WTaaS – some people might say business acronyms are getting a bit ridiculous but I’m sure you already knew that stands for wastewater treatment as a service because its just common sense, duh. It’s also the latest revenue source for water treatment company Fluence Corporation (ASX: FLC) which has secured a WTaaS contract covering 8 treatment plants in China. 

The 1 year contract which is renewable on an annual basis is valued at USD $1 million to Fluence which will be responsible for ensuring the 8 water treatment plants continue to meet China’s Class 1A wastewater treatment standard. It is the first operation and maintenance (O&M) contract secured for Fluence which recently launched the revenue vertical as an expansion of its wastewater treatment systems. 

“We are very pleased to win this contract with Panjin City. We are the obvious and most reliable choice for O&M support for the plants we sell,” said Fluence CEO and Managing Director, Tom Pokorsky. 

“These initial plants represent less than 5% of MABR capacity sold to date, so there is plenty of room for us to further grow this recurring revenue business both in China and for the substantial MABR capacity we have sold elsewhere. Nirobox plants are also perfect candidates for O&M services.” 

While Fluence will continue selling its water treatment plants which are still its main source of revenue, the Company is likely to target more deals similar to the Panjin City contract while Fluence battles COVID headwinds in China that continue to delay certain orders. 

Growth in the O&M vertical has been introduced by Pokorsky who joined Fluence in March 2022 with 35 years of executive experience, including 15 years as CEO within the wastewater treatment industry across North America, Europe, China and Israel. 

Hitting the ground running, Pokorsky yesterday confirmed a USD $1.9 million order from the United States Government for four wastewater treatment plants that will be overseen by the US Department of Homeland Security.  Once installed, the plants will support hurricane relief efforts in Louisiana. 

For the quarter ended 31 March 2022, Fluence reported USD  $34.5 million in revenue which represented a 116% increase on the previous March quarter. 

The Company is on target for the full year revenue of $114m which the Company expected to deliver underlying EBITDA of $3m, which would be an increase on the previous year’s $1m.