I know that the mode for these threads tends to be smaller cap stocks but Pennon is looking so good at present I was interested to see if anyone else out there is holding or thinking of buying. The SP is on a fantastic run, it pays a nice fat dividend and even if the water regulators decision on prices was not what any of the water companies were looking for, Pennon is probably the least affected and the most favoured by analysts. Seems to me to be a winning combination!

Half Yearly Report

H1 2012/13 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS


South West Water:

· Strong performance against 2010 - 2015 regulatory contract

· PBT up in spite of atypical weather

· Average funding cost 4.0%

· Strong operational performance

. Preparing for PR14

· Unable to accept Ofwat Section 13 licence proposals but responded constructively on how concerns can be addressed

Looks like these have been replaced by TT. in the FTSE. FTSE 100 Constituent Changes

Back on the up.

Interesting one skinny & I have the ex-divi date as historically 1st week in Feb.

EDIT: ex-divi 30th Jan 2013 (8.76p)

Also slightly worrying is PNN is currently on a Beta of 0.5, which is fine if the markets continue upwards, but..............

Harry - where are you getting the 0.5 from (I have 0.45). Having said that, I was looking more for a capital gain when the regulators walk the line and possible promotion back to the FTSE.

My figure comes from Digitallook.
I should rephrase my comment 'worrying' to read 'disconcerting', as PNN has done the opposite of the UK indices recently. I know it will lag the index but not really quite sure why it has been so comparitively negative. (theoretically it should be 50% less volatile than the market).

Director sell 2,588 @£6.53p

Director/PDMR Shareholding

Interim Management Statement

Bang on the 50 day atm.

SocGen on PNN today:
"While recent press reports have suggested Pennon could be the subject of a potential 775p per share bid approach from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (which on our estimates would represent a 23% premium to South West Water’s 2013 adj. RCV), in general the level of bid speculation in the sector has subsided from the last round of United Utilities related bid speculation prevalent in February. Historically Pennon has been viewed as a less likely M&A target given its large non regulated waste activities (Viridor), however the recent press report suggested the Viridor would be subsequently divested. While we note that the separately owned Masdar Capital fund in Abu Dhabi has historically expressed an interest in the UK waste sector2, its funds under management ($540m) are relatively small in comparison to the scale of Viridor (est. £1.5bn EV).
Without existing ownership of a large existing waste management business from which material synergies could be extracted, we would view a SWW / Viridor separation as problematic in the near term given the balance sheet support the Pennon parent company provides (supported by the regulated South West Water activities) in funding Viridor’s Energy From Waste investment programme and the likely loss of £300m of balance sheet “equity” which could result from a change of control induced redemption of the hybrid bond issue.
Although the recent performance of the United Utilities equity price suggests that bid speculation has diminished, we note that UU CDS remains at a near record level (175bps) reflecting debt market concerns regarding a potential leveraged take-out which is not mirrored to the same degree in the equity price (either in the equity or the option implied volatility).
While the United Utilities CDS market has limited liquidity, it is unlikely that this divergent view between the debt market and equity market will be sustained. We believe the current share price does not reflect any bid premium to the estimated fundamental fair value estimate (796p), effectively offering a free call option on any potential M&A activity.

Finals out today: http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4600519

Going Ex divi this week paying just under 3%-2.83p.

Stan - I have the dividend tomorrow as 19.70p ?

Yes sorry your right Skinny 19.70p or 2.83%.

Norges Bank increase holding http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4669740

Half Yearly Report

H1 2013/14 FINANCIAL AND CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS

· Profit before tax(1) up 3.5% to £110.9m

- South West Water up 7.6% to £87.3m
- Viridor down 28.8% to £15.3m

· Viridor PBIT plus joint ventures down 15.8% to £23.4m

- Viridor PBIT plus joint ventures up 31% compared with H2 2012/13

· Adjusted earnings per share up 2.6% to 23.8p(1) (2) (3)

· Dividend

- Interim dividend per share up 7.2% to 9.39p

· Capital investment(4) up 9.0% to £205m

· Strong liquidity and funding position

- £210m facilities secured/renewed since 31 March 2013

- Total of £1,132m cash/committed facilities at 30 September 2013

· Pennon Group achieved top 10% position in FTSE350 Carbon Disclosure Project participants for quality of disclosure

GROUP OVERVIEW(1)

· Revenue up by 5.3% to £667.0m
· Operating profit up by 2.6% to £139.7m
· Net interest payable reduced by 5% to £29.6m
· Profit before tax up 3.5% to £110.9m
· Adjusted earnings per share up by 2.6% to 23.8p(2). Basic earnings per share increased from 25.4p to 29.4p

· Capital investment(3) up 9.0% to £205.1m
· Net borrowings £2,098m, an increase of £89m since 31 March 2013. Gearing, being net borrowings to (shareholders' funds plus net borrowings) was 65% (2012/13 - 65%). Net debt includes £549m for EfW plants under construction (Runcorn II, Exeter, Oxford, Cardiff and Glasgow)

· Substantial cash resources and committed facilities of £1,132m(4) to fund future investment - well placed in current financial market conditions

· South West Water net debt to RCV was 56.1% (31 March 2013 - 54.9%)

· Net interest cover (excluding pensions net interest, IFRIC 12 contract interest receivable and discount unwind on provisions) was 5.2 times (H1 2012/13 - 4.6 times)

· Average debt maturity 22 years

· Fair value of debt £261m less than book value

Ex-divi wed 29th Jan 2014 (9.39p)

Hoping for 700p before the divi date.

Hoping for 650p before divi date. :-)

Hmmmm......looks like you will get your wish skinny. Bloody shorters! ;o)