26th Nov 2015 07:14
LONDON (Alliance News) - Water utility Severn Trent PLC on Thursday said its pretax profit rose in the first half and said it has had a good start to its current year, underpinning expectations it will outperform its targets.
The FTSE 100-listed company said its pretax profit for the financial half year to the end of September was GBP186.2 million, compared to GBP137.1 million a year earlier, due to lower financing costs and a cut to operating costs.
Revenue for the first half was broadly flat at GBP896.1 million, compared to GBP898.3 million a year earlier, and the group said it has made progress on the majority of its operational metrics.
Severn Trent will pay an interim dividend of 32.26 pence per share, slightly down from the 33.96p it paid a year earlier.
"I am pleased to report strong progress in the first half of the year, marking a good start to the new regulatory period. As we continue to become an even more customer focused business we have delivered some great improvements, evidenced by the decline in customer complaints, and we continue to have the lowest combined bills in Britain," said Chief Executive Liv Garfield.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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