Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our business faces significant risks. These risks include those disclosed in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 as supplemented by the additional risk factors included below. If any of the events or circumstances described in the referenced risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected and such events or circumstances could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. These risks should be read in conjunction with the other information set forth in this Quarterly Report as well as in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in our other periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.
Our exclusive license to provide water to retail customers in the Cayman Islands has not been expressly extended and we are presently unable to predict the outcome of our on-going negotiations relating to this license.
We sell water through our retail operations under a license issued in July 1990 by the Cayman Islands government (the “1990 license”) that granted Cayman Water the exclusive right to provide potable water to customers within its licensed service area. Although the 1990 license has not been expressly extended after January 2018, we continue to supply water under the terms of the 1990 license, as discussed in the following paragraphs. Pursuant to the 1990 license, Cayman Water has the exclusive right to produce potable water and distribute it by pipeline to its licensed service area, which consists of two of the three most populated areas of Grand Cayman Island: Seven Mile Beach and West Bay. For the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, we generated approximately 22% and 24%, respectively, of our consolidated revenue and 37% and 40%, respectively, of our consolidated gross profit from the retail water operations conducted under the 1990 license.
The 1990 license was originally scheduled to expire in July 2010 but was extended several times by the Cayman Islands government in order to provide the parties with additional time to negotiate the terms of a new license agreement. The most recent express extension of the license expired on January 31, 2018. We continue to operate under the terms of the 1990 license, providing water services to the level and quality specified in the 1990 license and in accordance with our understanding of its legal obligations, treating those obligations set forth in the 1990 license as operative notwithstanding the expiration of the express extension. We continue to pay a royalty of 7.5% of the revenue we collect as required under the 1990 license.
In October 2016, the Government of the Cayman Islands passed legislation which created a new utilities regulation and competition office (“OfReg”). OfReg is an independent and accountable regulatory body with a view of protecting the rights of consumers, encouraging affordable utility services, and promoting competition. OfReg, which began operations in January 2017, has the ability to supervise, monitor and regulate multiple utility undertakings and markets. Supplemental
36
Table of Contents
legislation was passed by the Government of the Cayman Islands in April 2017, which transferred responsibility for economic regulation of the water utility sector and the negotiations with us for a new retail license from the WAC to OfReg in May 2017. We began license negotiations with OfReg in July 2017 and such negotiations are ongoing. We have been informed during our retail license negotiations, both by OfReg and its predecessor in these negotiations, that the Cayman Islands government seeks to restructure the terms of our license in a manner that could significantly reduce the operating income and cash flows we have historically generated from our retail license.
We are presently unable to determine what impact the resolution of our retail license negotiations will have on our cash flows, financial condition or results of operations but such resolution could result in a material reduction (or the loss) of the operating income and cash flows we have historically generated from our retail operations and could require us to record impairment losses to reduce the carrying values of our retail segment assets. Such impairment losses could have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.
Periodically, our Bahamas subsidiary experiences substantial delays in the collection of its accounts receivable. As a result, our Bahamas subsidiary could have insufficient liquidity to continue operations, and our consolidated results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected.
CW-Bahamas’ accounts receivable balances (which include accrued interest) due from the WSC amounted to $25.6 million as of March 31, 2024. Approximately 79% of this March 31, 2024 accounts receivable balance was delinquent as of that date. The delay in collecting these accounts receivable has adversely impacted the liquidity of this subsidiary.
From time to time (including presently), CW-Bahamas has experienced delays in collecting its accounts receivable from the WSC. When these delays occur, we hold discussions and meetings with representatives of the WSC and The Bahamas government, and as a result, payment schedules are developed for WSC’s delinquent accounts receivable. All previous delinquent accounts receivable from the WSC, including accrued interest thereon, were eventually paid in full. Based upon this payment history, we have not provided for a material allowance for credit losses for CW-Bahamas’ accounts receivable from the WSC as of March 31, 2024.
In a report dated October 6, 2022, Moody’s Investor Services (“Moody’s”) downgraded The Bahamas’ long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B1 from Ba3. Moody’s also lowered The Bahamas’ local currency ceiling to Baa3 from Baa2 and its foreign currency ceiling to Ba1 from Baa3. Moody’s iterated these ratings in April and October 2023 and April 2024, noting that such ratings are “stable.”
If CW-Bahamas is unable to collect a significant portion of its delinquent accounts receivable, one or more of the following events may occur: (i) CW-Bahamas may not have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations; (ii) we may be required to cease the recognition of revenue on CW-Bahamas’ water supply agreements with the WSC; and (iii) we may be required to provide a material allowance for credit losses for CW-Bahamas’ accounts receivable. Any of these events could have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
The profitability of our contracts is dependent upon our ability to accurately estimate construction and operating costs .
The cost estimates we prepare in connection with the construction and operation of our water plants, the water infrastructure we construct and sell to third parties, and our manufacturing contracts, are subject to inherent uncertainties. Additionally, the terms of our water supply contracts may require us to guarantee the price of water on a per unit basis, subject to certain annual inflation and monthly energy cost adjustments, and to assume the risk that the costs associated with producing this water may be greater than anticipated. Because we base our contract prices in part on our estimation of future construction, manufacturing and operating costs, the profitability of our plants and our manufacturing and operations and maintenance contracts 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 contract, which could cause the gross profit for a contract to be less than we anticipated when the bid was made. The profit margins we initially expect to generate from an operations and maintenance contract could be further reduced if future operating costs for that contract exceed our estimates of such costs. Any construction, manufacturing, and operating costs for our
37
Table of Contents
contracts that significantly exceed our initial estimates could have a material adverse impact our consolidated financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
There were no unregistered sales of equity securities during the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.