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United Utilities (UU) has expanded its share of the Scottish business retail market to reach more than 250 customers at 3,000 sites in 2015.
This represents annualised revenue of £18 million, the company said in its half-year results statement on Wednesday morning.
After being awarded a Scottish water supply licence in 2012, UU became one of the largest new entrants in the country, second only to Scottish Water subsidiary Business Stream.
The firm said: “We remain a leading new entrant, although our selective bidding for business at attractive margins means we are not solely focusing on growing market share.
“We also continue to offer and develop our range of value-added services, such as leak detection and repair, waste digestion and wastewater system optimisation.”
UU reported a £17 million drop in underlying profit before tax to £205 million. It said this was due to the £35 million decrease in underlying operating profit, partly offset by the £18 million decrease in underlying net finance expense.
The results were below the expectations of Citi analysts, who said they appear “light compared with our forecast and to a less extent versus consensus”.
The group reported H1 results with clean operating profit of £309 million – versus consensus of £312 million and Citi estimates of £326 million – and clean profit before tax of £205 million – versus consensus of £209 million and Citi estimates of £221 million.
However, Whitman Howard analyst Angelos Anastasiou said that at the interim stage, “we would not read too much into the precise figures”.
“The group is not changing its guidance for the full year (£605 million for underlying operating profit and £400 million for underlying profit before tax versus our forecasts of £607.7 million and £405.2 million, respectively for these),” he said.
UU chief executive Steve Mogford said the firm expects to invest around £800 million this year. In addition to its £3.5 billion+ five-year regulatory capex programme, the company will invest more than £100 million in non-regulated projects, “principally relating to solar power”.
The group annouced last month that it would invest 3.5 million in what will be Europe’s largest floating solar power development, as part of a £100 million investment programme in solar panels over the next five years, as it seeks to increase its self-generation capabilities.
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