Its board recommends an interim dividend of HK$0.0609 per share

 

CHINA Everbright Water : U9E 0%&rsquo s net profit for the first half ended Jun 30, 2024, fell 8 per cent to HK$581.1 million (S$98.8 million) from HK$632.2 million in H1 FY2023.

 

The dual-listed environmental services group on Tuesday (Aug 13) announced that its board has recommended an interim dividend of HK$0.0609 per share, or the equivalent of S$0.0105 per ordinary share.

 

This is down from the prior year&rsquo s per-share interim dividend of HK$0.0663, or S$0.0113.

 

Earnings per share (EPS) for H1 stood at HK$0.2031, below the prior year&rsquo s EPS of HK$0.221.

 

The bottom line fell despite a 9 per cent higher H1 revenue of HKS$3.4 billion versus HK$3.1 billion, driven mainly by growth in the construction service segment, which more than offset lower contributions from operation and finance income.

 

Gross profit margin dipped eight percentage points to 38 per cent as there was a higher proportion of revenue from the construction service segment, which has a lower margin than operation services.

 

Direct costs and operating expenses grew 25 per cent to HK$2.1 billion from HK$1.7 billion a year prior, driven primarily by the increase in cost of construction services.

 

For the first half of the fiscal year, the group registered a HK$1.1 million share of loss of associates as opposed to HK$1.1 million in share of profits in H1 FY2023.

 

Its share of profit of a joint venture fell 45 per cent year on year to HK$689,000 versus HK$1.3 million previously.

 

Citing China&rsquo s development resilience and positive economic recovery momentum amid a &ldquo complex and volatile&rdquo political and economic landscape, China Everbright said the industry&rsquo s long-term prospects &ldquo remain hopeful and promising&rdquo .

 

Shares of China Everbright on the Singapore Exchange&rsquo s mainboard were flat at S$0.245 as at the midday trading break on Tuesday, before the release of its financial results.

 

CHINA Everbright Water : U9E +2.33%, part of a consortium, has been granted the concession right of a wastewater treatment plant in Qingdao entailing an investment of 688.3 million yuan (S$129.4 million), it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday (Mar 13).

 

Under Phase 1 of the project, the consortium with Qingdao Environmental Energy will undertake to upgrade the Zhangcun River Waste Water Treatment Plant to a treatment capacity of 40,000 cubic metres. Phase 2 involves building the waste water plant with a capacity of 60,000 cu m.

 

The concession right of the project in Qingdao&rsquo s Laoshan district for 30 years includes the construction period, during which the consortium will finance, build, operate and maintain the plant, based on the build-operate-transfer model.

 

China Everbright Water will take a 49 per cent stake in the project company, and Qingdao Environmental Energy is to hold the remaining 51 per cent.

 

China Everbright Water also announced in a separate statement that its chief financial officer (CFO) and executive director Luo Junling will resign as a result of &ldquo changes in work arrangements&rdquo . It did not elaborate.

 

Song Libin takes over the CFO role from Mar 18 Wang Yuexing will replace Luo as a member of the strategy committee, and become the alternate authorised representative to Luan Zusheng.

 

 

CHINA Everbright Water&rsquo s net profit for the full year ended Dec 31, 2023, was up 17 per cent to HK$1.2 billion (S$206.2 million), as compared to HK$1 billion in FY2022.

Earnings per share also grew 17 per cent to HK$0.4151, from HK$0.3532 a year ago, based on financials released by the Hong Kong and Singapore dual-listed environmental services group on Tuesday (Feb 27).

Its board of directors have proposed a final dividend of HK$0.0581 per share, up from FY2022&rsquo s final dividend of HK$0.0514 per share. Upon approval at the upcoming general meeting, this will bring the total dividend of the full year to HK$0.1244, 17 per cent higher than the HK$0.1059 for FY2022.

 

CHINA Everbright Water : U9E -2.27% has issued its first tranche of medium-term notes (MTN) for 2024 with a principal amount of 1.5 billion yuan (S$285.1 million) and a 2.8 per cent coupon rate.

 

Separately, the environmental protection company also announced on Monday (Jan 8) that it would repay all its outstanding 2021 first tranche MTNs at their principal amount of one billion yuan, plus accrued interest, at the maturity date which falls on Jan 15, 2024.

 

The first tranche of the 2024 MTN notes comes with a maturity period of five years. It includes an interest rate option to be exercised by the company, and a resale option to be exercised by noteholders at the end of the third interest-bearing year. 

 

Earlier tranches of MTNs issued by the company in 2023 bore interest rates ranging from 2.82 to 3.2 per cent.

 

Including the latest first tranche issuance of the 2024 MTNs, this demonstrated that China Everbright&rsquo s issuances of MTNs since 2023 have &ldquo continuously set a record low interest rate&rdquo , it added.  

 

China Everbright said the latest MTN exercise was fully subscribed at a rate of 3.07 times by institutional investors at China&rsquo s national inter-bank bond market.

 

This &ldquo reflects the market&rsquo s confidence in the company&rsquo s sound development&rdquo , added the company, which focuses on water environment management. 

 

Proceeds from the first tranche of 2024 MTNs will be used to replenish working capital of the group&rsquo s subsidiaries, and to repay interest-bearing debts of China Everbright and its subsidiaries.

 

The notes have been given an &ldquo AAA&rdquo credit rating by Shanghai Brilliance Credit Rating & Investors Service.

 

Everbright Securities Company acted as the deal&rsquo s lead underwriter and bookrunner.

 

Bank of China, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Postal Savings Bank of China, Industrial Bank and China Zheshang Bank were the joint lead underwriters.

HONG KONG and Singapore dual-listed environmental services group China Everbright Water : U9E 0%(Everbright Water) will develop a project in China&rsquo s Guangdong province to treat agricultural waste and turn it into biogas and organic fertiliser.

 

In a statement on Tuesday (Nov 21), Everbright Water announced that a consortium formed by its subsidiary Tianjian Hanquan Environment Technology (Tianjin Hanquan) and the Jiangxi Zhenghe Ecological Agriculture Company (Jiangxi Zhenghe) has secured the Guangdong Nanxiong Livestock and Poultry Manure Resource Utilisation Project.

 

The project will require an estimated total investment of 50 million yuan (S$9.5 million).

 

Everbright Water will hold 60 per cent equity interest through Tianjin Hanquan, with the remaining 40 per cent owned by Jiangxi Zhenghe.

 

The joint venture company, named Shaoguan EW Zhenghe Environmental Protection

Technology, has been incorporated with a registered capital of 10.1 million yuan, and will be responsible for the investment, construction, operation and maintenance of the project.

 

Nanxiong is a county-level administrative division in Guangdong province, with significant agricultural activities.

 

The project involves construction of a biogas power generation facility to treat livestock and poultry manure, as well as an organic fertiliser production line with an annual output of 30,000 tonnes.

 

It will also create a waste collection, storage and transportation system for manure and other agricultural waste.

 

Everbright Water said that the project will be able to prevent the pollution of water bodies by agricultural waste, and also meet local demand for fertilisers at the same time.

 

Hu Yanguo, executive director and chairman of the board of Everbright Water, said: &ldquo Once Nanxiong Project is put into operation upon completion of construction work, it will process and treat the local livestock and poultry farming waste into valuable resources. It will address the &lsquo last&rsquo challenge of returning livestock and poultry manure to the farmland.&rdquo

 

Everbright Water is chiefly engaged in water treatment, and the project marks its expansion into non-point source pollution control and rural environmental management.