United Utilities Group (UU.)

Sector:

Utilities

Index:

FTSE 100

1,111.50p
   
  • Change Today:
      8.50p
  • 52 Week High: 1,125.00p
  • 52 Week Low: 958.80p
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 681.89m
  • Volume: 1,566,355
  • Market Cap: £7,579m
  • RiskGrade: 118
  • Beta: 0.79

United Utilities ups dividend as first-half revenues top £1bn

By Benjamin Chiou

Date: Thursday 14 Nov 2024

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - FTSE 100-listed water company United Utilities saw revenues top the £1bn mark in its first half after a "robust" performance, though headline profits dropped due to a higher net finance expense.
However, that didn't stop the company from raising its interim dividend by 4.2% to 17.28p per share, in line with its payout policy.

Revenues rose to £1.08bn in the six months to 30 September, up 10.9% year-on-year, which the company said was mainly driven by the inflationary mechanism and the impact of prior-period adjustments in respect of consumption. During the period, UU had a £97m increase in the revenue cap due to regulatory adjustments.

Underlying operating profits were £336m, £65m higher than the year before, due to higher revenues.

However, the reported pre-tax profit was down 12.1% at £140.6m, with the reported net finance expense surging to £193m, £114m higher than last year. This was due to a £140m negative swing in net fair value gains on debt and derivatives, from a £100m fair value gain last year to a £40m fair value loss this year.

For the full year ending March 2025, UU is targeting a 10% increase in revenues, and said capital expenditure is expected to be in the range of £950m to £1.1bn.

"Improving rivers continues to be a key area of focus. We are already making progress at reducing spills from storm overflows, having commenced a programme of accelerated solutions," said chief executive Louise Beardmore.

"Our five-year plan builds on this, with a step-change in investment, and last week we announced that we would go further and faster, accelerating more work to reduce spills. By 2030, we will deliver improvements at more than 1,100 overflows across the North West."

The stock was up 0.7% at 1,056p by 0855 GMT.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:


Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

United Utilities Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 1,111.50p
Change Today 8.50p
% Change 0.77 %
52 Week High 1,125.00p
52 Week Low 958.80p
Volume 1,566,355
Shares Issued 681.89m
Market Cap £7,579m
Beta 0.79
RiskGrade 118

United Utilities Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
72.28% below the market average72.28% below the market average72.28% below the market average72.28% below the market average72.28% below the market average
66.67% below the sector average66.67% below the sector average66.67% below the sector average66.67% below the sector average66.67% below the sector average
Price Trend
43.73% above the market average43.73% above the market average43.73% above the market average43.73% above the market average43.73% above the market average
100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average100.00% above the sector average
Income
8.94% below the market average8.94% below the market average8.94% below the market average8.94% below the market average8.94% below the market average
33.33% above the sector average33.33% above the sector average33.33% above the sector average33.33% above the sector average33.33% above the sector average
Growth
82.81% below the market average82.81% below the market average82.81% below the market average82.81% below the market average82.81% below the market average
100% below the sector average100% below the sector average100% below the sector average100% below the sector average100% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 4
Buy 1
Neutral 7
Sell 1
Strong Sell 0
Total 13
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

United Utilities Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Interim Final
Ex-Div 28-Nov-24 20-Jun-24
Paid 13-Jan-25 01-Aug-24
Amount 17.28p 33.19p

Trades for 21-Nov-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
15:53 1 @ 1,118.50p
16:49 958 @ 1,111.50p
16:39 200,000 @ 1,110.00p
16:36 1,879 @ 1,111.50p
16:36 3,344 @ 1,111.50p

United Utilities Key Personnel

Chair David Higgins
CFO Phil Aspin
CEO Louise Beardmore

Top of Page