Severn Trent profits rise and forecast lifted as sector readies for ‘biggest investment period ever’
Severn Trent reported a booming full-year profits and forecast strong earnings for the upcoming year, as it anticipates the “biggest investment period the sector has ever seen.”
The company said it was planning “increased capital investment of between £850 million and £1bn for 2023/24,” and saw turnover hit £2.1bn, up 11.4 per cent on the previous year.
Severn Trent’s profits before interest and tax also saw a small rise of 0.5 per cent to £508.2m for the year ending March, on the back of strong consumption.
Liv Garfield, Chief Executive, Severn Trent Plc, said: “Creating job opportunities, continuing significant regional investment, and financially supporting more customers than ever before is made possible by the strong results we have delivered this year.”
She added: “We are expecting the biggest investment period the sector has ever seen, with a focus on water resources, improving environmental standards and on Net Zero, and we feel more than ready for this exciting opportunity ahead of us.”
After this, shares were down 2.47 per cent on the announcement.
Can the industry survive the sewage scandal?
The sector has seen intense scrutiny over the last year, with water companies coming under fire for dumping excessive amounts of raw sewage into seas and rivers.
Severn Trent said that it had improved performance on river quality “by a third” over the last year with storm overflows – which release excess storm water into rivers or seas if there is an overflow – reduced from 25 to 18 activations, ahead of the regulatory target.
It is currently the first and only FTSE 100 company to have a female chair, CEO and CFO.
