LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Water company United Utilities reported a rise in first-half underlying operating profit on Wednesday and said it was "well prepared" for the next regulatory period.


In the six months to 30 September, underlying operating profit ticked up to £391.7m from £367.8m in the first half of last year, on revenue of £935.5m, up from £916.4m. The increase in revenue was attributed to the group's "alowed regulatory revenue changes".

Meanwhile, underlying earnings per share edged up to 29.1p from 28.9p.

Chief executive officer Steve Mogford said: "We are well prepared for the next regulatory period and are already moving forward with our implementation plans. This, together with the sustainable improvements in performance, gives us confidence that we will continue to create long-term value for all our stakeholders."

The company said that while a number of its outcome delivery incentive measures are susceptible to one-off events, its "strong" performance to date and continued targeted investment give it confidence that it will achieve cumulative net ODI outperformance over the 2015-20 period of around £50m.

At 0935 GMT, the shares were up 0.2% at 878.60p.

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