26 November 2008
Half yearly financial report for the six months ended 30 September 2008
|
£m
(continuing operations) |
Six months ended |
%
Change |
|
30 September 2008 |
30 September 2007 |
|
Operating profit |
362.1 |
347.8 |
+4% |
|
Underlying operating profit1 |
368.6 |
347.8 |
+6% |
|
Profit before tax |
305.9 |
252.4 |
+21% |
|
Underlying profit before tax1 |
252.7 |
243.3 |
+4% |
|
Pence |
Six months ended |
|
30 September 2008 |
30 September 2007 |
|
Basic earnings per share (continuing operations)2 |
0.7 |
38.5 |
|
Basic earnings per share (continuing and discontinued operations)2 |
0.7 |
49.6 |
|
Interim dividend per ordinary share3 |
10.64 |
15.20 |
1 Underlying operating profit and underlying profit before tax are defined in the underlying profit measure table on page 12.
2 Basic EPS for the six months ended 30 September 2008 was negatively impacted by a one-off deferred tax charge of £213.6 million (equivalent to 31.3 pence per share) and basic EPS for the comparative period (re-presented) was positively impacted by a one-off deferred tax credit of £81.9 million (equivalent to 12.0 pence per share), as explained in the earnings per share section on page 10.
3 2008/09 interim dividend per share reduced by 30%, as initially outlined in United Utilities' half yearly financial report published on 29 November 2007, in light of the revised composition of the group following the sale of United Utilities Electricity and the £1.5 billion return to shareholders.
- Good financial performance: underlying operating profit1 up 6% to £369 million
- Operational improvements continue to be delivered
- Capital expenditure in regulated activities continues at high levels: £353 million for the half year
- Robust financing position: headroom into 2010
- £1.5 billion returned to shareholders in August 2008
- Interim dividend of 10.64 pence in line with previously announced policy
Commenting, Philip Green, Chief Executive, said:
"I am pleased to report another good set of results, in what is a challenging economic climate. We continue to make good progress on our regulatory capital programme and invested £353 million in our infrastructure during the first half of the year. Our strategy to focus on our core skills has helped deliver operational performance improvements, although there is more to do. Customer satisfaction is now at its highest levels for many years and we are on course to meet our regulatory leakage target for the third consecutive year.
"The group benefits from a robust financing position and we have headroom to cover our projected financing needs into 2010, following the return of £1.5 billion to shareholders in August this year.
"We submitted our draft business plan for 2010-15 to Ofwat in August and expect investment in our assets to continue at high levels providing further environmental and customer benefits.
"Looking ahead, we remain confident of delivering a good underlying financial performance over the remainder of 2008/09."
For further information on the day, please contact:
Philip Green - Chief Executive +44 (0) 20 7307 0300
Tim Weller - Chief Financial Officer +44 (0) 20 7307 0300
Gaynor Kenyon - Communications Director +44 (0) 7753 622282
Darren Jameson - Head of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7733 127707
Dominic Fry / Tom Murray - Tulchan Communications +44 (0) 20 7353 4200
A presentation to investors and analysts starts at 9.00 am on Wednesday 26 November 2008, at the Auditorium, Deutsche Bank, Winchester House, 1 Great Winchester Street, London, EC2N 2DB. The presentation can be accessed via a live listen in conference call facility by dialling: +44 (0) 20 7162 0025. A recording of the call will be available for seven days following 26 November 2008 on +44 (0) 20 7031 4064, access code 816250.
The presentation, with further information on United Utilities, will be available at 9.00 am on the day at: http://www.unitedutilities.com/.
Get all the financial detail here.