WHAUP Delivers a 44% Growth in 2Q21 Earnings and 1H21 Net Income of ฿454Mn

WHA Utilities and Power Public Company Limited (WHAUP) announced its Q2/2021 results, with total revenue and normalized share of profit of THB 789 million, and normalized net income of THB 265 million, resulting in total revenue and normalized share of profit of THB 1,571 million and normalized net income of THB 454 million in first half of 2021. These were driven by the strong growth of utilities and power businesses in Thailand and Vietnam. WHAUP CEO Dr. Niphon Bundechanan revealed that for the second half of this year, the company will continue building growth opportunities for businesses, both locally and in Vietnam, paving the way to become the leader in utilities and power services in the region.

WHAUP reported its Q2/2021 performance with total revenue and normalized share of profit of THB 789 million and normalized net income, which reflects operating performance of THB 265 million, growing 26% and 44% from Q2/2020. WHAUP reported net income of THB 246 million, down 23% year-on-year due to foreign exchange impact.

For the first six-month period of 2021, WHAUP recorded total revenue and normalized share of profit of THB 1,571 million and normalized net income of THB 454 million, rising 22% and 12% year-on-year. Net income stood at THB 376 million, increasing 4% year-on-year on the increased water sales and management volume, along with continued commercial operations of solar projects.

Dr. Niphon Bundechanan, Chief Executive Officer of WHAUP, said that Q2/2021 growth came mainly from the continuing recovery of the utilities business. The company’s water sales and management volume in Thailand and overseas totaled 35 million cubic meters, a 28% rise compared to Q2/2020, and up 10% compared to Q1/2021. For the first six-month period of 2021, water sales and management volume in Thailand and overseas grew 18% to 67 million cubic meters. An increase of water sales and management volume can be explained by an increase in water demand from existing customers who have expanded their production capacities and new customers gradually started operations. For example, GSRC, the natural gas power plant of Gulf Energy Development Plc (GULF) with a total installed power generation capacity of 2,650 MW, began COD for its first production unit in the past April. Moreover in Q2 and the first half of 2021, the company was not affected by droughts as the same period last year. 

In addition, the company has also recognized revenue from wastewater reclamation, which is processed to produce demineralized water and premium clarified water. This resulted in sales volume of value-added water products growing 139% to 1 million cubic meters in Q2/2021 and up 170% to 2 million cubic meters in the first half of 2021. 

The utility business in Vietnam has also expanded thanks to continued growing demand for water. Water sales volume from the Duong River Surface Water Plant (SDWTP) in Q2/2021 increased 29% from Q2/2020 and rose 26% from Q1/2021. For the first six-month period of 2021, the water sales volume increased 26% compared to the same period previous year.

As for the power business performance in Q2/2021, the company’s normalized share of profit amounted to THB 275 million, up 13% from Q2/2020 and up 62% from Q1/2021. This is mainly due to the continuing robust growth of the 8 SPP power plants’ performance. Meanwhile IPP’s performance has recovered from the previous quarter. Gheco-One power plant has recovered after resuming its operations following a 37-day planned maintenance in the first quarter. However, for the first six-month period of 2021, the normalized share of profit from power business was THB 445 million. A 10% drop was recorded compared to the first six-month period of 2020 following the maintenance of Gheco-One, despite a 43% surge in share of profit from 8 SPPs presented by the growing energy dispatch to industrial customers.  

The solar rooftop business has also experienced continuous growth. In Q2/2021, its revenue reached THB 53 million, from projects already under commercial operations (COD), totaling 46 MW. At the end of Q2/2021, the company has a contractual capacity of 62 MW, out of the 90 MW target for 2021. WHAUP targets to expand its solar power business to 300 MW within 2023 as planned.

WHAUP CEO also talked about the success of No. 2/2021 debenture offering worth THB 3,500 million amidst the Covid-19 situation. The debenture offering in July received positive feedback from both institutional and high-net-worth investors. The debentures are divided into 3 tranches with maturities of 2-5 years and bear interest rates of 1.91-2.75 percent per annum. Such achievements reflect investor confidence in the business fundamentals, financial strengths, as well as the growth potential of the company, which further reinforce its leadership in the fully-integrated utility and power businesses. 

The CEO also stated that, despite the negative impacts of Covid-19 situation, the company has confidence that the operation to supply water and electricity to customers will perform continuously without interruption. Moreover, the business outlook in the second half of the year will grow continuously, driven by both utility and power businesses. The utility business will see increasing demand for water, especially from the 2nd production unit of the Gulf SRC power plant with commercial operation date (COD) in Q4. Meanwhile, the power business is backed by both the IPP and SPP businesses that are expected to continue operating without major planned maintenance downtime, unlike the first half of the year. Revenue from the solar rooftop business is expected to grow further in line with the increase in power production capacity. 

In addition, the company continues to focus on innovative projects such as P2P Energy Trading using blockchain technology, as well as the application of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in parallel with solar power generation. It is also seeking opportunities for merger and acquisitions (M&A) to enhance growth potential. 

WHAUP’s business expansion plan strongly reinforces the company’s commitment to grow its businesses both in Thailand and Vietnam. This will be implemented along with innovative solutions development for both renewable energy and utilities, in order to become the leader in utilities and energy businesses in the region.