ARTESIAN RESOURCES CORP - Quarter Report: 2010 March (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
x QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
quarterly period ended March 31, 2010
OR
o TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
transition period from _____ to _____
Commission
file number 000-18516
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
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(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
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51-0002090
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(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
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(I.R.S.
Employer Identification Number)
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664
Churchmans Road, Newark, Delaware 19702
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Address
of principal executive offices
(302)
453 – 6900
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Registrant's
telephone number, including area code
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days.
þ
|
Yes
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o
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No
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Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on
its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data file required to be
submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding
12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit
and post such files).
o
|
Yes
|
o
|
No
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting
company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,”
“accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12(b)-2 of the
Exchange Act.:
Large
Accelerated Filer o
|
Accelerated
Filer þ
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Non-Accelerated
Filer o
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Smaller
Reporting Company o
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Exchange
Act Rule 12b-2).
o
|
Yes
|
þ
|
No
|
As of May
6, 2010, 6,638,581
shares of Class A Non-Voting Common Stock and 881,452 shares of Class B
Common Stock were outstanding.
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
FORM
10-Q
Part
I
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-
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Financial
Information:
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Item
1
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Financial
Statements
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Page(s)
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7 –
19
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Item
2
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-
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20 –
27
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Item
3
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-
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28
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Item
4
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-
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29
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Part
II
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-
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Item
1A
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29
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Item
6
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30
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PART
I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM
1 – FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
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||||||||
Unaudited
|
||||||||
(In
thousands)
|
||||||||
ASSETS
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March
31, 2010
|
December
31, 2009
|
||||||
Utility
plant, at original cost less accumulated depreciation
|
$ | 327,617 | $ | 326,899 | ||||
Current
assets
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
722 | 474 | ||||||
Accounts
receivable (less allowance for doubtful accounts 2010 - $141;
2009-$142)
|
5,340 | 5,505 | ||||||
Unbilled
operating revenues
|
2,879 | 3,518 | ||||||
Materials
and supplies
|
1,238 | 1,220 | ||||||
Prepaid
property taxes
|
625 | 1,222 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other
|
792 | 1,304 | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
11,596 | 13,243 | ||||||
Other
assets
|
||||||||
Non-utility
property (less accumulated depreciation 2010-$280;
2009-$255)
|
11,321 | 11,241 | ||||||
Other
deferred assets
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5,228 | 4,994 | ||||||
Total
other assets
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16,549 | 16,235 | ||||||
Regulatory
assets, net
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2,420 | 2,518 | ||||||
$ | 358,182 | $ | 358,895 | |||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY
|
||||||||
Stockholders'
equity
|
||||||||
Common
stock
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$ | 7,517 | $ | 7,507 | ||||
Preferred
stock
|
--- | --- | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
68,259 | 68,090 | ||||||
Retained
earnings
|
15,817 | 15,577 | ||||||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
91,593 | 91,174 | ||||||
Long-term
debt, net of current portion
|
105,741 | 106,025 | ||||||
197,334 | 197,199 | |||||||
Current
liabilities
|
||||||||
Lines
of credit
|
23,708 | 25,123 | ||||||
Current
portion of long-term debt
|
1,534 | 1,530 | ||||||
Accounts
payable
|
3,656 | 3,696 | ||||||
Accrued
expenses
|
538 | 685 | ||||||
Overdraft
payable
|
482 | 1,026 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
244 | 439 | ||||||
Accrued
interest
|
1,355 | 1,361 | ||||||
Customer
deposits
|
647 | 592 | ||||||
Other
|
1,984 | 2,069 | ||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
34,148 | 36,521 | ||||||
Commitments
and contingencies
|
--- | --- | ||||||
Deferred
credits and other liabilities
|
||||||||
Net
advances for construction
|
18,036 | 18,433 | ||||||
Postretirement
benefit obligation
|
720 | 737 | ||||||
Deferred
investment tax credits
|
680 | 685 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
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34,946 | 34,077 | ||||||
Total
deferred credits and other liabilities
|
54,382 | 53,932 | ||||||
Net
contributions in aid of construction
|
72,318 | 71,243 | ||||||
$ | 358,182 | $ | 358,895 |
See
notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
|
||||||||
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF
INCOME
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||||||||
Unaudited
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||||||||
(In
thousands, except per share amounts)
|
||||||||
For
the Quarter
|
||||||||
Ended
March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
Operating
revenues
|
||||||||
Water
sales
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$ | 12,895 | $ | 12,500 | ||||
Other
utility operating revenue
|
618 | 468 | ||||||
Non-utility
revenue
|
1,470 | 908 | ||||||
14,983 | 13,876 | |||||||
Operating
expenses
|
||||||||
Utility
operating expenses
|
7,368 | 6,844 | ||||||
Non-utility
operating expenses
|
1,018 | 670 | ||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
1,731 | 1,598 | ||||||
State
and federal income taxes
|
1,117 | 1,083 | ||||||
Property
and other taxes
|
962 | 853 | ||||||
12,196 | 11,048 | |||||||
Operating
income
|
2,787 | 2,828 | ||||||
Other
income, net
|
||||||||
Allowance
for funds used during construction (AFUDC)
|
43 | 109 | ||||||
Miscellaneous
|
611 | 468 | ||||||
654 | 577 | |||||||
Income
before interest charges
|
3,441 | 3,405 | ||||||
Interest
charges
|
1,795 | 1,798 | ||||||
Net
income
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$ | 1,646 | $ | 1,607 | ||||
Income
per common share
|
||||||||
Basic
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$ | 0.22 | $ | 0.22 | ||||
Diluted
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$ | 0.22 | $ | 0.22 | ||||
Weighted
average common shares outstanding:
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||||||||
Basic
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7,513 | 7,413 | ||||||
Diluted
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7,583 | 7,470 | ||||||
Cash
dividends per share of common stock
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$ | 0.1873 | $ | 0.1784 | ||||
See
notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
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CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
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||||||||
Unaudited
|
||||||||
(In
thousands)
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||||||||
For
the Quarter
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||||||||
Ended
March 31
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||||||||
2010
|
2009
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|||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Net
income
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$ | 1,646 | $ | 1,607 | ||||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
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1,731 | 1,598 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes, net
|
669 | 1,006 | ||||||
Stock
compensation
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21 | 30 | ||||||
AFUDC
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(43 | ) | (109 | ) | ||||
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts
receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts
|
165 | (363 | ) | |||||
Unbilled
operating revenues
|
639 | 647 | ||||||
Materials
and supplies
|
(18 | ) | (67 | ) | ||||
Prepaid
property taxes
|
597 | 541 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other
|
512 | (256 | ) | |||||
Other
deferred assets
|
(221 | ) | (174 | ) | ||||
Regulatory
assets
|
98 | (103 | ) | |||||
Accounts
payable
|
(40 | ) | 51 | |||||
Accrued
expenses
|
(147 | ) | (1,715 | ) | ||||
Accrued
interest
|
(6 | ) | 289 | |||||
Customer
deposits and other, net
|
(30 | ) | 204 | |||||
Postretirement
benefit obligation
|
(17 | ) | (18 | ) | ||||
NET
CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|
5,556 | 3,168 | ||||||
CASH
FLOWS USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Capital
expenditures (net of AFUDC)
|
(2,568 | ) | (3,461 | ) | ||||
Proceeds
from sale of assets
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20 | 3 | ||||||
NET
CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES
|
(2,548 | ) | (3,458 | ) | ||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Net
repayments under lines of credit agreements
|
(1,415 | ) | (202 | ) | ||||
Decrease
in overdraft payable
|
(544 | ) | (366 | ) | ||||
Net
advances and contributions in aid of construction
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751 | 75 | ||||||
(Decrease)
increase in deferred debt issuance costs
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(24 | ) | 33 | |||||
Net
proceeds from issuance of common stock
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158 | 290 | ||||||
Dividends
|
(1,406 | ) | (1,321 | ) | ||||
Principal
repayments of long-term debt
|
(280 | ) | (272 | ) | ||||
NET
CASH USED IN FINANCING ACTIVITIES
|
(2,760 | ) | (1,763 | ) | ||||
NET
INCREASE (DECREASE ) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
|
248 | (2,053 | ) | |||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR
|
474 | 2,894 | ||||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF PERIOD
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$ | 722 | $ | 841 | ||||
Supplemental
Disclosures of Cash Flow Information:
|
||||||||
Utility
plant received as construction advances and contributions
|
$ | 299 | $ | 182 | ||||
Supplemental
Disclosures of Cash Flow Information:
|
||||||||
Interest
paid
|
$ | 1,801 | $ | 1,479 | ||||
Income
taxes paid
|
$ | --- | $ | --- | ||||
See
notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
|
||||||||
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF RETAINED
EARNINGS
|
||||||||
Unaudited
|
||||||||
(In
thousands)
|
||||||||
For
the Quarter
|
||||||||
Ended
March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
Balance,
beginning of period
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$ | 15,577 | $ | 13,694 | ||||
Net
income
|
1,646 | 1,607 | ||||||
17,223 | 15,301 | |||||||
Less:
Dividends
|
1,406 | 1,321 | ||||||
Balance,
end of period
|
$ | 15,817 | $ | 13,980 | ||||
See
notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
NOTES
TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
NOTE
1 – GENERAL
Artesian
Resources Corporation, or Artesian Resources, includes income from the earnings
of our eight wholly owned subsidiaries and the income derived from our Service
Line Protection Plans described below. The terms “we”, “our”,
“Artesian” and the “Company” as used herein refer to Artesian Resources, its
subsidiaries, and a variable interest entity required to be consolidated under
guidance from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, as discussed in
Note 2 below.
DELAWARE
REGULATED SUBSIDIARIES
Artesian
Water Company Inc., or Artesian Water, our principal subsidiary, is the oldest
and largest public water utility in the State of Delaware and has been providing
water service within the state since 1905. Artesian Water distributes
and sells water to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, municipal
and utility customers throughout the State of Delaware. In addition,
Artesian Water provides services to other water utilities, including operations
and billing functions, and also has contract operation agreements with private
and municipal water providers. We also provide water for public and
private fire protection to customers in our service territories.
Artesian
Wastewater Management, Inc., or Artesian Wastewater, is a regulated entity that
owns wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure and provides wastewater
services to customers in Delaware as a regulated public wastewater service
company. Artesian Wastewater currently owns and operates five
wastewater treatment facilities, which are capable of treating approximately
750,000 gallons per day and can be expanded to treat approximately 1.6 million
gallons per day, or mgd.
