WHA Utilities and Power Public Company Limited (“WHAUP”) has announced its 2024 operational results, reporting revenue and normalized profit of 3.959 billion baht and a normalized profit of 1.118 billion baht. The board has approved an annual dividend of 0.2525 baht per share, with the XD date set for April 29, 2025, and payment scheduled for May 16, 2025. CEO “Somkiat Mesanthasuwan” stated that the company will advance AI innovations to enhance business development in both water and electricity sectors, creating sustainable growth opportunities.

WHAUP disclosed to the Stock Exchange of Thailand its operational results for the fiscal year 2024, reporting a revenue and normalized profit of 3.959 billion baht, a decrease of 6%, with a normalized net profit of 1.118 billion baht, down 30%. The net profit, including the impact of exchange rates, was 1.119 billion baht, down 31% from the previous year. Revenue from domestic water and solar electricity sales, along with profit sharing from investments in the water business in Vietnam, continued to grow at 531%. However, the company faced negative factors from reduced profit sharing from the Gecco-1 power plant due to persistently high electricity production costs.

Somkiat Mesanthasuwan, CEO of WHAUP, stated that the overall utility business (water) both domestically and internationally continued to grow in 2024, with total water sales and management volume reaching 166 million cubic meters, an increase of 7% compared to 2023. The growth in domestic water sales was primarily driven by increased demand for value-added water products from new customer segments.

In Vietnam's water business, the company reported total water sales and management volume according to its shareholding of 37 million cubic meters, growing by 10%. This growth was mainly due to increased water sales from the Duong River project, resulting in profit sharing from the Duong River project in 2024 amounting to 77 million baht, up from a loss of 8 million baht in 2023.

For 2025, the company aims for total water sales and management volume both domestically and internationally to reach approximately 173 million cubic meters, a 4% growth from the previous year. The focus will be on generating revenue from the growing demand for utilities both inside and outside WHA industrial estates, particularly from new technology customers like Data Centers, which have high water demand. Additionally, the company aims to expand production of value-added water products to meet customer needs in terms of quality and sustainability, alongside developing Smart Water Solutions using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance utility management systems, improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize water loss.

In the energy sector, particularly in rooftop solar power, the company signed 76 new contracts for solar energy projects totaling approximately 106 megawatts last year. As a result, by the end of 2024, the company had a cumulative total of 290 megawatts in Private PPA contracts and a total power purchase agreement of 965 megawatts from all types of power plants, with 701 megawatts already operational and 264 megawatts under construction and development.

In 2024, the company recognized a normalized profit from the electricity business of 914 million baht, a decrease of 36% compared to the previous year, primarily due to reduced profit sharing from the Gecco-1 power plant, which faced high production costs due to EGAT's operational directives that did not align with revenue recognition. However, the company did see increased normalized profit sharing from SPP power plants due to lower natural gas costs compared to 2023, resulting in higher profits from electricity sales to industrial customers.

For 2025, the company will continue to expand investments in renewable energy both within and outside WHA industrial estates, focusing on rooftop solar projects, various renewable energy projects under Feed-in-Tariff, and Direct PPA projects to enhance its energy business. Additionally, the company is leveraging AI to develop innovations such as the Solar Anomaly system, which accurately detects and alerts potential solar panel malfunctions, facilitating quick maintenance and problem resolution, and the Solar Forecasting system, which efficiently predicts solar energy production, aiding maintenance planning, reducing costs, and enhancing system stability. The company is also developing a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Energy Trading platform and trading certificates for renewable energy production (I-REC), promoting clean energy use and supporting sustainability goals. Furthermore, the company is exploring investment opportunities in New S-Curve businesses that will drive the future energy industry, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR), Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies.

Additionally, the plan to expand cumulative electricity production capacity both within and outside WHA industrial estates aims to increase signed cumulative electricity production capacity to 1,185 megawatts in 2025, with renewable energy accounting for 657 megawatts, approximately 55% of total electricity production capacity.

With the strategic plans for both the utility (water) and energy (electricity) businesses, the company targets a total revenue and normalized profit of 35 billion baht over the next five years (2025-2029) while maintaining an EBITDA margin of no less than 50%, with a total investment budget set at 29 billion baht over the next five years.

Following the operational results of 2024, the board has resolved to propose to the annual general meeting of shareholders to approve the payment of an annual dividend for 2024 at a total rate of 0.2525 baht per share. After deducting the interim dividend of 0.0600 baht per share already paid for the first nine months of 2024, an additional dividend of 0.1925 baht per share will be paid. The XD date is set for April 29, 2025, with the dividend payment scheduled for May 16, 2025, reflecting the company's strong financial position and consistent cash flow from operations.

Somkiat concluded by stating that the commitment to sustainable business operations has led to the company receiving an SET ESG Rating of AAA for the second consecutive year, the highest rating, reflecting its dedication to sustainable growth in line with its plans to invest in utility (water) and clean energy businesses both domestically and internationally, while also caring for the environment, society, and adhering to governance principles (ESG), addressing investment needs that yield sustainable long-term returns.