Severn Trent posts 6.8% rise in annual profit
Water utility Severn Trent has posted a 6.8% rise in annual profit, boosted higher sales in its regulated and waste water business and growth in its business services division.
Pre-tax profit for the year for the year to the end of March rose £36m to £563.3m, as revenue rose 4.2% to £1.78bn.
“Our regulated water and waste water business delivered good growth in PBIT, even after an additional £22m of operating costs from the hot, dry summer and our recovery after it.
“In business services, stronger performance in the second half of the year produced growth in both revenues and PBIT for the year as a whole.”
In May, it announced the sale of surplus land near Nottingham and this, together with other smaller disposals later in the year, generated property profits for the group of £19.9m.
Liv Garfield, chief executive, said: “This has been a year where our teams have really stepped up, whether in response to customer needs in the face of one of the hottest and driest summers we’ve seen or by being named by Ofwat as one of the top companies in the sector when we received fast-track status for our future plans.
“At the heart of all of that is our drive to succeed for all of our stakeholders, which is shown in the results we’re announcing today. They demonstrate not only that we can deliver for our investors but also that we’re putting ourselves at the heart of the communities in which we live and work by building a lasting legacy for future generations.
“Whether that’s spending time in our region’s primary schools exploring the importance of using water the right way, bringing an employee’s idea to life that finds an innovative new way to improve our services, or the investment we make day after day in maintaining our assets. By balancing the needs of everyone in this way, we are confident we are doing the right things for all of our stakeholders.”