The
preliminary engineering and design work was completed on a regional wastewater
treatment and disposal facility located in the northern Sussex County area that
has the potential to treat up to approximately 8 mgd. This facility
is strategically situated to provide service to the growing population in the
Georgetown, Ellendale and Milton area, as well as to neighboring municipal
systems. This facility was granted conditional use approval by Sussex
County Council to serve the Elizabethtown subdivision of approximately 4,000
homes and 439,000 square feet of proposed commercial space, as well as seven
additional projects comprising approximately 3,000 residential
units. The facility will also be capable of offering wastewater
services to local municipalities. Artesian Utility Development, Inc.,
or Artesian Utility, signed an agreement on June 30, 2008 with Northern Sussex
Regional Water Recycling Complex, LLC, or NSRWRC, for the design, construction
and operation of this facility. Once constructed, it will be operated
by Artesian Wastewater.
MARYLAND
REGULATED SUBSIDIARIES
Artesian
Water Maryland, Inc., or Artesian Water Maryland, began operations in August
2007 with the acquisition of the Carpenters Point Water Company. The
Carpenters Point water system serves a 141 home community in Cecil County near
the Interstate 95 growth corridor between Philadelphia and Baltimore and has
sufficient groundwater supply and elevated water storage to serve additional
customers in the undeveloped portions of its franchise and surrounding
area. The Mountain Hill Water Company was acquired in August 2008,
which includes service rights to the entire 8,000 acres of undeveloped land in
Cecil County’s growth area and access to nearby planned business parks, or the
Mountain Hill Service Area, and also provided Artesian Water Maryland the
opportunity to serve future customers in the Principio Business Park, as well as
the proposed 660 home residential development of Charlestown Crossing and the
surrounding area. We currently serve three commercial accounts in the
Principio Business Park, located within Cecil County’s designated growth
corridor. On June 4, 2009, the Maryland Public Service Commission, or
MDPSC, approved installation of a water main to serve residents of Whitaker
Woods, an existing 172 home development located adjacent to the Mountain Hill
Service Area. As of March 31, 2010, 38 homes in Whitaker Woods were
receiving water service. On September 9, 2009, the MDPSC approved
Artesian Water Maryland’s request to construct a water system to serve the first
phase, consisting of 71 homes, in the Charlestown Crossing housing
development.
In
addition, Artesian Water Maryland has entered into the following agreements to
further expand our service capabilities: In October 2008, Artesian
Water Maryland signed an agreement, or the Cecil County Purchase Agreement, to
purchase from Cecil County all of Cecil County’s rights, title and interest in
and to the Meadowview, Pine Hills, Harbourview and Route 7 water facilities and
the associated parcels of real property, easement rights and water transmission
and distribution systems at a price equal to the net asset value of the
purchased assets, which was approximately $2.2 million as of June 30, 2008, and
assume certain liabilities at closing. This sum may be paid in cash
at closing or, upon mutual agreement, by a note payable to Cecil
County. In response to the Cecil County Purchase Agreement, the
Appleton Regional Community Alliance, or Appleton Alliance, filed a petition
with The Circuit Court of Cecil County, Maryland, or Circuit Court, in
opposition to the transactions, which has delayed the closing. The
Circuit Court decided in favor of Cecil County on July 24, 2009. On
August 19, 2009, the Appleton Alliance filed an appeal of the Circuit Court’s
decision with the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Upon the request
of Cecil County, which was not opposed by the Appleton Alliance, the matter has
been moved to the state’s highest Court of Appeals and is scheduled for hearing
in June 2010. Closing on this transaction is also subject to the
approval of the MDPSC. The Cecil County Purchase Agreement may be
terminated by either party, subject to certain exceptions, in the event of
uncured breach by the other party. Upon the mutual agreement of the
parties, the closing date has been extended to December 31, 2010 pending a final
judicial determination on the Appleton Alliance petition.
In
December 2009, Artesian Water Maryland signed an agreement, or the Port Deposit
Purchase Agreement, to purchase from the Town of Port Deposit, or Port Deposit,
all of Port Deposit’s assets used in providing potable water and water
distribution and water meter services, or the Facilities, within the
town. At the closing, Artesian Water Maryland will pay to Port
Deposit $250,000, less an initial $25,000 deposit that was paid at the time of
signing and any fees owed to Artesian Utility for operating the plant and
equipment prior to closing. Artesian Water Maryland will also deliver
a promissory note in the amount of $800,000, or the Promissory Note, payable in
four equal annual installments starting on the first day of July following the
closing, which will be secured by the assets purchased under the Port Deposit
Purchase Agreement and guaranteed by Artesian Resources. In addition,
at the closing Artesian Water Maryland has agreed to assume Port Deposit’s
$220,000 loan from the Maryland Water Quality Financing Administration, or
MWQFA, either through the assumption of the loan agreement or through the
execution of a promissory note to Port Deposit or the Second Promissory Note,
based on the approval of the MWQFA. The Second Promissory Note, if
applicable, will be secured by the purchased assets and guaranteed by Artesian
Resources. Closing of this transaction is subject to the satisfaction
of a number of closing conditions, including, among other matters, the
completion of Artesian Resources’ due diligence, the approval of the MDPSC, and
approval of a franchise agreement from Cecil County. Closing on this
transaction is expected to occur by mid-year 2010. If closing does
not occur by May 31, 2010, an additional deposit of $30,000 shall be paid on
June 1, 2010 and another $30,000 on July 1, 2010. If closing should
occur after July 1, 2010, the first payment due on the Promissory Note will be
paid at closing. If closing does not occur by March 1, 2011, the
Purchase Agreement will be automatically terminated. The existing
water system subject to the Port Deposit Purchase Agreement serves approximately
280 customers and includes a water treatment facility with a capacity of up to
approximately 500,000 gallons per day and a 500,000 gallon ground storage
tank. The existing water system also has a water appropriation permit
for withdrawals of up to 700,000 gallons per day from the Susquehanna
River.
Artesian
Wastewater Maryland, Inc, or Artesian Wastewater Maryland, was incorporated on
June 3, 2008 specifically for the purpose of executing the purchase agreements
described below in order to provide regulated wastewater services in the State
of Maryland.
In
October 2008, Artesian Wastewater Maryland signed an agreement, or the
Meadowview Agreement, to purchase the Meadowview Wastewater Facility and the
Highlands Wastewater Facility and the associated parcels of real property,
easement rights and wastewater collection systems with respect to each facility
from Cecil County at a price equal to the net asset value of the purchased
assets, which was approximately $7.8 million as of June 30, 2008, and assume
certain liabilities at closing. The majority of the purchase price
shall be paid by Artesian Wastewater Maryland’s assumption of $7.2 million due
by Cecil County under a tax-exempt Cecil County Sanitary District Bond, Series
2004B, or the Bond. In the event that the net asset value of the
purchased assets as of the closing exceeds the amount due under the Bond, then
the positive difference (if any) shall be paid by Artesian Wastewater Maryland
to Cecil County in cash at closing or, upon mutual agreement, by a note payable
to Cecil County.
In
October 2008, Artesian Wastewater Maryland signed an agreement, or the Cherry
Hill Agreement, to purchase the Cherry Hill Wastewater Facility and the
Harbourview Wastewater Facility and the associated parcels of real property,
easement rights and wastewater collection systems with respect to each facility
from Cecil County at a price equal to the net asset value of the purchased
assets, which was approximately $3.8 million as of June 30, 2008, and assume
certain liabilities at closing. Cecil County shall immediately upon
receipt of such payment, pay to its creditors an amount sufficient to pay all
indebtedness of Cecil County in respect of the Cherry Hill and Harbourview
Wastewater facilities, or the Indebtedness. If the amount of the
purchase price under the Cherry Hill Agreement is less than the Indebtedness,
Cecil County will pay out of its own funds any amount sufficient to discharge in
full the Indebtedness in excess of the purchase price. If the purchase price
exceeds the amount of Indebtedness, the positive difference will be paid by
Artesian Wastewater Maryland and may be financed through a note payable to Cecil
County.
These
asset purchase agreements with Cecil County are also subject to the petition
filed by the Appleton Alliance described in the Artesian Water Maryland section
above. As a result, closing will be delayed until the final judicial
determination on the Appleton Alliance petition. Closing on these
transactions is also subject to the approval of the MDPSC. Under each
of the agreements, either party may terminate such agreement, subject to certain
exceptions, in the event of uncured breach by the other party. Upon
the mutual agreement of the parties, the closing date has been extended to
December 31, 2010 pending a final judicial determination regarding the Appleton
Alliance petition.
PENNSYLVANIA
REGULATED SUBSIDIARY
Artesian
Water Pennsylvania, Inc., or Artesian Water Pennsylvania, began operations upon
receiving recognition as a regulated public water utility by the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission, or PAPUC, in 2002. It provides water
service to a residential community in Chester County. Artesian Water
Pennsylvania filed an application with the PAPUC to increase our service area in
Pennsylvania, which was approved and a related order was entered on February 4,
2005. This application involved specific developments, in which we
expect modest future growth. Home construction in these developments
has not progressed yet pending resolution of developer related township
approvals.
OTHER
SUBSIDIARIES
Our three
other subsidiaries, none of which are regulated, are Artesian Utility
Development, Inc., or Artesian Utility, Artesian Development Corporation, or
Artesian Development and Artesian Consulting Engineers, Inc., or Artesian
Engineers.
Artesian
Utility was formed in 1996. It designs and builds water and
wastewater infrastructure and provides contract water and wastewater services on
the Delmarva Peninsula. Artesian Utility also evaluates land parcels,
provides recommendations to developers on the size of water or wastewater
facilities and the type of technology that should be utilized for treatment at
such facilities, and operates 26 water and wastewater facilities in Delaware,
Maryland and Pennsylvania for others. Artesian Utility also has
several contracts with developers for design and construction of wastewater
facilities within the Delmarva Peninsula, utilizing a number of different
technologies for treatment of wastewater at each facility.
We
currently operate wastewater treatment facilities for the town of Middletown, in
Southern New Castle County, or Middletown, under a 20-year contract that expires
on February 1, 2021. The facilities include a 2.5 mgd and a 250,000
gallon per day wastewater treatment station. We also operate a
wastewater disposal facility in Middletown in order to support the 2.5 mgd
wastewater treatment station described above.
