti-takeover measures, we could deter efforts to make changes to, or exercise control over, current management. In addition, our shareholders may not have an opportunity to sell their common shares to a potential acquirer at the acquirer’s offering price, which is typically at a premium to market price.
Restrictive covenants in our credit facilities and trust deeds could adversely
affect our business by limiting our flexibility; our failure to comply with
these covenants could cause foreclosure on our assets.
Our credit facilities and the trust deeds governing the terms of our debt securities contain restrictive covenants. These covenants and requirements limit our ability, without approval of the lender or trustee, to take various actions, including incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, guaranteeing indebtedness, engaging in various types of transactions, including mergers and sales of assets, and paying dividends and making distributions or other restricted payments. These covenants could place us at a disadvantage compared to some of our competitors which may not be required to operate under these or similar restrictions. Further, these covenants could have an adverse effect on our business by limiting our ability to take advantage of financing, acquisition or investment opportunities. A material
breach of any of these covenants would constitute a default under our credit facilities or trust deeds. In the event of default, the lender or trustee may accelerate repayment of our outstanding indebtedness. If we are unable to repay the amounts accelerated, the lender or trustee has the right to foreclose on substantially all of our assets, which we have pledged to secure that indebtedness. Foreclosure upon our assets would have a significant adverse affect on our results of operations, financial condition and our ability to continue operations.