25th May 2016 07:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pennon Group PLC on Wednesday said its pretax profit grew thanks to efficiencies in the business which offset a slight decline in revenue, while the group hiked its annual payout.
Pennon, which owns South West Water and waste management business Viridor, along with the recently-acquired Bournemouth Water unit, said pretax profit for the year to the end of March grew to GBP206.3 million from GBP197.0 million a year earlier, despite revenue dipping to GBP1.35 billion from GBP1.36 billion.
Pennon said the results were in line with its expectations, with its water business outperforming the regulatory contract and eight operational energy recovery facilities on the books of Viridor, with the ramp ups of the facilities most recently brought on stream progressing well.
The group said it was driving value in the business through efficiencies, including reducing costs and improving operational performance in its divisions.
It will pay a dividend for the year of 33.58 pence, up from 31.80p a year earlier.
"2015/16 has been a transformative year for Pennon. The group has delivered a strong performance, notwithstanding the financial impact of our commitment to keep South West Water customer bills below inflation to 2020," said Chief Executive Chris Loughlin.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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