Revenue during the quarter went down marginally by 0.14 percent to $196.80 million from $197.07 million in the previous year period. Total expenses were 63.43 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 62.14 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 130 basis points in operating margin to 36.57 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $71.96 million, compared with $74.62 million in the previous year period.

"Aqua's 2016 results from our regulated business is a testament to the management team's continuous focus on growing our customer base through acquisitions, prudently investing in renewing our aging infrastructure, and driving efficiencies across the organization," said Aqua America president and chief executive officer Christopher Franklin. "Capitalizing on these core capabilities is critical to our success and ability to deliver long-term value for our key stakeholders. Also, in 2016, we completed the divestitures of several small market-based businesses which, were determined not to be scalable."

For financial year 2017, Aqua America, Inc. forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.34 to $1.39.

Debt moves up
Aqua America, Inc. has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $1,894.81 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 6.88 percent or $122.05 million from $1,772.76 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 30.76 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 30.88 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was almost stable at 1.02 as on Dec. 31, 2016, when compared with the last year.