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Severn Trent PLC on Wednesday said annual profit fell, while revenue was up amid growth across its services. The Coventry-based water company said pretax profit for the year ended March 31 fell 39% to £167.9 million from £274.1 million a year prior. Finance costs were 38% higher at £446.7 million from £324.1 million in financial 2022. Revenue, however, climbed 11% to £2.17 billion from £1.94 billion the year before. This is attributed to 11% growth in Severn Trent’s Regulated Water & Waste Water services revenue to £1.99 billion from £1.80 billion a year prior. Its Business services accounted for £177.1 million in annual revenue, up 23% from 143.6 million in financial 2022. Corporate & other services contributed to £1.1 million in revenue, unchanged from the previous year. Severn Trent proposed a final dividend of 64.09 pence, up 4.6% from 61.28p in financial 2022. The total payout for the year is 106.82p, up from 102.14p. Looking ahead, Severn Trent said that a 15% to 20% reduction in interest charge will drive strong earnings in financial 2024, and is confident it will continue to deliver ‘sector-leading operational performance.’ Chief Executive Officer Liv Garfield said: ‘Creating job opportunities, continuing significant regional investment, and financially supporting more customers than ever before is made possible by the strong results we have delivered this year. ‘At a time when unemployment rates in our region are increasing and the cost of living crisis is still front and centre of many customers’ minds, we are proud to be able to create 1,000 jobs in our region over the next couple of years and to further help up to 50,000 customers with financial support.’ Shares in Severn Trent were down 2.7% at 2,723.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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