- Further customer service improvements delivered: significantly improved Ofwat SIM scores
- Met regulatory leakage target for sixth consecutive year
- On track to meet regulatory outperformance targets
- Continued progress on capex programme: invested £680m, an increase of 12% on prior year
- Underlying operating profit of £594m down £2m reflecting higher infrastructure renewals expenditure
- Robust financial position: substantially repaid all term debt due in 2010-15 period
- Final dividend of 21.34 pence per share, an increase of 6.7% in line with policy
Steve Mogford, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"Our focus on operational performance is delivering further service improvements for customers. Our revised customer handling arrangements have led to a marked improvement in customer satisfaction, resulting in significant progress on Ofwat's service incentive mechanism. We have met our regulatory leakage target for the sixth consecutive year and our water supply and demand balance remains robust, with reservoirs in line with typical levels for this time of year.
"Our business improvement initiatives are progressing well and we remain on course to meet our regulatory outperformance targets. Alongside this, we increased capital investment in our assets to £680 million for the year, providing benefits for our customers, the regional economy and the wider environment. This investment included £154 million of infrastructure renewals expenditure, an increase of £24 million on the previous year, which helps maintain and improve the resilience of our network.
"We are pleased with the recent progress we have made and believe there is plenty of opportunity to deliver further improvements.
"We have delivered another good set of results, despite the tough economic climate. In line with our dividend policy of targeting annual growth of two per cent above RPI inflation, we have proposed a final dividend of 21.34 pence per share, an increase of 6.7 per cent. This takes the total dividend for the 2011/12 financial year to 32.01 pence per share."
