Water company United Utilities has reported hundreds of millions in profits as it seeks to further increase its customers’ bills.
The utility serving seven million customers in the North West of England recorded £335.7m in underlying operating profits for the first half of this year, up almost 23% year-on-year. compared to £271.1m a year ago.
It comes as the company called for bills to rise by 32% to make them among the most expensive in England and Wales.
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The proposed average annual bill would be increase to £584 by 2030, compared to the typical annual fee of £443 for the 2023/2024 financial year. Since April 2023, bills have increased by 6.4% then 7.9%.
Higher bills are behind revenues rising to more than £1.08 billion from £975.4 million in 2023.
Other methods of measuring profit were lower than the underlying operating amount. Profit before tax reached £140.6 million while profit after tax exceeded £103.1 million for the six months to the end of September 2024, both lower than a year earlier.
The boss’s salary
Bonuses and benefits worth £1.416 million were paid to two executives on top of base pay of £1.128 million, according to the Liberals’ analysis of company filings. Democrats.
This is down on 2022/2023, when three executives received £1.6m in base pay and £2.456m in bonuses and benefits.
Learn more:
Water giant United Utilities strikes £1.8bn pensions deal
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The environment
In a year of record wastewater outlets in waterways, the company was one of only three companies to achieve the Environment Agency’s top four-star performance rating.
United Utilities in July was investigated by the water regulator Ofwat for failing to meet its obligation to minimize pollution.
In response, the company said at the time: “We understand and share people’s concerns about the health of the environment and the operation of wastewater treatment systems, including combined sewer overflows. »