United profit withstands September 23, 2009 UNITED UTILITIES, the water company, said its forecast for underlying operating profits over the six months to the end of September were in line with expectations, despite cost pressures. United, which supplies around 7m customers across the north west, said revenue growth in its regulated business for the year would be lower than the six [...]
Water firms hit by Ofwat July 23, 2009 SHARES in utility companies dropped yesterday after water regulator Ofwat ordered firms to reduce household bills by four per cent over the next five years, potentially denting profits massively. Analysts warned that Ofwat’s price limits combined with new requirements on infrastructure spending would see dividends slashed across the sector. Water firms had hoped to raise [...]
FTSE 100 hits a yearly high on cheery earnings season July 23, 2009 THE FTSE 100 broke through the 4,500 level yesterday as it rose for the ninth straight day on the back of positive economic data and a rally in banks and miners. The index rose by 66.07 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 4,559.80, the highest closing level since early January, having touched a high of [...]
Water firms hit by Ofwat July 23, 2009 SHARES in utility companies dropped yesterday after water regulator Ofwat ordered firms to reduce household bills by four per cent over the next five years, potentially denting profits massively. Analysts warned that Ofwat’s price limits combined with new requirements on infrastructure spending would see dividends slashed across the sector. Water firms had hoped to raise [...]
Pharmaceuticals inject more life into the FTSE 100’s rise July 22, 2009 THE FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent yesterday, extending its winning streak to eight sessions thanks to modest gains on Wall Street and solid second-quarter results from drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. At the close, the index was 12.56 points higher at 4,493.73, up 8.2 per cent over the past eight sessions. Drug maker Shire was the [...]
Pharmaceuticals inject more life into the FTSE 100’s rise July 22, 2009 THE FTSE 100 added 0.3 per cent yesterday, extending its winning streak to eight sessions thanks to modest gains on Wall Street and solid second-quarter results from drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. At the close, the index was 12.56 points higher at 4,493.73, up 8.2 per cent over the past eight sessions. Drug maker Shire was the [...]
Ofwat to rule on water firms July 22, 2009 Water company investors are today bracing themselves for fresh pressure on dividends as the industry regulator Ofwat prepares to set caps on water bills paid by 26m households for the next five years starting from 2010.
Water bills face rise August 11, 2008 Britain’s water companies are planning to increase household water bills to fund their investment plans for the 2010-2015 period, piling further pressure on hard-pressed consumers already coping with rising living costs. Southern Water, Thames Water and United Utilities, which submitted their five-year investment programmes to industry regulator Ofwat yesterday, revealed the highest increases above inflation. [...]
Severn could face further Ofwat fines July 7, 2008 Severn Trent Water may face further financial sanctions that may run into millions from regulator Ofwat in the final act of the long-running saga over misleading data about its leakage rates. The water business, which services eight million people in the Midlands and Wales, became the first British utility firm to be convicted of criminal [...]
Severn Trent pays penalty for water leaks July 2, 2008 Severn Trent Water was fined £2m at the Old Bailey yesterday for lying about its water leakage rates. Earlier reports had suggested the fine for this unprecedented criminal case could top £70m. And the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), who brought the case against the water firm, had asked the court to make an example of [...]