Severn Trent hikes dividend as profit nearly triples
Severn Trent has said it is confident that, after a record year of capital investment, it can reduce sewage leakages by 15 per cent over the next half-decade.
The London-listed water supplier made the claim in its interim results for the six months to 30 September 2024, published this morning.
The company said it expected capital spending for the year to come in at the top end of its projected guidance of £1.3bn to £1.5bn.
Water companies have faced significant backlash for excessive sewage dumping into British rivers and poor investment in crumbling infrastructure. Crisis-hit Thames Water is attempting to avert nationalisation as it grapples with its colossal multi-billion pound debt pile.
Severn Trent was fined more than £2m for polluting the River Trent near Stoke in February, while the Environment Agency has called its storm contingency plans “woefully inadequate.”
The group on Tuesday insisted it had hit leakage reduction targets every year and is confident of bringing spills down by 15 per cent over the next five years.
Some 900 storm overflows were installed during the most recent five-year investment period, while average spills are expected to be below 18 in 2025.
Chief Executive Liv Garfield admitted: “There is more to do… We are implementing the sector’s most ambitious storm overflow improvement plan at pace, while also creating 7,000 jobs across our region, including a new 440-strong team of experts dedicated to our water pipe replacement programme.
“We are going further and faster than ever before and have a great platform to deliver huge benefits for our region in the years ahead.”
Profit at the firm tripled to £141.4m over the period, while adjusted earnings per share almost doubled to 58p.
The company increased its interim dividend to 48.7p from 46.7p.
Severn Trent shares have added 5.5 per cent year to date.