Ballarat Water
| TIF holds an interest in Ballarat Water |
Ballarat Water owns six water treatment plants in and around Ballarat in central Victoria. The plants provide water treatment services to Central Highlands Water under a 'Build, Own, Operate, Transfer' contract, with a remaining duration of 15 years.
Performance HIGHLIGHTS 2011
Ballarat Water recorded revenue of $8.3 million and EBITDA of $3.5 million for the year, representing an increase of 6.0 percent and negative 0.6 percent respectively relative to the previous corresponding period.
Ballarat Water volumes were above budget for the year. The increased volumes were due to Central Highlands Water, the regional water authority, relaxing water restrictions to Stage 1 in August 2010 and further easing restrictions to Permanent Water Saving Rules in January 2011. Permanent Water Saving Rules are commonsense measures to ensure sustainable water use when restrictions are not in place.
Following a review of overhead costs incurred since acquisition, Ballarat Water has identified a number of overhead cost savings and updated its longer term forecast to reflect these savings. This updated forecast resulted in uplift in the independently assessed value of the asset for 30 June 2011.
Due to significant rainfall earlier in the year, storage levels at White Swan and Lal Lal reservoirs have increased, and as at 30 June 2011 are above 90 percent capacity. The increase in storage volumes led to the Lal Lal treatment plant being recommissioned in December 2010 after previously being turned off due to lack of water storage. Since recommissioning, the relatively lower water quality at the Lal Lal reservoir has contributed to an increase in the chemical treatment costs, to which Ballarat Water is partially exposed.
Performance Outlook
In order to minimise the potential impact of additional increases in chemical treatment costs, as a result of increased water volumes sourced from the Lal Lal treatment plant, Ballarat Water is exploring an opportunity to renegotiate certain aspects of the operations agreement with the operations and maintenance provider, United Water.
Ballarat Water
Financial and operational performance
| 30 June year end | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | CAGR* |
| Volume (ml) | 11,230.0 | 7,434.0 | 7,893.0 | 9,672.0 | 10,174.0 | (2.4)% |
| Revenue ($m) | 7.7 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 1.9% |
| EBITDA ($m) | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.6% |
*CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate.
Note: Figures may differ slightly from previously reported information due to the timing of the completion of the audit of both statutory and regulatory accounts.
For more information please visit the Ballarat Water website