Duxton Water sold $87.9m temp water in 2019 compared with $23.5m in 2018

Skyrocketing temporary water prices have delivered a fourfold hike in Duxton Water’s 2019 revenue.

Boom time: While drought ravaged irrigation communities, it lifted Duxton Water’s sales revenue to $87m. Picture: Mark Evans/Getty Images

SPECULATOR Duxton Water earned $87.9 million from the sale of temporary water in 2019, an almost fourfold hike on its $23.5m of sales in 2018.

The figures were revealed in the company’s annual report for the 2019 calendar year, released today, which show by far the bulk of the company’s revenue came from trading temporary (allocation) water.

Duxton Water 2019 calendar year annual report: Revenue and other income.

The huge lift in revenue came at a time when temporary water prices surged from $420 a megalitre in January 2019 to reach almost $1000/ML by November.

Duxton Water’s total revenue for 2019 was $96.45m, compared to $28.2m in 2018.

It appears the company has poured the profits off its temporary trade into buying permanent entitlements, which grew from $139.7m on December 31, 2018 to $231.7m by the end of 2019.

The financials show that Duxton had offloaded most of its temporary water by December 31, with just $7.73m left in the pool.

Duxton Water 2019 calendar year annual report: Permanent entitlement holdings.