We
currently provide contract water and wastewater operation services to private,
municipal and governmental institutions in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania
as a result of our acquisition of TMH Environmental Services, Inc., or TMH, in
May 2007.
On June
30, 2008, Artesian Utility signed an agreement with Northern Sussex Regional
Water Recycling Complex, LLC, or NSRWRC, for the design, construction and
operation of the Northern Sussex Regional Water Recycling Complex, a wastewater
treatment facility to be located in Sussex County, Delaware. NSRWRC
was created for the purpose of developing the treatment facility site, which
once constructed, will be operated by Artesian Wastewater.
In
connection with the Meadowview Agreement and the Cherry Hill Agreement described
above, in March 2009, Artesian Utility signed an agreement with the Cecil County
Department Public Works in Cecil County, Maryland to operate the Meadowview
Wastewater and Highlands Wastewater treatment and disposal facilities until
Artesian Wastewater Maryland’s purchase of the facilities is
final. This agreement also employs Artesian Utility to operate two
water supply and treatment stations and two booster stations in Cecil
County. In addition, in connection with the Port Deposit Purchase
Agreement, in March 2009 Artesian Utility signed an agreement with Port Deposit
to operate and maintain a water system through August 2010, with three
additional one-year renewal options, pending closing on the Port Deposit
Purchase Agreement.
Artesian
Development owns an approximately six-acre parcel of land zoned for office
buildings located immediately adjacent to our corporate headquarters and two
nine-acre parcels of land located in Sussex County.
In
October 2007, Artesian Development purchased the approximately eighteen acres of
land noted above, located on Route 9, west of the City of Lewes in Sussex
County, Delaware. Artesian Development received a conditional use for
this land from Sussex County to construct an office facility, as we continue to
expand our operations in southern Delaware. This conditional use also
permits the construction of water treatment and wastewater facilities and
elevated storage on the site to provide service to the area between Lewes and
Georgetown, Delaware. Once permits and approvals to construct the
facilities are received, appropriate agreements with the utility affiliates of
Artesian Development for its use will be developed. In January 2008
we received the approved Soils Investigation Report and in July 2008 we received
the approved Preliminary Groundwater Impact Assessment and Groundwater Mounding
Analysis from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control, or DNREC. We submitted designs to DNREC, along with
supplying additional information to increase the number of units approved to be
served at the site from 400 units to approximately 1,900 units. The
permitting process is complete. Additional groundwater studies are
currently underway that are designed to improve the phasing and implementation
of the systems operation in accordance with DNREC requirements. We
have current requests for service from four local developments.
Artesian
Engineers provides engineering services to developers for residential and
commercial development. On June 6, 2008, Artesian Engineers acquired
all the assets of Meridian Architects and Engineers, or Meridian, a leading
provider of engineering services in Delaware. The acquisition
included the assignment of certain current contract agreements to provide
engineering services to developers and included services to be provided to
Artesian Water. This acquisition provided Artesian Resources with
enhanced design and engineering capabilities that we believe have decreased our
reliance on outside engineering firms for similar services. In
addition, we believe that Meridian’s ability to offer engineering services to
design on-site water and wastewater systems for developers, as well as offsite
wastewater collection systems in Sussex County, provides additional revenues
that are not weather sensitive.
OTHER
Artesian
Resources initiated a Water Service Line Protection Plan, or WSLP Plan, in March
2005. The WSLP Plan covers all parts, material and labor required to
repair or replace participants’ leaking water service lines up to an annual
limit. As of March 31, 2010, approximately 14,700, or 21.3%, of our
69,000 eligible water customers had signed up for the WSLP Plan. The
WSLP Plan was expanded in the second quarter of 2008 to include maintenance or
repair to customers’ sewer lines. This plan, the Sewer Service Line
Protection Plan, or SSLP Plan, covers all parts, material and labor required to
repair or replace participants’ leaking or clogged sewer lines up to an annual
limit. As of March 31, 2010, approximately 6,900, or 10.0%, of our
69,000 eligible customers had signed up for the SSLP Plan.
NOTE
2 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The
unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are presented in
accordance with the requirements of Form 10-Q and consequently do not include
all the disclosures required in the financial statements included in the
Company's annual report on Form 10-K. Accordingly, these financial
statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with the financial
statements and related notes in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for
fiscal year 2009.
The
condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Artesian
Resources Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including its principal
operating company, Artesian Water. In the opinion of the Company, the
accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all
normal recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the Company's balance
sheet position as of March 31, 2010 and the results of operations for the
quarterly periods ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 and cash flows for the quarters
ended March 31, 2010 and 2009. In addition, in accordance with FASB
Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, Topic 810, the Company consolidates
variable interest entities for which it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary
(refer to Note 9 - Northern Sussex Regional Water Recycling
Complex, LLC). All inter-company transactions and balances have been
eliminated in consolidation.
The
results of operations for the interim period presented are not necessarily
indicative of the results for the full year or for future periods.
NOTE
3 – STOCK COMPENSATION PLANS
On May
25, 2005, the Company’s stockholders approved a new Equity Compensation Plan,
which authorizes up to 500,000 shares of Class A Non-Voting Common Stock, or
Class A Stock, for issuance, referred to as the 2005 Equity Compensation Plan,
or the Plan. Since May 25, 2005, no additional grants have been made
under the Company’s other stock-based compensation plans that were previously
available. The Company accounts for stock options issued after
January 1, 2006 under FASB ASC Topic 718. Approximately $21,000 in
compensation expense was recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2010
for stock options issued in May 2009 under the Plan. For the three
months ended March 31, 2009 an expense of approximately $30,000 was recorded for
stock options granted in May 2008. Costs were determined based on the
fair value at the grant date and those costs are being charged to income over
the service period associated with the grants.
The fair
value of each option grant is estimated using the Black-Scholes-Merton option
pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions used for grants
issued in 2009 and 2008. No option grants were issued in the first
quarter of 2010. All options were granted at market value with a 10
year option term with a vesting period of one year from the dates of
grant.
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Expected
Dividend Yield
|
4.50 | % | 3.60 | % | ||||
Expected
Stock Price Volatility
|
0.26 | 0.25 | ||||||
Weighted
Average Risk-Free Interest Rate
|
2.81 | % | 3.45 | % | ||||
Weighted
Average Expected Life of Options (in years)
|
7.06 | 6.93 |
The
expected dividend yield was based on a 12 month rolling average of the Company’s
dividend yield. The expected volatility is the standard deviation of
the change in the natural logarithm of the stock price (expressed as an annual
rate) for the expected term shown above. The expected term was based
on historic exercise patterns for similar grants. The risk free
interest rate is the 7-year Treasury Constant Maturity rate as of the date of
the grants for 2009 and 2008.
The
following summary reflects changes in the shares of Class A Non-Voting Common
Stock under option:
Option
Shares
|
Weighted
Average Exercise Price
|
Weighted
Average Remaining Life (Yrs.)
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
|
|||||||||||||
Plan
options
|
||||||||||||||||
Outstanding
at January 1, 2010
|
497,889 | $ | 15.91 | |||||||||||||
Granted
|
--- | |||||||||||||||
Exercised
|
(2,000 | ) | $ | 9.28 | ||||||||||||
Expired
|
--- | |||||||||||||||
Outstanding
at March 31, 2010
|
495,889 | $ | 15.93 | 4.56 | $ | 1,256 | ||||||||||
Options
exercisable at March 31, 2010
|
462,139 | $ | 15.98 | 4.23 | $ | 1,175 |
The total
intrinsic value of options exercised during the three month period ended March
31, 2010 was approximately $17,000.
The
following summary reflects changes in the non-vested shares of Class A Stock
under option:
Non-vested
Shares
|
Option
Shares
|
Weighted
Average Grant – Date Fair Value
Per
Option
|
||||||
Non-vested
at January 1, 2010
|
33,750 | $ | 15.26 | |||||
Granted
|
--- | N/A | ||||||
Vested
|
--- | N/A | ||||||
Canceled
|
--- | N/A | ||||||
Non-vested
at March 31, 2010
|
33,750 | $ | 15.26 |
As of
March 31, 2010, there was $12,000 of total unrecognized expense related to
non-vested option shares granted under the Plan. The cost will be
recognized over the remaining 0.13 year vesting period of the unvested
options.
NOTE
4 - REGULATORY ASSETS
FASB ASC
Topic 980 stipulates generally accepted accounting principles for companies
whose rates are established by or are subject to approval by a third-party
regulatory agency. Certain expenses are recoverable through rates
charged to our customers, without a return on investment, and are deferred and
amortized during future periods using various methods as permitted by the DEPSC,
the MDPSC, and the PAPUC. Depreciation and salary study expenses are
amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of five years, while all other
expenses related to rate proceedings and applications to increase rates are
amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of two years. The
postretirement benefit obligation, which is being amortized over twenty years,
is adjusted for the difference between the net periodic postretirement benefit
costs and the cash payments. The deferred income taxes will be
amortized over future years as the tax effects of temporary differences
previously flowed through to the customers reverse. Goodwill is
entirely associated with the acquisition of Mountain Hill in August 2008 and is
currently being amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of fifty
years. The purchase price of Mountain Hill included reimbursement of
all carrying costs through the date of acquisition, which resulted in the
recognition of goodwill. Deferred acquisition costs are the result of
due diligence costs related to the proposed purchase agreements for water and
wastewater facilities in Cecil County, Maryland. Amortization of
these deferred acquisition costs will not begin until the acquired assets are
placed into service.
Regulatory
assets, net of amortization, comprise:
|
||||||||
Unaudited
|
||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||
March
31, 2010
|
December
31, 2009
|
|||||||
Postretirement
benefit obligation
|
$ | 832 | $ | 849 | ||||
Deferred
income taxes recoverable in future rates
|
533 | 536 | ||||||
Goodwill
|
361 | 363 | ||||||
Deferred
acquisition costs
|
543 | 542 | ||||||
Expense
of rate and regulatory proceedings
|
151 | 228 | ||||||
$ | 2,420 | $ | 2,518 |
Expenses
related to the Net Periodic Pension Cost for the postretirement benefit
obligation are as follows:
Unaudited
|
||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||
For
the Three Months Ended March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
Net
Periodic Pension Cost
|
||||||||
Interest
cost
|
$ | 11 | $ | 11 | ||||
Amortization
of net loss
|
(1 | ) | (3 | ) | ||||
Amortization
of transition obligation
|
2 | 2 | ||||||
Total
Net Periodic Benefit Cost
|
$ | 12 | $ | 10 |
Contributions
Artesian
Water contributed $29,000 to its postretirement benefit plan in the first three
months of 2010 and expects to contribute another $87,000 for the remainder of
the year. These contributions consist of insurance premium payments
for medical, dental and life insurance benefits made on behalf of the Company’s
eligible retired employees.
