United Utilities profit down but revenue ticks higher

Water company United Utilities posted a drop in full-year pre-tax profit on Thursday, although revenue edged higher.

In the year to the end of March, pre-tax profit fell to £432.1m from £442.4m the year before, a drop the company attributed in part to the disposal of its non-household business a year earlier. Underlying pre-tax profit was down £19m to £370m as the group saw a £40m increase in net finance costs.

Underlying earnings before interest came in at £645.1m, up 3.6% year-on-year, which was in line with consensus.

Meanwhile, revenue was up £32m to £1.74bn and underlying operating profit was up £22m at £645m and the board proposed a final dividend of 26.49p per share, up 2.2% and taking the total dividend for the year to 39.73p.

Chief executive officer Steve Mogford said: "We continue to put customers first. Our approach to vulnerability and affordability is setting new benchmarks for the industry and our sustained improvement in customer satisfaction positions us as a leader in the sector. This year, we achieved our best ever scores against Ofwat's qualitative Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM), positioning us first in the industry in the final survey of the year. Our best practice in this area has received external recognition through several awards, many of which look beyond the water sector.

"The significant progress we have made positions us well as we look towards the next regulatory period and gives us confidence that we can rise to the longer-term challenges resulting from a growing population, affordability concerns and the impact of more volatile weather. We will build on the trust our customers place in us to provide an outstanding service, invest wisely and efficiently, driving further innovation and creating value for all our stakeholders."

At 0915 BST, the shares were down 4.3% to 768.60p.