Anglian to keep public pledge in teeth of Covid and Ofwat challenges

Anglian Water has pledged in its preliminary results for the year to 31 March 2020 to keep to the publicinterest commitment written into its constitution in 2019 while at the same time warning the regulator’s price controls will leave it some £750m short of its investment needs.

“We enter our next five years with a sure and certain sense of our environmental and social purpose, having become the first major UK utility to enshrine our longstanding focus on working in the public interest into the fabric of our company constitution,” wrote Anglian chief executive, Peter Simpson in the company annual report.”

Simpson (pictured) said the company’s “strong track record of performance” was demonstrated in a projected £62.6m in outperformance payments for the now complete AMP6. He said that record was “founded in large part on the significant investments we have made in delivering high-quality infrastructure and services over multiple AMPs” which was now under threat. “When we

emerge from the immediate crisis, our planning for the next five years will undoubtedly be influenced by the new circumstances in which we find ourselves,” Simpson said.

The company has bolstered its liquidity the face of risks arising from the Covid pandemic with a £600m loan taking its cash to over £1bn alongside access to a £450m facility. “This drawdown is expected to provide an adequate buffer to ensure payments can be met as they fall due,” the company said

Anglian Water reported underlying profit before tax for the report period up £13.5m to £74m, fueled by increased prices which took revenue up 3.9% to £1.33bn. Operating profit was up £10m to £399m.

Fair value losses on derivatives were down to £30.4m from £98.4m in the previous year giving a reported pre tax profit of £43.6m from a loss of £38m 12 months earlier.