NOTE
5 - NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE AND EQUITY PER COMMON SHARE
Basic net
income per share is based on the weighted average number of common shares
outstanding. Diluted net income per share is based on the weighted
average number of common shares outstanding and the potentially dilutive effect
of employee stock options. The following table summarizes the shares
used in computing basic and diluted net income per share:
For
the Quarter
|
||||||||
Ended
March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||
Average
common shares outstanding during the period for Basic
computation
|
7,513 | 7,413 | ||||||
Dilutive
effect of employee stock options
|
70 | 57 | ||||||
Average
common shares outstanding during the period for Diluted
computation
|
7,583 | 7,470 |
For three
months ended March 31, 2010, employee stock options to purchase 200,250 shares
of common stock were excluded from the calculations of diluted net income per
share as the calculated proceeds from the options’ exercise were greater than
the average market price of the Company’s common stock during this
period.
The
Company has 15,000,000 authorized shares of Class A Non-Voting Common Stock, or
Class A Stock, and 1,040,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, or Class B
Stock. As of March 31, 2010, 6,635,663 shares of Class A Stock and
881,452 shares of Class B Stock were issued and outstanding. As of
March 31, 2009, 6,543,694 Class A shares and 881,452 Class B shares were issued
and outstanding. The par value for both classes is $1.00 per
share. For the three months ended March 31, 2010 and March 31, 2009,
the Company issued 9,885 and 24,312 shares of Class A Stock,
respectively.
Equity
per common share was $12.19 and $12.23 at March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009,
respectively. These amounts were computed by dividing common
stockholders' equity by the weighted average number of shares of common stock
outstanding on March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, respectively.
NOTE
6 - REGULATORY PROCEEDINGS
Our water
and wastewater utilities generate operating revenue from customers based on
rates that are established by state Public Service Commissions through a rate
setting process that may include public hearings, evidentiary hearings and the
submission of evidence and testimony in support of the requested level of rates
by our company.
We are
subject to regulation by the following state regulatory
commissions: The DEPSC regulates both Artesian Water and Artesian
Wastewater. Artesian Water Maryland and Artesian Wastewater Maryland
are subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the MDPSC, and Artesian Water
Pennsylvania is subject to the regulatory jurisdiction of the
PAPUC.
Rate
Proceedings
Our
regulated utilities periodically seek rate increases to cover the cost of
increased operating expenses, increased financing expenses due to additional
investments in utility plant and other costs of doing business. In
Delaware, utilities are permitted by law to place rates into effect, under bond,
on a temporary basis pending completion of a rate increase
proceeding. The first temporary increase may be up to the lesser of
$2.5 million on an annual basis or 15% of gross water sales. Should
the rate case not be completed within seven months, by law, the utility may put
the entire requested rate relief, up to 15% of gross water sales, in effect
under bond until a final resolution is ordered and placed into
effect. If any such rates are found to be in excess of rates the
DEPSC finds to be appropriate, the utility must refund the portion found to be
in excess to customers with interest. The timing of our rate increase
requests are therefore dependent upon the estimated cost of the administrative
process in relation to the investments and expenses that we hope to recover
through the rate increase. We can provide no assurances that rate
increase requests will be approved by applicable regulatory agencies; and, if
approved, we cannot guarantee that these rate increases will be granted in a
timely or sufficient manner to cover the investments and expenses for which we
initially sought the rate increase.
On August
19, 2009, Artesian Water, DEPSC, the Division of the Public Advocate and
Christiana Care Health Services, Inc. entered into an agreement to settle
Artesian Water’s April 2008 application for an increase in rates. PSC
Order No. 7657 was signed by the DEPSC on September 22, 2009, approving the
settlement agreement, which made the existing 15% temporary increase in base
rates permanent. Since the rate was equal to the 15% temporary
increase in rates charged to customers since December 17, 2008, Artesian Water
was not required to refund any amounts to customers. This settlement
also included the agreement that Artesian Water will not apply for a further
rate increase for an 18-month period from the date of the DEPSC’s order closing
this application. It was also agreed that the revenue recovered by
the Company pursuant to the settlement does not include any recovery of funds
attributable to state income tax expense, as it is unlikely that any state
income tax will be paid by Artesian Water during the rate effective
period.
In March
2009, Artesian Wastewater filed an application with the DEPSC for approval of a
uniform tariff applicable to all of our wastewater territories in
Delaware. Previously, each time we added a new service territory, an
application was required to be submitted to the DEPSC for rate
approval. As a result of the July 7, 2009 DEPSC approval of our
application, Artesian Wastewater is now permitted to apply its tariffed rates to
any new service territories without prior DEPSC approval.
Service Territory Expansion
Proceedings
On March
20, 2007, the DEPSC entered Order No. 7142 which re-opened Regulation Docket No.
51. By this Order, the DEPSC proposed to repeal rules implemented in
2001 and replace them with new "Regulations Governing Certificates of Public
Convenience and Necessity." The proposed rules addressed the content
of how notifications are sent to landowners, the definitions for the “Proposed
Service Area,” and the requirement of the applying utility to certify that it
will actually provide water services to a new proposed service territory within
three years. If water service is not provided within the three year
time frame, the proposed rule provides a mechanism for the DEPSC to determine
whether the utility should be able to retain the new CPCN. In the
March 2009 proceedings, the DEPSC recommended that a utility provide water
service to a new proposed service territory within five years. Under
the revised proposal a landowner could request the opportunity to opt-out of the
CPCN if service has not been provided within five years. The utility
would be entitled to a hearing before DEPSC on the opt-out
request. On March 2, 2010, the DEPSC reached decisions on these
proposed rules. They voted unanimously to not adopt any change
regarding the proposed five-year opt out rule, but did approve changes to the
definition of “Proposed Service Area.” In the future, a Proposed
Service Area will encompass either a single parcel or two or more contiguous
parcels that will be provided water by the same system or main
extension.
In
Maryland, if we are seeking new franchise areas, we must first seek approval
from the county or town government and this franchise area must be included in
that county’s master water and sewer plan. The authority to exercise
these franchise areas must then be obtained from the MDPSC. If
utilities want to construct a new plant, approvals must be obtained from the
Maryland Department of the Environment, the county government and the
MDPSC. Also, soil and erosion plans must be approved and easement
agreements with affected parties must be obtained. The MDPSC also
approves rates and charges for service, acquisitions, mergers, issuance of
securities and other matters.
On June
4, 2009, the MDPSC approved Artesian Water Maryland’s request to construct a
water system to serve the 172 residents of the Whitaker Woods housing
development located adjacent to the Mountain Hill Service Area. This
expanded franchise area is subject to the Mountain Hill tariff
rates. We began serving customers in this development in November
2009. On September 9, 2009, the MDPSC approved Artesian Water
Maryland’s request to construct a water system to serve 71 residents in the
Charlestown Crossing housing development. Construction is expected to
be completed mid-year 2010.
In
December 2009, Artesian Water Maryland applied for approval from the MDPSC to
exercise a franchise to provide water service to the Town of Port
Deposit. This application also requested authority to finance the
purchase of water system facilities, and to establish water service
rates. We expect a decision mid-year 2010.
Other
Proceedings
Delaware
statute permits water utilities to put into effect, on a semi-annual basis,
increases related to specific types of distribution system improvements through
a Distribution System Improvement Charge or DSIC. This charge is
available to water utilities to be implemented between general rate increase
applications that normally recognize changes in a water utility’s overall
financial position. The DSIC approval process is less costly when
compared to the approval process for general rate increase
requests. The DSIC rate applied between base rate filings is capped
at 7.5% of the amount billed to customers under otherwise applicable rates and
charges, and the DSIC rate increase applied can not exceed 5% within any
12-month period. We did not have DSIC in effect during
2009. In November 2009, Artesian Water filed an application with the
DEPSC for approval to collect a 0.34% increase, an estimated $185,000 annually,
effective January 1, 2010. This will recover the costs of eligible
non-revenue producing improvements made since the last rate increase in
2008. The DEPSC approved the DSIC effective January 1, 2010 subject
to audit at a later date. For the three months ended March 31, 2010,
we earned approximately $45,000 in DSIC revenue.
On April
10, 2006, the DEPSC made effective new rules under Regulation Docket 15 that
govern the terms and conditions under which water utilities require advances or
contributions from customers or developers. These regulations require
that developers pay for all water facilities within a new development, with such
funding recorded as contributions in aid of construction by the water
utility. In addition, the utility is required to receive a
contribution in aid of construction of $1,500 for each new residential
connection to its system towards the cost of water supply, treatment and storage
facilities. These regulations further require developers to fully pay
for facilities to serve satellite systems. These required
contributions are intended to place a greater burden upon new customers to pay
for the cost of facilities required to serve them. On February 12,
2010, we filed the first of three required annual reports with the DEPSC, in
order to demonstrate our compliance with Regulation Docket 15.
In 2003,
legislation was enacted in Delaware requiring all water utilities serving within
northern New Castle County, Delaware to certify by July 2006, and each three
years thereafter, that they have sufficient sources of self-supply to serve
their respective systems. On June 30, 2006, Artesian Water filed our
certification related to the adequacy of our water supply through
2009. After completion of their review, on July 24, 2007, the DEPSC
accepted our certification of sufficient water supply. As required,
we filed a new certification of self-sufficiency with the DEPSC on June 30,
2009, for the period through 2012. We expect final review by the
DEPSC by the second quarter of 2010.
NOTE
7 – INCOME TAXES
Under
FASB ASC Topic 740 the Company analyzed Artesian’s various tax positions and
determined that no further entry, recognition or derecognition was
required. The Company would recognize, if applicable, interest
accrued and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense
and in accordance with the regulations of the jurisdictions
involved. There were no such interest and penalty charges for the
period ended March 31, 2010 or March 31, 2009. The Company remains
subject to examination by federal and state authorities for tax years 2006
through 2009.
