United Utilities reports rise in full-year profit

United Utilities posted a rise in underlying profit for the year ended 31 March to £664.3m from £634.6m, on revenue of £1.7bn, up 1.9% from last year.

Full-year operating profit came in at £653.3m compared with £630.2m last year.

The company said it had continued to tightly manage its costs base, despite the expected increase in depreciation and other cost pressures, including bad debt. There was also a planned reduction in infrastructure renewals expenditure in the year, as United Utilities completed the five-year regulatory period.

Total regulatory capital investment in the year, including £148m of infrastructure renewals expenditure, was £869m, up £33m from last year.

“We have now completed the 2010-15 regulatory period and are pleased to have achieved a strong overall performance for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” said chief executive officer Steve Mogford. “We have delivered substantial improvements in customer satisfaction and have become a leading operational performer in our sector.”

“We expected our 2015-20 price determination to be tough and it was. However, our operational improvements and preparation provide us with a good platform to deliver further value in the forthcoming regulatory period,” he added.

The total dividend per share for the year came in at 37.70p, up from 36.04p in the 2014.