OREANDA-NEWS. February 04, 2010. In 2009 AS Tallinna Vesi's operating profit from water and wastewater related activities increased by 9.8 per cent to 414.4 million kroons year-on-year, while operating profits from other activities increased by 70.2 per cent to 47.5 million kroons. The company invested 251.6 million kroons in 2009.

AS Tallinna Vesi's CEO Ian Plenderleith said that last year's fourth quarter had a significant impact on the Company's 2009 results. „Additional income from connection activities due to the completion of construction coupled with our excellent environmental performance, which enabled us to achieve the beneficial 0.5 pollution tax benefit for nitrogen removal, greatly influenced the strong financial result achieved in the fourth quarter,“ said Plenderleith. AS Tallinna Vesi laid 43km of new sewerage pipes instead of the planned 39km in 2009, thus giving nearly 1500 families the opportunity to access the public sewerage network including over 200 customers who have been given the chance to connect to the network a year earlier than planned due to the additional pipe constructed. In the third quarter of 2009 the Company approved an investment into an additional treatment stage at the waste water treatment plant. ”This will enable the increasing pollution load to be treated to the highest standards in the future and will make a significant contribution to improving the quality of the sea and beaches around Tallinn”, added Plenderleith.

During the twelve months of 2009 the Company's total sales increased, year on year, by 7.3 per cent to 772.4 mln EEK. Sales of water and wastewater treatment were 707.4 mln EEK, a 7.5 per cent increase compared to the twelve months of 2008. The Company's net profit for the twelve months of 2009 was 339.9 mln EEK, which is 14.9 per cent higher than the net profit of 296.0 mln EEK in the equivalent period in 2008.

AS Tallinna Vesi invested 251.6 million kroons in 2009, of which 208,7 million kroons were invested into networks, 17.4 million kroons in the Paljassaare wastewater treatment plant, 6.4 million kroons into water quality and 19.1 millions kroons into other investments.

„AS Tallinna Vesi's strong financial performance in 2009 gives both the Company and its investors the confidence to continue achieving excellent operational results in the future, which will benefit the consumers in Tallinn and surrounding municipalities,“ said Plenderleith.

AS Tallinna Vesi's water and sewerage tariffs in 2010 decreased by 0.9 per cent and according to the services agreement between the Company and the City of Tallinn, will not feature any real tariff increase until the end of the contract period in 2020 in the main service area. „Water and sewerage tariffs

will only change in accordance with the general consumer price index, while the Company is committed to delivering an investment programme of over 300 million kroons in 2010, with the main focus being the 200 million kroon investment into the biofilter treatment stage at Paljassaare wastewater treatment plant in 2010-2011,“ added Plenderleith.