NOTE
8 – FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The
following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each
class of financial instruments for which it is practicable to estimate that
value.
Current
Assets and Liabilities
For those
current assets and liabilities that are considered financial instruments, the
carrying amounts approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those
instruments.
Long-term
Financial Liabilities
The fair
value of Artesian Resources' long-term debt as of March 31, 2010 and
December 31, 2009, determined by discounting their future cash flows using
current market interest rates on similar instruments with comparable maturities
as guided under FASB ASC 825 are shown as below:
In
thousands
|
||||||||
March
31, 2010
|
December
31, 2009
|
|||||||
Carrying
amount
|
$ | 105,741 | $ | 106,025 | ||||
Estimated
fair value
|
105,431 | 103,650 | ||||||
The fair
value of Advances for Construction cannot be reasonably estimated due to the
inability to accurately estimate the timing and amounts of future refunds
expected to be paid over the life of the contracts. Refund payments
are based on the water sales to new customers in the particular development
constructed. The fair value of Advances for Construction would be
less than the carrying amount because these financial instruments are
non-interest bearing.
NOTE 9 – NORTHERN SUSSEX REGIONAL WATER RECYCLING COMPLEX,
LLC
On June
30, 2008, Artesian Utility signed an agreement with Northern Sussex Regional
Water Recycling Complex, LLC, or NSRWRC, for the design, construction and
operation of the Northern Sussex Regional Water Recycling Complex, a wastewater
treatment facility to be located in Sussex County, Delaware. NSRWRC
was created for the sole purpose of developing the treatment facility site,
which once constructed, will be operated by Artesian Wastewater. The
Company has determined that NSRWRC constitutes a variable interest entity, or
VIE, as defined by FASB ASC Topic 810. See Note 2 – Basis of
Presentation.
The
Company, by contract, has control over the design and construction of the
treatment facility. NSRWRC is financially responsible for designing
and building the treatment facility. Under the terms of the
agreement, Artesian Resources acts as the guarantor of a $10 million
construction loan, secured by a 75 acre parcel purchased by NSRWRC on July 1,
2008 for approximately $5 million. The interest rate on the
construction loan is variable based on LIBOR Advantage Rate plus 225 basis
points. The construction loan includes provisions that require
Artesian Resources to assume the debt and all liabilities arising from that debt
under certain circumstances, including the bankruptcy of NSRWRC. In
the event of default by NSRWRC, Artesian Resources shall pay NSRWRC's
obligations due to the financial institution; or on demand of the financial
institution immediately deposit all amounts due under the
obligation. As of March 31, 2010, approximately $7.6 million has been
drawn on the loan, which is included in the Lines of Credit on our Consolidated
Balance Sheet. As of March 31, 2010, approximately $7.9 million is
included in non-utility property and was comprised of the land and construction
in progress of the facility. The entire capitalization of NSRWRC is
comprised of the amounts borrowed against the $10 million construction
loan. In connection with the purchase of the treatment facility site,
as of June 30, 2008, Artesian Utility agreed to commit $3.0 million to NSRWRC,
payable in 10 equal annual installments, which commenced on June 30,
2008. In April 2009, Artesian Utility agreed to accelerate two of its
payments to NSRWRC in exchange for a $450,000 reduction in the total
commitment. As a result of the April 2009 reduction in the commitment
and the acceleration of the payments, the remaining balance of $1,350,000 was to
be repaid over the following 5 years with a final payment of $150,000 due on
June 30, 2014. As of March 31, 2010, the balance owed to NSRWRC was
$1,350,000. There has been a nominal investment in NSRWRC by the
owner of NSRWRC. The treatment facility will be owned by NSRWRC until
the initial loan for the construction of the treatment facility is
repaid. At that time, the treatment facility will be transferred to
the Company for nominal value as contributed property. Immediately
following the transfer of the treatment facility and extinguishment of debt,
NSRWRC will be dissolved.
NOTE
10 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The
Company has entered into transactions in the normal course of business with
related parties. The owner of NSRWRC is the sole owner of Meridian
Architects and Engineers, LLC, or Meridian Architects, Meridian Enterprises,
LLC, or Meridian Enterprises, and Meridian Consulting, LLC, or Meridian
Consulting. The Company did not use Meridian Architects, Meridian
Enterprises or Meridian Consulting for consulting services during the three
months ended March 31, 2010. For the three months ended March 31,
2009, approximately $100,000 was paid to Meridian Architects, approximately
$100,000 was paid to Meridian Enterprises and approximately $18,000 was paid to
Meridian Consulting in connection with various consulting
services. Approximately $15,000 was paid to Meridian Enterprises for
each of the three months ended March 31, 2010 and March 31, 2009, respectively,
for office space rental. Also, as of March 31, 2010 and March 31,
2009, the Company had accounts receivable balances for engineering services due
from the following entities, all of which are owned by the owner of
NSRWRC: Meridian Architects of approximately $58,000 and $51,000,
Landlock, LLC of approximately $228,000 and $168,000, Triple D Double S, LLC of
approximately $74,000 and $35,000 and Peninsula Square, LLC of approximately
$32,000 and $21,000. A portion of the accounts receivable balance,
approximately $262,000, is over one year old. In addition, for the
three months ended March 31, 2010, related party revenue for engineering
services is as follows: Triple D Double S, LLC of approximately
$3,000. For the three months ended March 31, 2009, related party
revenue for engineering services is as follows: Landlock, LLC of
approximately $59,000, Triple D Double S, LLC of approximately $5,000 and
Peninsula Square, LLC of approximately $12,000. All services were
provided in the ordinary course of business at fees and on terms and conditions
that the Company believes are the same as those that would result from
arm’s-length negotiations between unrelated parties.
NOTE
11 - IMPACT OF RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In June
2009, the FASB issued authoritative guidance to amend the manner in which
entities evaluate whether consolidation is required for variable interest
entities, or VIEs. The model for determining which enterprise has a
controlling financial interest and is the primary beneficiary of a VIE has
changed significantly under the new guidance. Previously, variable
interest holders had to determine whether they had a controlling financial
interest in a VIE based on a quantitative analysis of the expected gains and/or
losses of the entity. In contrast, the new guidance requires an
enterprise with a variable interest in a VIE to qualitatively assess whether it
has a controlling financial interest in the entity, and if so, whether it is the
primary beneficiary. Furthermore, this guidance requires that
companies continually evaluate VIEs for consolidation, rather than assessing
based upon the occurrence of triggering events. This revised guidance
also requires enhanced disclosures about how a company’s involvement with a VIE
affects its financial statements and exposure to risks. This
statement is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years
beginning after November 15, 2009, with earlier adoption
prohibited. The adoption of this statement did not have a material
impact on the financial statements. Information regarding the
Company’s involvement with variable interest entities is included in Note 9 -
Northern Sussex Regional Water Recycling Complex, LLC.
In
January 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance which clarifies that the
stock portion of a distribution to shareholders that allows them to elect to
receive cash or shares with a potential limitation on the total amount of cash
that all shareholders can elect to receive in the aggregate is considered a
share issuance thus eliminating the diversity in practice. This new
guidance is effective for interim and annual periods ending on or after December
15, 2009, and should be applied on a retrospective basis. The Company
does not expect a material impact on the Company's financial statements due to
the adoption of this guidance.
In
January 2010, the FASB issued authoritative guidance requiring some new
disclosures and clarifying some existing disclosure requirements about fair
value measurement. The objective is to improve these disclosures and,
thus, increase the transparency in financial reporting. This new
guidance now requires a reporting entity to disclose separately the amounts of
significant transfers in and out of Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements
and describe the reasons for the transfers, and in the reconciliation for fair
value measurements using significant unobservable inputs, a reporting entity
should present separately information about purchases, sales, issuances, and
settlements for Level 3 fair value measurements. In addition, this
new guidance clarifies the requirements of existing disclosures. For
purposes of reporting fair value measurement for each class of assets and
liabilities, a reporting entity needs to use judgment in determining the
appropriate classes of assets and liabilities and a reporting entity should
provide disclosures about the valuation techniques and inputs used to measure
fair value for both recurring and nonrecurring fair value
measurements. This new guidance is effective for interim and annual
reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the disclosures
about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements in the roll forward of
activity in Level 3 fair value measurements. Those disclosures are
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010, and for interim
periods within those fiscal years. Early application is
permitted. The Company does not expect a material impact on the
Company's financial statements due to the adoption of this
guidance.
In February 2010, the FASB issued
revised authoritative
guidance removing the
requirement for an SEC filer to disclose a date through which subsequent events
have been evaluated in both issued and revised financial
statements. Revised financial statements include financial statements
revised as a result of either correction of an error or retrospective
application of U.S. GAAP. The FASB also clarified that if the
financial statements have been revised, then an entity that is not an SEC filer
should disclose both the date that the financial statements were issued or
available to be issued and the date the revised financial statements were issued
or available to be issued. The FASB believes these amendments remove
potential conflicts with the SEC’s literature.In addition, the amendments in this
guidance require an entity that is a conduit bond obligor for conduit debt
securities that are traded in a public market to evaluate subsequent events
through the date of issuance of its financial statements and must disclose such
date.All of the amendments
in this guidance were effective upon issuance (February 24, 2010) except for the
use of the issued date for conduit debt obligors. That amendment is
effective for interim or annual periods ending after June 15,
2010. The
adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the financial
statements.
In March
2010, the FASB issued an update that clarifies the type of embedded credit
derivative that is exempt from embedded derivative bifurcation
requirements. Specifically, only one form of embedded credit
derivative qualifies for the exemption - one that is related only to the
subordination of one financial instrument to another. As a result,
entities that have contracts containing an embedded credit derivative feature in
a form other than such subordination may need to separately account for the
embedded credit derivative feature. The amendments in this update are
effective for each reporting entity at the beginning of its first fiscal quarter
beginning after June 15, 2010. Early adoption is permitted at the
beginning of each entity’s first fiscal quarter beginning after March 5,
2010. The Company does not expect a material impact on the Company's
financial statements due to the adoption of this guidance.
