General and administrative (“G&A”) expenses on a consolidated basis increased to $17,894,067 for 2023 as compared to $15,403,458 for 2022. The most significant increase in G&A expenses for 2023 relates to employee costs, which increased by $2,114,275 from 2022 to 2023 due to increased stock compensation, higher bonus accruals, pay raises and new hires, Insurance expense and professional fees also increased by $607,444 and $212,685, respectively, from 2022 to 2023. These increases were partially offset by decreases in various other G&A expense categories.
Other income, net, remained relatively consistent at $522,256 for 2023 as compared to $548,729 for 2022.
Results by Segment
Retail Segment:
The retail segment recorded a loss from operations of ($470,573) for 2023 as compared to a loss from operations of ($900,747) for 2022.
Revenue generated by our retail water operations increased to $22,560,998 in 2023 from $19,114,653 in 2022 due to a 17% increase in the volume of water sold. The volume of water sold in the Cayman Water license area increased by 15% and the remaining 2% increase in the volume of water sold was due to water sales made by Cayman Water directly to the WAC in January and February of 2023. The sales volume increase reflects increased tourist activity on Grand Cayman, as tourism on the island in 2022 was lower than historical levels due to the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Retail revenue also increased by approximately $899,000 due to higher energy costs which increased the energy pass-through component of our retail water rates.
Retail segment gross profit increased to $12,205,181 (54% of retail revenue) for 2023 from $9,710,529 (51% of retail revenue) for 2022 due to the revenue increase.
Consistent with prior periods, we record all non-direct G&A expenses in our retail segment and do not allocate any of these non-direct costs to our other three business segments. Retail G&A expenses increased to $12,668,467 for 2023 as compared to $10,613,975 for 2022. The most significant increase in G&A expenses for 2023 relates to employee costs, which increased by $1,531,132 due to pay raises, increased stock compensation expense and higher bonus accruals. Business development expenses increased by approximately $152,000 primarily due to the costs associated with the acquisition of Ramey Environmental Compliance (which was completed in November 2023).
Bulk Segment:
The bulk segment contributed $6,896,492 and $6,475,164 to our income from operations for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Bulk segment revenue was $25,975,483 and $24,442,324 for 2023 and 2022, respectively. The increase in bulk segment revenue is attributable to an 8% increase in the volume of water sold.
Gross profit for our bulk segment was $7,964,765 (31% of bulk revenue) and $7,661,073 (31% of bulk revenue) for 2023 and 2022, respectively. Gross profit dollars increased from 2022 to 2023 due to the incremental revenue.
Bulk segment G&A expenses remained consistent at $1,080,543 for 2023 as compared to $1,187,909 for 2022.
Services Segment:
The services segment contributed $16,921,397 and $1,143,215 to our income from operations for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Services segment revenue increased to $66,243,328 for 2023 from $18,530,427 for 2022. Construction revenue increased to $52,563,822 in 2023 from $5,347,023 in 2022 with this increase resulting from (i) PERC’s progress on its contract with Liberty Utilities for the construction of a water treatment plant in Goodyear, Arizona; and (ii) progress on our contract with the WAC for the construction of its Red Gate plant. We recognized approximately $44.1 million in revenue for the Liberty Utilities contract in 2023. This contract is expected to be substantially completed by the end of the second quarter of 2024. Revenue generated under operations and maintenance contracts was $12,750,902 and $10,740,623 in 2023 and