Shareholders in the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) will receive a dividend payment of 54.75 riel per share on April 23, almost double the 2013 payout figure of 27.7 riel.

PPWSA will pay out in total 4.7 billion riel ($1.17 million) to investors, according to a statement released last week.

PPWSA also said that it expects a gross revenue increase of 14.1 per cent in 2014 and a net profit increase of 12.5 per cent.

PPWSA’s annual report, published on April 8, shows total revenue for the firm during 2013 totalled $37.9 million, up 12 per cent from $33.8 million a year earlier.

Net profit for the water utility equaled $9.68 million, up 12.5 per cent from $8.6 million in 2012.

Om Seng Bora, an independent director on the PPWSA board of directors, encouraged investors to think long-term and consider the company’s 2013 results and the recent dividend announcement as good signs.

“If they think about short term, they are not happy,” he said. “The company can afford to double dividend distribution, so it can ensure long-term investment.”

PPWSA investor Sok Lak said he was not happy with the company’s transparency, saying he could have received better returns from opening a long-term deposit account in a banking institution.

Fellow investor Tann Sochan welcomed the shareholder updates.

“I think that it is appropriate and I am always thinking of the long-term investment,” she said. “I have never thought of selling out even if the dividend is small.”