top of page

Welsh Water reports half-year operating profits down 17%

by Trevor Loveday

Welsh Water Dwr Cymru has reported a £6.8m (17%) fall in interim operating profit to £33.1m for six months to 30 September 2022 compared to the same period in the previous year. Revenue for the half year was up £27m to £428m.


Operating costs increased £26m year on year to £191m while infrastructure renewals rose £6m to £38m and depreciation and amortisation was up £4.2m to £169m.


Adjustments for fair value gains and losses and gains on derivatives gave a first half-year loss before tax of £93m compared with a £27m loss for the same period in the previous year.

A £63m hike in financial expenses to £132m along with fair value gains on derivatives at £286 – up from a fair value loss on £97m in the previous half year drove profit before tax up to £193m compared with a loss before tax of £124m in the same period of 2021.


As the results were published, Welsh Water pledged to invest £12m to extend the financial support it offers to an extra 50,000 households, through its social tariffs scheme and a new community fund to be piloted in January targeting customers who are ineligible for benefits and therefore its social tariffs.


It also said an extra £100m would be spent on river water quality comprising £60m to accelerate the installation of phosphate removal plants at wastewater treatment works and £40m to reduce the impact of storm overflows – particularly those located along Special Areas of Conservation rivers.


The company added that it is working on a scheme to support its employees through the cost-of-living crisis and has already implemented the increase to the Real Living Wage.


Welsh Water pointed to its not-for-profit model as enabling all of this additional spending.




Comments


bottom of page