In April
2010, the FASB issued an update that clarifies that an employee share-based
payment award with an exercise price denominated in the currency of a market in
which a substantial portion of the entity’s equity securities trades should not
be considered to contain a condition that is not a market, performance, or
service condition. Therefore, an entity would not classify such an award as a
liability if it otherwise qualifies as equity. The amendments in this
update do not expand the recurring disclosures required. Disclosures
currently required are applicable to a share-based payment award, including the
nature and terms of share-based payment arrangements. The amendments
in this update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those
fiscal years, beginning on or after December 15, 2010. The amendments
in this update should be applied by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to
the opening balance of retained earnings. The cumulative-effect
adjustment should be calculated for all awards outstanding as of the beginning
of the fiscal year in which the amendments are initially applied, as if the
amendments had been applied consistently since the inception of the
award. The cumulative-effect adjustment should be presented
separately. Earlier application is permitted. The Company
does not expect a material impact on the Company's financial statements due to
the adoption of this guidance.
MANAGEMENT'S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS
RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED MARCH 31, 2010
OVERVIEW
Our
profitability is primarily attributable to the sale of water by Artesian
Water. Gross water sales in Artesian Water comprise 85.8% of total
operating revenues, the amount of which is subject to seasonal fluctuations,
particularly during summer when water demand may vary with rainfall and
temperature. In the event temperatures during the typically warmer
months are cooler than expected, or rainfall is greater than expected, the
demand for water may decrease and our revenues may be adversely
affected. We believe the effects of weather are short term and do not
materially affect the execution of our strategic initiatives.
While
water sales revenues are our primary source of revenues, we continue to seek
growth opportunities to provide wastewater service in Delaware, Maryland and the
surrounding areas. We also continue to explore and develop
relationships with developers and municipalities in order to increase revenues
from contract water and wastewater operations, wastewater management services
and design and construction services. Our contract operations and
other services provide a revenue stream that is not affected by changes in
weather patterns. We plan to continue developing and expanding our
contract operations and other services in a manner that complements our growth
in water service to new customers. Our anticipated growth in these
areas is subject to changes in residential and commercial construction, which
may be affected by interest rates, inflation and general housing and economic
market conditions. As a result of the general economic downturn, we
may not be able to increase our contract operations and other services at the
rate we had previously expected. We will continue to focus attention
on expanding our contract operations opportunities with municipalities and
private water providers in Delaware and surrounding areas.
Water
Division
Artesian
Water, Artesian Water Maryland and Artesian Water Pennsylvania provide water
service to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, municipal and
utility customers. Increases in the number of customers served
contributed to increases in our operating revenue. As of March 31,
2010, we had approximately 77,200 metered water customers in Delaware, an
increase of approximately 1,300 compared to March 31, 2009, while the number of
metered customers in Maryland and Pennsylvania remained consistent with
2009.
Wastewater
Division
Artesian
Wastewater owns wastewater infrastructure and began providing wastewater
services in Delaware in July 2005. Artesian Wastewater Maryland was
incorporated on June 3, 2008 to provide regulated wastewater services in the
state of Maryland. Our wastewater customers are billed a flat monthly
fee, which contributes to providing a revenue stream unaffected by
weather.
Non-Regulated
Division
Artesian
Utility provides contract water and wastewater operation services to 26 private,
municipal and governmental institutions. Artesian Utility currently
operates wastewater treatment facilities for the town of Middletown, in Southern
New Castle County, or Middletown, under a 20-year contract that expires on
February 1, 2021. The facilities include a 2.5 mgd and a 250,000
gallon per day wastewater treatment station. We also operate a
wastewater disposal facility in Middletown in order to support the 2.5 mgd
wastewater facility described above.
Artesian
Development owns an approximately six-acre parcel of land zoned for office
buildings located immediately adjacent to our corporate headquarters and
approximately eighteen acres of land, in Sussex County, on which an office
facility, a water treatment plant and a wastewater facility may be
constructed.
Artesian
Engineers, previously known as Meridian, provides engineering services to
developers for residential and commercial development. The
acquisition of Meridian in June 2008 included the assignment of certain current
contract agreements to provide engineering services to developers and includes
services to be provided to Artesian Water.
Protection
Plans
In
addition to services discussed above, Artesian Resources initiated a Water
Service Line Protection Plan, or WSLP Plan, in March 2005. The WSLP
Plan covers all parts, material and labor required to repair or replace
participants’ leaking water service lines up to an annual limit. As
of March 31, 2010, approximately 14,700, or 21.3%, of our 69,000 eligible water
customers had signed up for the WSLP Plan. The WSLP Plan was expanded
in the second quarter of 2008 to include maintenance or repair to customers’
sewer lines. This plan, the Sewer Service Line Protection Plan, or
SSLP Plan, covers all parts, material and labor required to repair or replace
participants’ leaking or clogged sewer lines up to an annual
limit. As of March 31, 2010, approximately 6,900, or 10.0%, of our
69,000 eligible customers had signed up for the SSLP Plan.
Strategic
Direction
Our
strategy is to significantly increase customer growth, revenues, earnings and
dividends by expanding our water and wastewater services across the Delmarva
Peninsula. We remain focused on providing superior service to our
customers and continuously seeking ways to improve our efficiency and
performance. By providing both water and wastewater services, we
believe we are positioned as the primary resource for developers and communities
throughout the Delmarva Peninsula seeking to fill both needs
simultaneously. We have a proven ability to acquire and integrate
high growth, established entities, through which we have captured additional
service territories that will serve as a base for future
revenue. With recent acquisitions, we have successfully integrated
their operations, infrastructure, technology and employees. We
believe this experience presents a strong platform for further expansion and
that our success to date also produces positive relationships and credibility
with regulators, municipalities, developers and customers in both existing and
prospective service areas.
In our
regulated water division, our strategy is to focus on a wide spectrum of
activities, which include identifying new and dependable sources of supply,
developing the wells, treatment plants and delivery systems to get water to
customers and educating customers on the wise use of water. Our
strategy includes focusing our efforts to expand in new regions added to our
Delaware service territory over the last 10 years. In addition, we
believe growth will occur in the Maryland counties on the Delmarva
Peninsula. We plan to expand our regulated water service area in the
Cecil County designated growth corridor and to expand our business through the
design, construction, operation and management, as well as acquisition of
additional water systems. The expansion of our exclusive franchise
areas elsewhere in Maryland and the award of additional contracts will similarly
enhance our operations within the state.
We
believe that Delaware's generally lower cost of living in the region,
availability of development sites in relatively close proximity to the Atlantic
Ocean in Sussex County, and attractive financing rates for construction and
mortgages have resulted, and will continue to result, in increases to our
customer base. Substantial portions of Delaware are currently not
served by a public water system, which could also assist in an increase to our
customer base as systems are added. According to the US Census
Bureau, Delaware's population increased an estimated 13% from 2000 to 2009, as
compared to the nationwide growth rate of approximately 9%. Recent
general economic conditions, particularly in the housing market, resulted in a
much lower rate of new customer additions than experienced in many
years.
In our
regulated wastewater division, we foresee significant growth opportunities and
will continue to seek strategic partnerships and relationships with developers
and municipalities to complement existing agreements for the provision of
wastewater service in Delaware, Maryland, and the surrounding
areas. Artesian Wastewater completed an agreement with Georgetown,
Delaware in July 2008 to provide wastewater treatment and disposal services for
Georgetown’s growth and annexation areas. Artesian Wastewater will
provide up to 1 mgd of wastewater capacity for the town over the next 10
years. Artesian Wastewater Maryland signed two agreements in October
2008 with Cecil County for the purchase of specific wastewater
facilities. The closing of these transactions is delayed until a
final judicial determination is received on the petition filed by the Appleton
Alliance. Closing on these transactions is also subject to the
approval of the MDPSC. Once completed, these acquisitions will add
four wastewater facilities to our service area.
The
general need for increased capital investment in wastewater systems is due to a
combination of population growth, more protective water quality standards, and
aging infrastructure. Our capital investment plan for the next five
years includes projects for wastewater treatment plant improvements and
additions in both Delaware and Maryland. Capital improvements are
planned and budgeted to meet anticipated changes in regulations and needs for
increased capacity related to projected growth. The DEPSC and MDPSC
have generally recognized the operating and capital costs associated with these
improvements in setting wastewater rates for current customers and capacity
charges for new customers.
In our
non-regulated division, we are actively pursuing opportunities to expand our
contract operations. In Artesian Utility, we will seek to expand our
contract design and construction services of water and wastewater facilities for
developers, municipalities and other utilities and will continue to actively
pursue water and wastewater operation contracts with municipalities across the
Delmarva Peninsula. Artesian Development owns eighteen acres of land,
located in Sussex County, Delaware, which will allow for construction of an
office facility, water treatment facility and wastewater treatment
facility. Artesian Engineers continues to provide engineering
services to design on-site and off-site water and wastewater systems for
developers. Also, with the expansion efforts in our water and
wastewater divisions, we believe Artesian Engineers will provide increased
design and engineering services.
Regulatory
Matters and Inflation
Our water
and wastewater utility operations are subject to regulation by their respective
state regulatory commissions, which have broad administrative power and
authority to regulate rates charged for service, determine franchise areas and
conditions of service, approve acquisitions, authorize the issuance of
securities and other matters. The profitability of our utility
operations is influenced, to a great extent, by the timeliness and adequacy of
rate allowances we are granted by the respective regulatory commissions or
authorities in the states in which we operate.
In August
2009, Artesian Water, DEPSC, the Division of the Public Advocate and Christiana
Care Health Services, Inc. entered into an agreement to settle Artesian Water’s
April 2008 application for an increase in rates. PSC Order No. 7657
was signed by the DEPSC on September 22, 2009, approving the settlement
agreement, which made the existing 15% temporary increase in base rates
permanent. Since the rate was equal to the 15% temporary increase in
rates charged to customers since December 17, 2008, Artesian Water was not
required to refund any amounts to customers. This settlement also
included the agreement that Artesian Water will not apply for a further rate
increase for an 18-month period from the date of the DEPSC’s order closing this
application. It was also agreed that the revenue recovered by the
Company pursuant to the settlement does not include any recovery of funds
attributable to state income tax expense, as it is unlikely that any state
income tax will be paid by Artesian Water during the rate effective
period.
We are
affected by inflation, most notably by the continually increasing costs required
to maintain, improve and expand our service capability. The
cumulative effect of inflation results in significantly higher facility costs
compared to investments made 20 to 40 years ago, which must be recovered from
future cash flows.
