Earnings

Middlesex Water Lifts Dividend to $1.52 a Share

The Tip Desk · November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter diluted earnings were $0.95 a share as operating revenues reached $60.2 million.

Middlesex Water Company (MSEX), an investor-owned water and wastewater utility serving more than half a million people in New Jersey and Delaware, reported net income of $18.0 million, or $0.95 a share, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, compared with $14.0 million, or $0.77 a share, a year earlier.

Operating revenues were $60.2 million, up $6.1 million from the same quarter last year, after a $7.0 million year-ago increase in the second quarter. The company said the third-quarter results reflected increased wholesale demand, higher customer consumption and continued execution of its regulatory strategy.

Middlesex System revenues rose $4.7 million on wholesale demand, customer consumption and base rate increases, after a $5.3 million year-ago increase in the prior quarter. Tidewater System revenues increased $1.2 million on consumption, customer growth and rate increases, after a $1.7 million year-ago increase in the second quarter. Non-regulated revenues increased $0.2 million, primarily from higher supplemental contract services.

Operating expenses were $37.9 million, up about $1.6 million from a year earlier, after a $2.7 million year-ago increase in the prior quarter. Operations and maintenance expenses rose $1.1 million, primarily from variable production costs tied to higher customer demand and employee-related costs, partially offset by higher capitalizable costs. Other taxes increased $0.5 million on higher gross receipts taxes in the Middlesex System. Depreciation expense decreased $0.1 million after the implementation of depreciation rates from a study approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, partially offset by higher average utility plant in service.

Operating income was $22.3 million, versus $17.7 million a year earlier.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, net income was $43.4 million, or $2.31 a share, compared with $34.2 million, or $1.90 a share, a year earlier. Operating revenues for the nine months were $165.3 million, an increase of about $17.6 million. Middlesex System revenues increased $13.5 million, Tidewater System revenues increased $3.8 million, and non-regulated revenues increased $0.3 million. Operating expenses for the nine months increased $7.1 million.

Middlesex invested approximately $84 million in water and wastewater utility infrastructure during the nine months ended September 30, 2026, or about 67% of its planned 2026 annual investment of approximately $126 million, after $53 million, or about 42% of that plan, in the first half.

In September 2026 the company filed NJBPU petitions requesting $0.8 million and $1.7 million of additional annual revenues for resiliency and environmental system improvement charges and distribution system improvement charges. In October 2026, the Delaware Public Service Commission approved Tidewater Utilities’ $25 thousand purchase of Mount Pleasant’s water utility assets, which serve 39 customers in New Castle County, Delaware.

On October 23, 2026, the board declared a fourth-quarter cash dividend of $0.38 a share, a 5.56% increase from the $0.36 declared in July. The new annual rate is $1.52 a share, up from $1.44, and marks Middlesex’s 54th consecutive year of dividend increases. The dividend is payable December 1, 2026, to shareholders of record as of November 16, 2026. The company has paid cash dividends each year since 1912.

Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer Nadine Leslie said the company remains focused on investing in critical water and wastewater infrastructure, strengthening system reliability and pursuing selective and sustainable growth under its MWC 2030 Vision.

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