Heightened demand due to a lack of rain on the island helped Watlington Waterworks Ltd to record net earnings of $2.25 million for fiscal year 2022, a jump of 26 per cent over the prior year.

Total revenues for the consolidated company were $11,747,788 compared to $10,258,500 for the previous year.

The company filed its directors’ report to shareholders with the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

The report said that it appears 2021 may have been the trough of Watlington’s pandemic induced decline.

Early optimism was warranted last year as demand strengthened through the first quarter compared to the previous year.

As the year progressed, the company said, it received favourable tailwinds in the form of an extended period of below average rainfall which started in April and continued throughout the second and third quarters.

The directors wrote: “The lack of rain boosted the demand for our products and services beyond previous forecasts. This is reflected in the much-improved performance for the year when compared to the previous year.”

The company said piped water sales strengthened from 164 million gallons in the previous year to 205 million gallons.

In 2020, Watlington said, pandemic health regulations implemented in late March had the effect of crushing demand for the rest of the year and then affected virtually all the next year.

Piped water sales dropped from 239 million gallons in 2019 to 203 million gallons in 2020 and then to 164 million gallons in 2021.

The directors wrote: “A full recovery to pre-pandemic sales levels remains to be achieved. For a full recovery to occur Bermuda’s tourism industry will have to further recover.”

Bottled water sales also strengthened during 2022 by 2.8 per cent.

The company said it incurred substantial increases in costs across the entire spectrum of its operations due to inflation during the year.

Consequently, the company’s products and services pricing was adjusted on review at mid-year and at year-end.

Construction of the company’s three-million-gallon reservoir project was completed in 2022 while ancillary electrical and pumping infrastructure installation was, and is, ongoing at year-end.

The project is being done under contract with D&J Construction Company Ltd and is being financed from the company’s cash resources and by liquidating its short-term investments.

Watlington said it continued to participate with Belco in the Middle Road trenching project which started at the Belmont sub-station.

The project progressed from a start point in January that was east of the junction of Middle Road with Burnt House Hill to stop in December at the public dock at Jew’s Bay, Southampton.

Trenching resumed in April with the company continuing to install its water main as the trench advances towards Barnes Corner junction.

The new Middle Road water main will be connected to the existing water main at Barnes Corner which continues westward to Somerset, the company said.