Connecticut Water
Service, Inc. Elects Directors and Declares Dividends
New Chairman and Lead Independent Director
appointed
Clinton,
Connecticut, May 10, 2007 – Shareholders
of Connecticut Water Service, Inc.
(NASDAQ GS:CTWS) elected a slate of three directors and
ratified the Audit Committee’s selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP as independent auditors for 2007, at the Company’s
Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on May 8, 2007 in Storrs,
Connecticut. The President/CEO and the Vice President/CFO’s
presentation at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders will
be available for viewing for 30 days at the Company’s
web site: www.ctwater.com
on the Investor Info page.
Reelected
to the 10-member board was Heather Hunt, an attorney in
Stratford, Connecticut, and managing member of w.h. Robert
& h.f. Hunt, LLC. Ms. Hunt was elected to the Board
in June 2006. Also reelected to the Board were Arthur C.
Reeds, former Chief Investment Officer at Cigna Corporation,
and Eric W. Thornburg, President and CEO of the Company.
The
Board of Directors, at its Organizational Meeting following
the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, elected Mr. Thornburg
as the new Chairman of the Board. Mr. Thornburg replaces
Marshall T. Chiaraluce as Chairman. Mr. Chiaraluce retired
as President and CEO in March of 2006 and as Chairman on
May 8, 2007.
In
addition, the Board elected Donald B. Wilbur, retired from
Unilever HPC, USA, after a distinguished leadership career,
as the lead independent director of the Board. As lead independent
director, Mr. Wilbur’s responsibilities will include
presiding at all meetings of the Board of Directors at which
the Chairman is not present, including executive sessions
of the independent directors, serving as liaison between
the Chairman and the independent directors, and calling
meetings of the independent directors, if necessary. Mr.
Wilbur has been a director of the Company since 1993.
Eric
W. Thornburg, Connecticut Water’s Chairman, President
and CEO, said “Our independent directors bring to
the Board broad experience in financial and executive management,
and I am pleased by the election of Mr. Wilbur as our lead
independent director. His experience and sound judgment
will be of great benefit to the Company and his election
reflects our directors continuing commitment to effective
corporate governance.”
The
Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of
$ 0.215 per common share payable on June 15, 2007 for shareholders
of record as of June 1, 2007. This quarterly dividend remains
unchanged from the previous quarter and represents an annualized
dividend of $0.86 per share. In addition, the Board also
declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share on
Preferred A shares (not publicly traded) payable on July
16, 2007 for shareholders of record as of July 2, 2007,
and a quarterly cash dividend of $0.225 on Preferred 90
(OTCBB: CTWSP) shares payable on August 1, 2007 for shareholders
of record as of July 18, 2007
###
News media contact:
Daniel J. Meaney, APR
Director of Corporate Communications
Connecticut Water Service, Inc.
93 West Main Street, Clinton, CT 06413-1600
(860) 669-8630: Ext. 3016
Connecticut Water Service, Inc. is the
largest, domestic-based, investor-owned water utility in New
England. It provides water to over 82,000 customers in 41
towns in Connecticut, as well as providing water-related services
under contract to municipalities and companies.
This press release may contain certain
forward-looking statements regarding the Company’s results
of operations and financial position. These forward-looking
statements are based on current information and expectations,
and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause
the Company’s actual results to differ materially from
expected results.
The Connecticut Water Company is subject
to various federal and state regulatory agencies concerning
water quality and environmental standards. Generally, the
water industry is materially dependent on the adequacy of
approved rates to allow for a fair rate of return on the investment
in utility plant. The ability to maintain our operating costs
at the lowest possible level while providing good quality
water service is beneficial to customers and stockholders.
Profitability is also dependent on the timeliness and amount
of rate relief and numerous factors over which we have little
or no control, such as the quantity of rainfall and temperature,
industrial demand, financing costs, energy rates, tax rates,
and stock market trends which may affect the return earned
on pension assets, and compliance with environmental and water
quality regulations. The profitability of our other revenue
sources is subject to the amount of land we have available
for sale and/or donation, the demand for the land, the continuation
of the current state tax benefits relating to the donation
of land for open space purposes, regulatory approval of land
dispositions, the demand for telecommunications antenna site
leases and the successful extensions and expansion of our
service contracts. We undertake no obligation to update or
revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events, or otherwise.
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