Anglian Water remains on track after business transformation
Anglian Water enjoyed steady revenue growth for the first half of 2019 after becoming the first UK water company to officially reset its business along environment and community protection lines.
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The figures
Revenue at the water giant rose 2.8 per cent in the first six months of 2019, climbing £20m to £733.3m.
Profit for the period fell £1.6m to £36.7m, excluding fair value losses on derivatives of £171.3m.
Anglian did not propose an interim dividend, which it said was in line with its commitment to reducing gearing.
The utility said it had generated £349.8m in cash, up 0.2 per cent on 2018.
Why it’s interesting
In July Anglian, the current holder of the Utility of the Year award, became the first UK water company to change its articles of association to embed public interest in the organisation’s constitution.
As part of this process Anglian has committed to becoming a net zero carbon organisation by 2030. Thus far, the firm has issued five green bonds, funding 850 green projects and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 162,000 tonnes.
Likewise, the company is in the process of installing solar power at more than 100 sites in order to reduce emissions and cut costs.
Yesterday Anglian announced a deal with NextEnergy Solar Fund to provide the water company with solar power for 25 years.
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Anglian is also awaiting Ofwat’s final decision on its response to the regulator’s draft determination on efficiency, which is due later in December.
What Anglian said
Anglian Water’s chief executive Peter Simpson said:
“As we enter the final six months of our current five-year business plan we continue to provide best-in-class customer service to our seven million customers, leading the industry on reducing leakage, creating and maintaining a resilient network, and safeguarding our environment for future generations, while delivering strong financial performance.
“Our priority over the remainder of the year is to complete our current investment programme of work, our largest to date. It has enabled us to deliver the best customer service of any water and water recycling company in England and Wales, as rated by Ofwat’s qualitative measure.”