South West Water owners have increased dividends to shareholders, restoring normal service to 85% of customers after unsafe drinking water caused more than 100 cases of waterborne illness in Devon said.
Last Wednesday, South West Water ordered 16,000 households and businesses to have their tap water removed after Cryptosporidium, which can cause unpleasant symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting, was detected in the water supply in Brixham, Devon. They were instructed not to use the water as drinking water. First, boil it and let it cool.
South West Water’s owner, Pennon Group, has offered compensation of £215 per household via bank transfer or bill credit to all customers given boil water notices, but the cost is It was said to have cost £3.5m.
Health and Safety Executive has confirmed 46 cases of Cryptosporidium in the Brixham area, with more than 100 others reporting symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal pain and dehydration.
On Saturday, South West Water apologized after lifting boil water notices for 14,500 properties in Brixham, but including 28 properties whose water supply was still unsafe. anger Residents were told they could drink tap water, but a few hours later they received another message advising them to keep their water boiling.
The company blamed the error on a problem with its digital mapping system and announced it would pay an additional £75 in compensation to those who received the wrong advice.
Susan Davey, chief executive of the FTSE 250-listed company, said: “We are 100% focused on restoring safe water supplies to residents and businesses in and around Brixham.”
“Normal service is back for 85% of our customers, but we won’t stop until our local drinking water returns to the quality all of our customers expect and deserve.”
He said the company’s operations team is “working around the clock to make this happen.”
Mr Davie added that Pennon had cut its final dividend by £2.4m. It said it was the largest fine ever issued by South West Water last year and “shows we are listening”. However, the total dividend is still up from last year, at £44.37 per share for the year, or £126.9m, compared to £111.7m a year ago.
South West Water provides water and wastewater services to 1.8 million people in Devon, Cornwall and parts of Dorset and Somerset.
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The company was fined £2.15 million. The Environment Agency said in April last year that a series of incidents in Devon and Cornwall that continued to dump sewage into rivers and the sea over a four-year period was caused by “a number of common deficiencies” in the implementation of the company’s management systems. That’s what it means.
Pennon reported an underlying profit before tax of £16.8m, the same as last year, and a statutory loss of £9.1m. Real income rose by 10% to £908m due to inflation-linked billing increases. The company’s debt pile had ballooned to £3.5bn at the end of March, up from £3bn a year earlier.
Arlyn Cheekley, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The weather was both our enemy and our friend last year, especially in the second half. Across the South West, this year was the fifth wettest on record. , resulting in rising groundwater levels and increased use of storm overflow.
“These are effectively release valves to avoid flooding homes and businesses, but they also mean that untreated water flows into local rivers. Conversely, extreme weather events can cause water reserves to recover. , the drought cycle in Devon and Cornwall has ended and water resilience has improved across the group.”
Mr Cheakley said the company’s earnings would benefit from rate increases and last year’s £380m acquisition of Sutton and East Surrey Water.
