South East Water pays £2.3m in dividends as losses widen
South East Water has paid out £2.3m in dividends to investors in its latest financial year despite growing losses and a £3m bill thanks to summer heatwaves and supply problems.
The company reported pre-tax losses of £18.1m for the six months to September 30th, up from £12.7m this time last year.
However, the company, which serves about 2.2m households and businesses in Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire, paid a dividend of £2.3m to investors. The company said the payout was, “lower than Ofwat’s view of what is a reasonable nominal dividend yield,” and was lower than the £4.5m paid out last year.
South East Water imposed a hosepipe ban earlier this year, blaming more people working from home for ramping up demand and “testing” its infrastructure.
The firm instituted a hosepipe ban across Kent and Sussex earlier this year with the driest conditions in Kent since records began in 1836, and the lowest rainfall in Sussex since 1911.
The firm, which supplies around 2.3m homes, is under investigation as of last month by regulator Ofwat over its service to customers and record in maintaining a water supply.
According to Ofwat, the company is the worst supplier for water interruptions across England and Wales.
In a statement reported by PA Media, South East Water’s bosses said: “Unprecedented extreme weather events were the cause of the majority of supply interruptions, but we appreciate that problems experienced by our customers will result in lower levels of customer satisfaction.
We are deeply sorry to customers who have been affected by supply interruptions and continue to work tirelessly to recover. We have 52 teams actively repairing leaks, and 40 technicians proactively looking for them.”