Sewage treatment industry cost analysis and countermeasures

The report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that "building an ecological civilization is a thousand-year project for the sustainable development of the Chinese nation", and made a strategic plan to accelerate the reform of the ecological civilization system and build a beautiful China. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee emphasized the concept of adhering to the concept of "clean water and green mountains are gold hills and silver mountains," and clearly put forward the goals and tasks of "improving the urban and rural living environment, promoting the full coverage of urban sewage pipe networks, and basically eliminating urban black and smelly water bodies." To do a good job of sewage treatment is an important link to improve environmental quality and promote green development. The scientific formulation of sewage treatment price is the basis of establishing a long-term mechanism for water pollution control. The key to scientific pricing is to accurately grasp the cost of sewage treatment and analyze and judge the changing law of cost. At present, there is a lack of comprehensive integration of national sewage treatment cost information and in-depth research and analysis. By summarizing the public disclosure information of listed companies in the sewage treatment industry in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares, we calculated the cost level and cost composition of sewage treatment, analyzed the cost change trend, and the relevant conclusions can be used as A supplement to the existing understanding of sewage treatment costs.

First, sewage treatment cost calculation and analysis

After screening, 8 listed companies in the sewage treatment industry with good information disclosure in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares were identified as research samples. According to the annual report of sewage treatment business related costs and sewage treatment business volume and other information, the unit cost of sewage treatment is estimated. From 2017 to 2019, the average unit cost of sewage treatment of listed companies was 1.1855 yuan/cubic meter, of which the average treatment cost was 0.8984 yuan/cubic meter, accounting for 75.78% of the complete cost, and the average period cost was 0.2609 yuan/cubic meter, accounting for 22.00% of the complete cost. Taxes and surcharges average 0.0263 yuan/cubic meter, accounting for 2.22% of the full cost.

The processing costs and period expenses show an increasing trend year by year, accounting for the proportion of full costs is relatively stable, and the tax and additional changes in 3 years, accounting for the proportion of full costs slightly decreased year by year. In the composition of processing costs, the largest proportion of the cost item is depreciation and amortization, with an average of 0.3284 yuan/cubic meter, accounting for 36.56% of the processing cost.

According to the distribution of sewage treatment capacity of the study sample, the annual sewage treatment capacity was divided into three sections: less than 500 million cubic meters, 5-10 million cubic meters and more than 1 billion cubic meters. It is estimated that for the total sewage treatment of less than 500 million cubic meters, the three-year average sewage treatment cost in 2017-2019 is 1.2272 yuan/cubic meter, the total sewage treatment of 5-10 million cubic meters is 1.2325 yuan/cubic meter, and the total sewage treatment of more than 1 billion cubic meters is 1.1088 yuan/cubic meter.

2. Comparative analysis of sewage treatment cost, sewage treatment fee and sewage treatment service fee

According to the "average water price of sewage treatment plate" disclosed by the listed company, the sewage treatment service fee can be sorted out. In 2019, the average sewage treatment service was 1.74 yuan/cubic meter, with the highest sewage treatment service fee level in Southwest China at 2.28 yuan/cubic meter, and the lowest in Northwest China at 0.89 yuan/cubic meter. Compared with the full cost of sewage treatment of listed companies in the sewage treatment industry of 1.30 yuan/cubic meter in 2019, each cubic meter of sewage treatment has an average profit margin of 33.8%. Taking the sewage treatment fees of 36 large and medium-sized cities in the country as an example, the average fee for residential water and sewage treatment fees is 1.0 yuan/cubic meter, the average fee for non-residential water and sewage treatment fees is 1.52 yuan/cubic meter, and the average fee for special water and sewage treatment fees is 2.0 yuan/cubic meter. The water use structure is not the same in different places, and on the whole, the sewage treatment fees in 36 large and medium-sized cities are less than the sewage treatment service fee level represented by listed sewage treatment companies. Sewage treatment is a basic public service area, and the Government bears the responsibility to cover the cost of sewage treatment services. According to the field investigation of sewage treatment costs previously organized by us, the relevant departments of local governments generally said that there is pressure on sewage treatment revenue and expenditure.