20th Mar 2014 08:00
LONDON (Alliance News) - United Utilities Group PLC Thursday said it expects to report revenue and underlying profit in its upcoming full-year results that are higher than the year before.
The major water firm said trading is currently in line with the group's expectations for the year ending March 31. It said customer service continues to improve, and it remains ahead of schedule in delivering its 2010-15 regulatory outperformance targets.
The company said revenues are expected to be higher than the year before, reflecting changes to regulatory prices in 2013/14, and underlying operating profit is expected to be moderately higher than 2012/13, as the company continues to manage its cost base.
In an interim management statement provided during January, the company said revenues had increased since October 1, and it has headroom to cover projected financing needs into 2016 following the recent agreement of a GBP50 million loan with the European Investment Bank.
United Utilities added that its underlying net finance expense for 2013/14 is expected to be similar to last year, and it has made progress on its regulatory capital investment programme, with around GBP800 million invested in its asset base during the period.
The company said its investment helps to maintain and improve services for customers, delivers further environmental benefits and provides a significant contribution to the regional economy.
United Utilities also noted that its net debt at March 31 is expected to be similar to its position at September 31, 2013, despite noting in January that its net debt at that time was slightly higher than the September 31 figure.
The results for the full year ending March 31 will be released on May 22.
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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