|
Pennon Group PLC’s new Chief Executive Officer Keith Haslett on Wednesday vowed to ‘rebuild trust with the customers and communities we serve,’ as the company announced a swing to an annual statutory pretax profit. The Exeter, England-based water utility company announced a pretax profit of £114.4 million in the financial year ended March 31, compared to a loss of £72.7 million a year prior. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation improved by 55% to £519.2 million from £335.6 million. Revenue grew 23% to £1.29 billion from £1.05 billion. The firm upped its final dividend by 3.1% to 20.03p from 19.43p, bringing the total payout to 29.29p, down 7.2% from 31.57p. The interim dividend had been 24% lower at 9.26p compared to 12.14p. Looking ahead, the company said it is ‘well positioned to deliver for customers, communities, and the environment in the years ahead’. Pennon owns South West Water, which last week Tuesday was fined £1.8 million for a drinking water offence, after a parasite outbreak in and around Brixham in Devon that occurred in 2024. Regarding the outbreak, Keith Haslett, who became Pennon CEO on April 1 this year, said he was ‘deeply saddened by the impact our business had on customers in the Brixham area during the 2024 cryptosporidium incident. Whilst I have only been CEO for a few weeks, it is very clear that we must learn lessons from this incident and work hard to rebuild trust with the customer and communities we serve, both in Brixham and beyond. My focus will be on ensuring we drive improvements in the way we operate, how we communicate and support our customers, and delivering a step change in our performance for our customers and the environment.’ Looking ahead, CEO Haslett said: ‘As Pennon enters a new era under my leadership, it does so on the back of a return to profitability and the mobilisation of our AMP8 investment plan. However, it is clear that there is more work to do, and improving operational discipline and capital delivery will be important to meet the commitments we have made and the standards we aspire to achieve in the future.’ The company plans to publish a strategic update before the end of September. Pennon shares were 1.6% lower at 499.20 pence each on Wednesday morning in London. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
|
