Group revenue at United Utilities is expected to be higher than the first half of last year, according to its latest trading update ahead of its interim results on 21 November 2018.
Current trading is in line with the group's expectations for the six months ending 30 September 2018 – the increase in revenues reflects the water company’s allowed regulatory revenue changes.
The update says:
“Our responsible approach to financial risk management continues to deliver benefits including a strong balance sheet, a stable IFRS pension surplus and gearing comfortably within our target range of 55 per cent to 65 per cent net debt to RCV, supporting a solid A3 credit rating for United Utilities Water with Moody's.”
United Utilities is anticipating that operating costs associated with the exceptional dry weather period will be an adjusted item. To safeguard continuity of supplies to customers and protect our water resources, the firm expects to invest an additional £80 million during the current financial year, comprising £40 million of operating costs and infrastructure renewals expenditure (IRE) and £40 million of capital expenditure. These measures, together with the cooler and wetter weather in August avoided the need for any water restrictions.
Underlying operating profit for the first half of 2018/19 is expected to be higher than the first half of 2017/18, despite underlying IRE being higher.
The RPI inflation that is applied to the group's index-linked debt is lower for the first half of the year and the underlying net finance expense for the first half of 2018/19 is expected to be around £30 million lower than for the first half last year.
United Utilities expected a small increase in group net debt at 30 September 2018 compared with the position as at 31 March 2018 as the company continues to invest in its asset base.
Customer satisfaction has also continued to rise with the most recent UK Customer Service Index placing United Utilities top among all water and wastewater companies. This follows a strong performance against Ofwat's Service Incentive Mechanism (SIM) measure and a continuation of this trend should make it eligible for a SIM reward in AMP6, the update says.
“SAS (Surplus Activated Sludge) is a bit weird and 
Owen Mace has taken over as Director of the British Plastics Federation (BPF) Plastic Pipes Group on the retirement of Caroline Ayres. He was previously Standards and Technical Manager for the group.
PureTec Separations, the Ledbury-based water treatment engineering firm, has appointed Dan Norman as its new Sales Manager – Water Process Systems, supporting the company’s continued growth in the UK and international markets.
bNovate has launched BactoCloud, a secure cloud-based platform that connects and manages its BactoSense instruments, enabling real-time monitoring and optimization of microbial water quality.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.