Message from The CEO

Even though the economy has started to recover from the COVID-19 crisis over the past year, the recovery has been slowed by rising energy prices caused by international conflicts. Notwithstanding this, the Company maintained robust growth over the past year thanks to its commitment to sustainable growth, the ongoing development of operational strategies, technology, and innovation.

For an overview of the utilities business, the Company’s domestic and international water sales and management volume in 2022 was 145 million cubic meters, increasing by 8% from the previous year. The main reason was that more foreign investors bought land in WHA Group’s industrial estates. These investors were in various industries, including electric vehicles, food, and renewable energy. As these industries have a high demand for water and wastewater management, the Company can secure additional contracts from these investors to manage water and wastewater. Moreover, increasing demands on Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) have prompted many customers to demand more renewable energy and higher-quality water. This creates new opportunities for the Company’s power and water businesses to find new solutions. In the water business, the total volume of water sold and managed in Thailand and Vietnam in 2022 was 117 million cubic meters and 28 million cubic meters, respectively. The Company’s strategy is to develop a comprehensive range of utility innovations, particularly value-added water products, to meet customer needs while also remaining committed to the development of alternative raw water sources and the expansion of reclaimed water product production or wastewater retreatment. This means that, in addition to using less water from the original source, treated water can be used to produce value-added water for sale. The Company has also expanded its water distribution services beyond WHA’s industrial estates by operating a demineralized water facility co-invested in the Asia Industrial Estate. This facility began operations in the fourth quarter of 2022, with a capacity of 1 million cubic meters per year.

In terms of the power business, the Company focuses on domestic and international clean energy operations. In the previous year, the Company expanded its solar rooftop business, in which it is one of the market leaders. Contracts to install solar power systems for leading customers, such as a 10-megawatt solar power generation system at the Mega Bangna project and a 7.7-megawatt solar carpark system at Ford Motor Co., Ltd., the largest solar carpark project in Thailand, demonstrate the Company’s success. By the end of 2022, the Company had signed an additional solar power purchase agreement for 41 megawatts, bringing the total cumulative solar power purchase agreements to 133 megawatts. The Company also continued to seek energy business prospects in the country, such as bidding on renewable energy projects in accordance with Ministry of Energy policies. The Company has passed the qualifications from participating in the auction, and the bidding results are expected to be announced in the first half of 2023. However, the Company remained committed to developing its power business to meet future demand, as evidenced by Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading : The Future of the Energy Market, which helped it win the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s 2022 Best Innovative Company Award. Furthermore, if the government liberalizes the power industry, this platform will be key to the company’s future power business development.

In terms of future business plans, the Company will focus on providing customers in WHA Group’s industrial estates with a wide range of water products and wastewater management services. In addition, the Company will adopt the ESG concept as a guideline for its business operations, place a greater emphasis on high-quality water, utilize innovation to develop new products to meet customer needs, invest in renewable energy projects, explore new S-curve businesses, and pursue more opportunities for foreign investment.

For the operating results in this year, the Company had total revenue and normalized share of profits of 2,790 million baht, a net profit of 454 million baht, and a normalized net profit of 448 million baht. Total assets as of 31 December 2022 valued at 27,645 million baht, with a net interest-bearing debt to equity ratio of 1.01 times.

Lastly, the success described above would not have been possible without the support of all stakeholders, including the Board of Directors, Management, employees, business partners, and shareholders. On behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of WHA Utilities and Power Public Company Limited, I would like to thank all stakeholders for their unwavering support and confidence in the Company. These are the forces propelling the company’s growth towards sustainability.