Results of Operations –
Analysis of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2010 Compared to the Three Months
Ended March 31, 2009
Operating
Revenues
Revenues
totaled $15.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010, $1.1 million or
8.0%, above revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 of $13.9
million. An increase in non-utility revenue of approximately $562,000
was the primary contributor to the increase, a result of an increase in contract
services. Water sales revenues increased 3.2% for the three months
ended March 31, 2010, over the corresponding period in 2009, a result of an
increase in water consumption. In addition, a portion of the increase
in water sales revenue reflects an increase of approximately 1,300 customers
served as compared to the same period in 2009. An increase of
approximately $150,000 in other utility operating revenue also contributed to
the increase in our total operating revenues. We realized 86.1% of
our total operating revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from the
sale of water. In 2009, 90.1% of our total revenue was from water
sales.
Non-utility
operating revenue increased $562,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2010,
or 61.9%, from $908,000 in 2009 to $1,470,000 for the same period in
2010. This increase is attributable to an increase in contract
revenue in Artesian Utility, primarily due to design and permitting services
performed for a project in Middletown, Delaware and increased contract services
performed for municipalities in Maryland.
Other
utility operating revenue increased approximately $150,000, from $468,000 in
2009 to $618,000 in 2010. The increase is primarily the result of
increased wastewater customer service revenues and an increase in the per shut
off fee in our service charges.
Operating
Expenses
Operating
expenses, excluding depreciation and income taxes, increased $981,000, or 11.7%,
to $9.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to $8.4
million for the same period in 2009. The components of the change in
operating expenses includes an increase in utility operating expenses of
$524,000, an increase in non-utility operating expenses of $348,000 and an
increase in property taxes of $109,000.
The
increase in utility operating expenses of $524,000, or 7.7%, for the quarter
ended March 31, 2010 over the same period in 2009, is comprised of an increase
in purchased water expense, payroll and employee benefits costs and
administrative expenses.
Purchased
water expense increased $233,000, or 30.4%, compared to the same period in 2009,
primarily due to the timing of purchases under contract from the Chester Water
Authority and an increase of 11.0% in Chester Water Authority’s rates effective
in July 2009. The Chester Water Authority sent us a notice on March
16, 2010 of an 11.5% rate increase schedule to become effective on July 1,
2010.
Payroll
and employee benefit costs increased $128,000, or 3.5%, compared to the same
period in 2009, primarily the result of an increase in hours worked due to the
unusual winter weather experienced in the first quarter of 2010 and increased
medical benefit premiums.
Administration
expenses increased $127,000, or 13.5%, in the first quarter of 2010 compared to
2009 as a result of an increase in safety supply costs, postage costs and rate
filing costs.
Non-utility
expenses increased approximately $348,000, or 51.9%, for the three months ended
March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009, primarily the
result of more project activity in Artesian Utility as compared to the same
period in 2009.
Property
and other taxes increased by $109,000, or 12.8%, compared to the same period in
2009, reflecting increases in tax rates charged for public schools in various
areas where Artesian holds property and increases in the number of plants owned
by Artesian. Property taxes are assessed on land, buildings and
certain utility plants, which includes the footage and size of pipe, hydrants
and wells primarily owned by Artesian Water. The increase in property
and other taxes also reflects an increase in payroll taxes, a result of
increased payroll costs.
The ratio
of operating expense, excluding depreciation and income taxes, to total revenue
was 62.4% for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to 60.3% for the
three months ended March 31, 2009.
Depreciation
and amortization expense increased $133,000, or 8.3%, for the three months ended
March 31, 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009, due to continuing
investment in utility plant in service providing supply, treatment, storage and
distribution of water.
Federal
and state income tax expense increased $34,000 due to higher taxable income for
the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to the three months ended March
31, 2009.
Other Income,
Net
Miscellaneous
income increased approximately $143,000 for the three months ended March 31,
2010 compared to the same period in 2009, primarily due to the amount of the
annual CoBank investment patronage distribution, which increased from $512,000
in 2009 to $647,000 in 2010. The distribution in 2010 included an
increased return due to the addition of the $15 million Series S Bond issued in
December 2008. Our Allowance for Funds Used During Construction, or
AFUDC, decreased $66,000 compared to the same period in 2009, due to the general
slowdown in the housing market, resulting in decreased long-term construction
activity subject to AFUDC for the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same
period in 2009.
Interest
Charges
Interest
charges decreased $3,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to
the three months ended March 31, 2009, primarily due to less long term debt
interest expense, a result of a decrease in long term debt in 2010 compared to
2009. Partially offsetting the decrease in long term debt is an
increase in short term debt interest, primarily due to an increase in short term
debt outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2010 compared to the
three months ended March 31, 2009.
Net
Income
Our net
income increased $39,000, or 2.4%, for the three months ended March 31, 2010,
compared to the same period a year ago. This increase was primarily
due to the increase in miscellaneous income from the annual CoBank investment
patronage distribution, offset by decreased AFUDC due to the general slowdown in
the housing market that decreased long-term construction activity subject to
AFUDC and lower utility operating income margins for the first quarter of 2010
compared to the same period in 2009.
LIQUIDITY
AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Overview
Our
primary sources of liquidity for the three months ended March 31, 2010 were $5.6
million provided by cash flow from operating activities and $0.8 million in net
contributions and advances from developers. Cash flow from operating
activities is primarily provided by our utility operations, and is impacted by
the timeliness and adequacy of rate increases and changes in water consumption
as a result of year-to-year variations in weather conditions, particularly
during the summer. A significant part of our ability to maintain and
meet our financial objectives is to ensure that our investments in utility plant
and equipment are recovered in the rates charged to customers. As
such, from time to time we file rate increase requests to recover increases in
operating expenses and investments in utility plant and equipment.
The
amount outstanding on the Company’s lines of credit was $23.7 million, a
decrease of $1.4 million over the amount outstanding as of December 31,
2009. The reduction in overall borrowings during 2010 as compared to
2009 was primarily the result of lower investments made in utility plant in
2010.
Investment in Plant and
Systems
The
primary focus of Artesian Water’s investment was to continue to provide high
quality reliable service to our growing service territory. We
invested $2.6 million in capital expenditures during the first three months of
2010 compared to $3.5 million invested during the same period in
2009. We have invested $0.1 million to enhance or improve existing
treatment facilities and for the rehabilitation of pumping equipment to better
serve our customers. We invested $0.6 million to upgrade and automate
our meter reading equipment. We invested approximately $0.2 million
for our rehabilitation program for transmission and distribution facilities and
replacing aging or deteriorating mains. We invested approximately
$0.2 million in mandatory utility plant expenditures, due to governmental
highway projects, which require the relocation of water service
mains. Developers financed $0.3 million for the installation of water
mains and hydrants for the first three months of 2010 compared to $0.6 million
for the first three months of 2009. We also invested $0.3 million for
renovations made to the main office building located in New Castle County and
furniture and equipment related to the renovation. The investment in
general plant also includes an additional investment of $0.1 million for
computer hardware and software upgrades. An additional $0.3 million
was invested in wastewater projects in Sussex County, Delaware. We
also invested $0.1 in tank repairs and meter equipment in Cecil County,
Maryland.
Lines of
Credit
At March
31, 2010, Artesian Resources had a $40 million line of credit with Citizens
Bank, or Citizens, which is available to all the subsidiaries of Artesian
Resources. As of March 31, 2010, there was $23.9 million of available
funds under this line of credit. The interest rate for borrowings
under this line is based on the London Interbank Offering Rate, or
“LIBOR.” This is a demand line of credit and therefore the financial
institution may demand payment for any outstanding amounts at any
time. The term of this line of credit expires on the earlier of
January 18, 2011 or any date on which Citizens demands payment.
At March
31, 2010, Artesian Water had a $20 million line of credit with CoBank, ACB, or
CoBank, that allows for the financing of operations for Artesian Water, with up
to $10 million of this line available for the operations of Artesian Water
Maryland. As of March 31, 2010, no funds were borrowed under this
line of credit. The interest rate for borrowings under this line is
the LIBOR plus 1.50%. The term of this line of credit expires on
January 18, 2011.
On June
30, 2008, Artesian Utility signed an agreement with Northern Sussex Regional
Water Recycling Complex, LLC, or NSRWRC. Under the terms of the
agreement, Artesian Resources acts as the guarantor of NSRWRC’s $10 million
construction loan secured by land. As of March 31, 2010 NSRWRC had
$2.4 million of available funds under the construction loan. The
interest rate on this guaranteed debt is variable based on the LIBOR Advantage
Rate plus 225 basis points. In the event of a default by NSRWRC,
Artesian Resources shall pay the bank the amount due of the obligations or, on
demand of the bank, immediately deposit all amounts due under the
obligation.
Line of Credit Commitments
|
Commitment Due by Period
|
|||||||||||||||
In
thousands
|
Less
than
1 Year
|
1-3 Years
|
4-5 Years
|
Over 5 Years
|
||||||||||||
Lines
of Credit
|
$ | 23,708 | $ | ----- | $ | ----- | $ | ----- |
Long Term
Debt
On August
1, 2008, Artesian Water Maryland executed a promissory note in the amount of
approximately $2.3 million to Sunrise Holdings, L.P., or Sunrise, in connection
with the Mountain Hill acquisition, that bears interest at a variable interest
rate based upon the LIBOR plus 150 basis points. The note is payable
in four equal annual installments, commencing on the first anniversary of the
closing date. The first annual installment payment of $0.6 million
was made on August 1, 2009, the remaining principal balance due on this note, as
of March 31, 2010, is $1.7 million. The note is secured by a first
lien security interest in all of Mountain Hill’s assets in favor of Sunrise and
is guaranteed by Artesian Resources.
Artesian
Water’s trust indentures, which set certain criteria for the issuance of new
long-term debt, limit long-term debt, including the short-term portion thereof,
to 66 ⅔% of total capitalization. Our debt to total capitalization,
including the short term portion thereof, was 54.4% at March 31,
2010. In addition, our line of credit with CoBank requires the
Company to have an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization to total interest expense ratio of not greater than 2.5 to 1 at the
end of each fiscal year.
We expect
to fund our activities for the next twelve months using our available cash
balances and bank credit lines, plus projected cash generated from
operations.
