Profit has risen at Watlington Waterworks for the first half of this year.

Increased sales of water, partially as a result of the early summer drought and increased demand from tourism activities around the America’s Cup, helped lift the company’s finances.

Watlington Waterworks recorded a gross profit of $4,633,738 for the six months to the end of June, this compares with $3,543,729 for the same period in 2016.

Profit attributable to the owners of the company was $1.65 million, or $1.55 per share, compared to $853,797, or 80 cents per share, in the first half of 2016.

Water sales were up dramatically, year-on-year, from $4.4 million to $5.4 million.

In a statement the company said: “The result attests to the company’s potential when there is a high demand for supplemental drinking water supplies via both metered pipe water and bottle water.

“The company has invested significantly and continues to invest substantially every year in its infrastructure so that it can meet maximum demand conditions which may only occur when there is a prolonged drought.

“We must keep planning and investing to strengthen because we are an isolated community and as a major source of public water supply we must be able to stand alone when need be.

“There are no quick fixes available during a prolonged drought. If we are not able to cope before such an event occurs there will be no way to cope during the event. In years of normal or above average rainfall our assets will have lower utilisation.”

Watlington Waterworks said this year has been exceptional, unlike the past six years when production assets had modest utilisation, “there has been much higher utilisation of production and distribution assets — assets that the company has in place through its long-term infrastructure strengthening”.

The company said it will continue to support long-term infrastructure strengthening to enhance its ability to improve productivity and capacity to provide supplementary drinking water resources during periods of exceptionally high demand.

The statement added: “The Board remains optimistic that with new hotel development, growth in the tourism industry, and further expansion of the distribution system to bring affordable drinking water to more residents, the company’s future growth and success will be assured.”