United Utilities (UU) sees half-year profit and revenue up
08:55, 24 November 2021
UK water company United Utilities released its half-year results today, which showed improved profit and revenue over its first six months.
The firm which supplies water to the UK’s North West region saw underlying operating profit reach £333m ($445m), up 4% year on year. Revenue was £932.3m compared to £894.4m for the half-year to the end of September 2020.
Underlying earnings per share were down slightly at 28.4p compared to 29.2p, while the interim dividend was up marginally at 14.50p compared to 14.41p.
The company’s stock price moved fractionally during early morning trading in London – up by 0.42% to £10.73.
Lower water bills
Commenting on the latest numbers, Steve Mogford, CEO, said: “At a time when many families are struggling with a higher cost of living, we have reduced typical water bills for households in our region by 6% in real terms over the last two years. We’re also offering more help than ever before for vulnerable customers and households that are struggling to pay.
“Climate change and population growth are challenges we must all confront, and we will continue to invest to make our services more resilient and strengthen our ability to respond to, and recover from, extreme weather events. Our £2bn investment programme will also help our region’s economy to grow, generate jobs and develop skills in our communities.
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Carbon pledges
He added: “We’re committed to delivering our six carbon pledges, which will help us achieve our ambition of net zero by 2030. We have already delivered our pledge to source 100% of our electricity from renewable sources. As well as reducing our carbon footprint, we are committed to protecting the natural environment and ensuring no net loss of biodiversity”.
“We’ve continued with the great start that we’ve made to AMP7,” Mogford said, referring to business plan objectives and budgets set out in line with government and regulatory objectives, which he said would benefit “from the acceleration of our capital programme and investment in systems thinking.”
He added, “Our strong operational performance delivers efficiency gains and improvements to outcome delivery incentives and is enabling us to drive further value for our shareholders.”
Read more: UK water firm Severn Trent (SVT) increases H1 profits
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