Contractual
Obligations
|
Payments
Due by Period
|
|||||||||||||||||||
In
thousands
|
Less
than
1 Year
|
1-3
Years
|
4-5
Years
|
After
5
Years
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||||
First
Mortgage Bonds (Principal and Interest)
|
$ | 7,108 | $ | 14,104 | $ | 13,929 | $ | 161,497 | $ | 196,638 | ||||||||||
State
revolving fund loans
|
590 | 1,723 | 1,723 | 9,021 | 13,057 | |||||||||||||||
Note
Payable (Principal and Interest)
|
601 | 1,171 | --- | --- | 1,772 | |||||||||||||||
Operating
leases
|
112 | 88 | 92 | 1,639 | 1,931 | |||||||||||||||
Unconditional
purchase obligations
|
3,443 | 6,935 | 6,926 | 23,405 | 40,709 | |||||||||||||||
Tank
painting contractual obligation
|
374 | 172 | --- | --- | 546 | |||||||||||||||
Total
contractual cash obligations
|
$ | 12,228 | $ | 24,193 | $ | 22,670 | $ | 195,562 | $ | 254,653 |
Long-term
debt obligations reflect the maturities of certain series of our first mortgage
bonds, which we intend to refinance when due. The state revolving
fund loan obligation has an amortizing mortgage payment payable over a 20-year
period, and will be refinanced as future securities are issued. Both
the long-term debt and the state revolving fund loan have certain financial
covenant provisions, the violation of which could result in default and require
the obligation to be immediately repaid, including all interest. We
have not experienced conditions that would result in our default under these
agreements, and we do not anticipate any such occurrence. Payments
for unconditional purchase obligations reflect minimum water purchase
obligations based on rates that are subject to change under our interconnection
agreement with the Chester Water Authority.
On
February 12, 2010, Artesian Water entered into a Financing Agreement, or DWSRF
Agreement, with the Delaware Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, acting by and
through the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of
Public Health, or the Department. The Company has been given a loan
of approximately $3.9 million, or the Loan, from the Delaware Safe Drinking Water
Revolving Fund to finance all or a portion of the cost of improvements
and upgrades to specific water mains in service areas located in New Castle
County, Delaware (collectively, the “Project”). In
accordance with the DWSRF Agreement, the Company will from time to time request
funds under the Loan as it incurs costs in connection with the
Project. The Company shall pay to the Department, on the principal
amount drawn down and outstanding from the date drawn, interest at a rate of
1.705% per annum and an administrative fee at the rate of 1.705% per
annum.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
In
connection with the purchase of the treatment facility site, as of June 30,
2008, Artesian Utility agreed to commit $3.0 million to NSRWRC, payable in 10
equal annual installments, which commenced on June 30, 2008. In April
2009, Artesian Utility agreed to accelerate two of its payments to NSRWRC in
exchange for a $450,000 reduction in the total commitment. As a
result of the April 2009 reduction in the commitment and the acceleration of the
payments, the remaining balance of $1,350,000 was to be repaid over the
following 5 years with a final payment of $150,000 due on June 30,
2014. As of March 31, 2010, the balance owed to NSRWRC was
$1,350,000.
Critical
Accounting Assumptions, Estimates and Policies; Recent Accounting
Standards
This
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is
based on the accounting policies used and disclosed in our 2009 consolidated
financial statements and accompanying notes that were prepared in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
and included as part of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2009. The preparation of those financial statements
required management to make assumptions and estimates that affected the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and
liabilities at the dates of the financial statements as well as the reported
amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual
amounts or results could differ from those based on such assumptions and
estimates.
Our
critical accounting policies are described in Management's Discussion and
Analysis included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2009. There have been no changes in our critical accounting
policies. Our significant accounting policies are described in our
notes to the 2009 consolidated financial statements included in our annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Information
concerning our implementation and the impact of recent accounting standards
issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board is included in the notes to
our 2009 consolidated financial statements included in our annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and also in the notes to our
consolidated financial statements contained in this quarterly report on Form
10-Q. We did not adopt any accounting policy in the first three
months of 2010 that had a material impact on our financial condition, liquidity
or results of operations.
CAUTION
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements
in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q which express our “belief,” “anticipation”
or “expectation,” as well as other statements which are not historical fact, are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the
Exchange Act and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Statements regarding our goals, priorities, growth and
expansion plans and expectation for our water and wastewater subsidiaries and
non-regulated subsidiaries, customer base growth opportunities in Delaware and
Cecil County, Maryland, our belief regarding our capacity to provide water
services for the foreseeable future to our customers, our belief relating to our
compliance and the cost to achieve compliance with relevant governmental
regulations, our expectation of the timing of decisions by regulatory
authorities, our expectation of the timing of the closing for pending
acquisitions, the impact of weather on our operations and the execution of our
strategic initiatives, our expectation of the timing for construction on new
projects, our belief regarding our reliance on outside engineering firms, our
expectation relating to the adoption of recent accounting pronouncements,
contract operations opportunities, legal proceedings, our properties, deferred
tax assets, adequacy of our available sources of financing, the expected
recovery of expenses related to our long-term debt, our expectation to be in
compliance with financial covenants in our debt instruments, our ability to
refinance our debt as it comes due, the timing and terms of renewals of our
lines of credit, plans to increase our wastewater treatment operations and other
revenue streams less affected by weather, expected future contributions to our
postretirement benefit plan, and our liquidity needs are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected. Words such as “expects”,
“anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes”, “seeks”, “estimates”, “projects”,
“forecasts”, “may”, “should”, variations of such words and similar expressions
are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Certain
factors as discussed under Item 1A -Risk Factors, such as changes in weather,
changes in our contractual obligations, changes in government policies, the
timing and results of our rate requests, changes in economic and market
conditions generally, and other matters could cause results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements. While the Company may
elect to update forward-looking statements, we specifically disclaim any
obligation to do so and you should not rely on any forward-looking statement as
representation of the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of
the filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
ITEM 3 - QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK
The
Company is subject to the risk of fluctuating interest rates in the normal
course of business. Our policy is to manage interest rates through
the use of fixed rate long-term debt and, to a lesser extent, short-term
debt. The Company's exposure to interest rate risk related to
existing fixed rate, long-term debt is due to the term of the majority of our
First Mortgage Bonds, which have final maturity dates ranging from 2019 to
2043. We are also exposed to market risk associated with changes in
commodity prices. Our risks associated with price increases in
chemicals, electricity and other commodities are mitigated by our ability to
recover our costs through rate increases to our customers. We have
also sought to mitigate future significant electric price increases by signing a
two year supply contract, at a fixed price.
At March
31, 2010, Artesian Resources had a $40 million line of credit with Citizens,
which is available to all the subsidiaries of Artesian Resources. As
of March 31, 2010, there was $23.9 million of available funds under this line of
credit. The interest rate for borrowings under this line is based on
the London Interbank Offering Rate, or “LIBOR.” This is a demand line
of credit and therefore the financial institution may demand payment for any
outstanding amounts at any time. The term of this line of credit
expires on the earlier of January 18, 2011 or any date on which Citizens demands
payment.
At March
31, 2010, Artesian Water had a $20 million line of credit with CoBank that
allows for the financing of operations for Artesian Water, with up to $10
million of this line available for the operations of Artesian Water
Maryland. As of March 31, 2010, no funds were borrowed under this
line of credit. The interest rate for borrowings under this line is
the LIBOR plus 1.50%. The term of this line of credit expires on
January 18, 2011.
On June
30, 2008, Artesian Utility signed an agreement with Northern Sussex Regional
Water Recycling Complex, LLC, or NSRWRC. Under the terms of the
agreement, Artesian Resources acts as the guarantor of NSRWRC’s $10 million
construction loan secured by land. As of March 31, 2010 NSRWRC had
$2.4 million of available funds under the construction loan. The
interest rate on this guaranteed debt is variable based on the LIBOR Advantage
Rate plus 225 basis points. In the event of a default by NSRWRC,
Artesian Resources shall pay the bank the amount due of the obligations or, on
demand of the bank, immediately deposit all amounts due under the
obligation.
On August
1, 2008, Artesian Water Maryland executed a promissory note in the amount of
approximately $2.3 million to Sunrise Holdings, L.P., or Sunrise, in connection
with the Mountain Hill acquisition, that bears interest at a variable interest
rate based upon the LIBOR plus 150 basis points. The note is payable
in four equal annual installments, commencing on the first anniversary of the
closing date. The first annual installment payment of $0.6 million
was made on August 1, 2009, the remaining principal balance due on this note, as
of March 31, 2010, is $1.7 million. The note is secured by a first
lien security interest in all of Mountain Hill’s assets in favor of Sunrise and
is guaranteed by Artesian Resources.
ITEM 4 – CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a) Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
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Our
management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this
report. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and
procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report are
functioning effectively to provide reasonable assurance that the
information required to be disclosed by us in reports filed under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended is (i) recorded, processed,
summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and
forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission and (ii) accumulated and
communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions
regarding disclosure. A controls system cannot provide absolute
assurance, however, that the objectives of the controls system are met,
and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all
control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been
detected.
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(b) Change
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
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No
change in our internal control over financial reporting occurred during
our most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over
financial reporting.
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ITEM 1A – RISK FACTORS
In
addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully
consider the factors discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, which could materially
affect our business, financial condition or future results. Although
there have been no material changes to the risk factors described in such Annual
Report on Form 10-K, the risks described therein are not the only risks facing
us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or
that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our
business, financial condition and/or operating results.
10.1
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Revolving
Credit Agreement dated January 19, 2010 between Artesian Water Company,
Inc. and CoBank, ACB. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1
filed with the Company’s Form 8-K filed on January 25,
2010.
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10.2
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Demand
Lind of Credit Agreement dated January 19, 2010 between Artesian Resources
Corporation and each of its subsidiaries and Citizens Bank of
Pennsylvania. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 filed
with the Company’s Form 8-K filed on January 25, 2010.
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10.3
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Financing
Agreement and General Obligation Note dated February 12, 2010 between
Artesian Water Company Inc. and Delaware Drinking Water State Revolving
Fund Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Division of Public
Health. Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 filed with
the Company’s Form 8-K filed on February 17, 2010.
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31.1
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31.2
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32
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* Filed
herewith
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
ARTESIAN
RESOURCES CORPORATION
Date: May
7, 2010
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By:
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/s/ DIAN
C. TAYLOR
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Dian
C. Taylor (Principal Executive
Officer)
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Date: May
7, 2010
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By:
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/s/ DAVID
B. SPACHT
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David
B. Spacht (Principal Financial and Accounting
Officer)
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