TIDM53HO

RNS Number : 2623Z

South East Water Limited

14 December 2017

South East Water Limited

Condensed group financial statements

for the six months ended 30 September 2017

Registered number 02679874

 
 Contents 
 
   Chairman's introduction 
   Statement of directors' responsibilities 
   Condensed group income statement 
   Condensed group statement of comprehensive income 
   Condensed group statement of financial position 
   Condensed group statement of changes in equity 
   Condensed group statement of cash flows 
   Notes to the condensed group financial statements 
 

Chairman's introduction

I am pleased to present our interim report for the first half of the 2017/18 financial year.

We have reached the half-way mark of our five year business plan, a plan which put customer satisfaction at the heart of everything we do. We do this by working with our customers and communities, sharing ideas and working together to innovate in ensuring we provide a reliable and economic high quality drinking water service, while enhancing the environment and benefiting society through our work.

A review of the year

Our vision is to be the water company people want to be supplied by and want to work for. The report by the Consumer Council for Water in September this year recognised our continuous improvement in customer service and highlighted our commitment to getting things right first time for customers. Some of the innovative initiatives which have helped us achieve this success include:

-- increased digital communications such as 'My Account' (with 50,000 customers signed up by August 2017) and an online 'in your area' map showing supply updates;

-- improved technology to help resolve customer queries, such as ensuring we have dedicated employees available to support social media and live chat channels via our website;

-- encouraging ideas from employees and acting on feedback through our 'Pipe Up' ideas forum and employee workshops.

We will continue to engage with customers and community groups with the objective of delivering a five-star service for all. For example our popular open days give customers a chance to see behind the scenes at our water treatment works and raise questions and suggestions that we feed back into the business. This commitment to listening to customers is demonstrated by the fact we are on track to see complaints reduce for a seventh consecutive year, with complaints for the period to 30 September 2017 down by 21 per cent.

One area where we have worked particularly hard to ensure a positive customer experience is in our customer metering programme. We have installed a further 21,323 water meters in the first six months of the year. The metering team has recently been shortlisted as "Team of the Year" at the Utility Week Awards, which endorses their efforts to ensure a smooth transition to metered water for customers.

We now have 84 per cent of our customers on meters and are on track to achieve 90 per cent by 2020, as set out in our long term water resources strategy.

We strive to keep improving the quality of the water we supply. While we have maintained high overall water quality with 99.95 per cent of samples passing standards set (as this is calculated on a calendar year basis this is the figure from January to September 2017), we want to reduce the number of calls we receive about discoloured water. In order to do this we are carrying out a pipe flushing programme in the order of approximately 900 miles during the year.

It is important that customers have trust in the quality of the information we provide and we continue to work hard to ensure our reporting is not only robust and transparent, but also clear and engaging for readers. Our regulator Ofwat has, for a second year, recognised our work in this area and assessed the quality of the information and assurance as industry leading.

We have our largest environmental programme of work taking place during this five year period through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP). Work includes catchment management education programme and practical projects with farmers to help them reduce pesticide runoff into rivers. This work is carried out in partnership with Natural England and we are grateful for the addition of their expertise to support this programme.

Eels are a protected species and can be damaged through our treatment works if special screens are not in place. As part of the WINEP we have had sign off for one of our eel screens at Bray and we have commenced the design of five more screens. In the last six months a screen at Crowhurst Bridge has been constructed and we expect two others to be constructed this year.

Another environmental success, with Natural England and also Bug Life, is that our dedication to improving wildlife habitats has seen the successful reintroduction of rare wart-biter crickets to our land at Deep Dean in East Sussex. Careful management of the land above our chalk aquifers not only ensures we are protecting the water quality below the ground, but we are also benefiting the biodiversity above ground too.

The start to this year's recharge season has been drier than average in the south east, with October receiving just 40 per cent long term average rainfall. As such we have been preparing in case there is a second consecutive dry winter. At this point, our reservoirs are in a good position, but we need above average winter rainfall to refill the underground sources. We will continue to monitor and manage supplies through the winter and work closely with customers to promote water efficiency in preparation for the spring/ summer 2018.

This year we are updating our long-term water resource plans. We will begin a 12 week public consultation early in 2018 on our new draft water resources management plan, which has been prepared to ensure we have a resilient water supply through to 2080. In order to plan this far ahead we have worked closely with a number of key stakeholders to develop the plan through our Environment Focus Group and, as active members of the Water Resources in the South East (WRSE) group, with our neighbouring water companies as we work together to look to develop optimal regional solutions.

Results and key financial performance indicators

The results published in this statement summarise our performance for the period to 30 September 2017. The financial statements are prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and incorporate the performance of South East Water Limited and our subsidiary, South East Water (Finance) Limited.

Revenue for the period was GBP114.5 million compared with GBP111.0 million for the same period in the previous year. The increased revenue is largely due to the numbers of new properties in the area and the increase in prices averaging 4.86 per cent for the year. This is partially offset by lower consumption of approximately 3.87 per cent due to the cooler and wetter than average summer and the impact of metering on billing.

Net operating costs for the period to 30 September 2017 were GBP79.0 million, which is some GBP6.1 million higher than the corresponding period last year. The higher costs are mainly due to a 30 per cent increase in business rates (GBP2.3 million), increased depreciation due to the continued high investment in the company's assets (GBP1.6 million), higher contractor and staff costs due to reactive maintenance (including mains bursts) of the network (GBP0.9 million) and increased energy costs of GBP0.2 million.

Operating profit was GBP39.3 million for the period to 30 September 2017 which compares with GBP42.0 million in the prior year. Operating profit as a percentage of revenue has decreased from 37.9 per cent in the first half of 2016/17 to 34.3 per cent in the current year.

Finance costs have increased by GBP4.1 million from GBP22.9 million to GBP27.0 million. This reflects the higher RPI being applied to the index linked loans and bonds during the period to 30 September 2017.

Profit before tax was GBP14.7 million compared with GBP21.8 million for the same period last year. This represents 12.8 per cent of revenue compared with 19.7 per cent for the corresponding period last year.

Deferred tax for the same period in 2016/17 was significantly affected by the changes in future tax rates announced in that year. This resulted in a tax credit of GBP3.6 million. There have been no new adjustments to the headline rate of corporation tax announced in the same period in 2017/18. Therefore, the company has incurred a tax charge of GBP1.7 million for the period to 30 September 2017, being GBP1.0 million of current tax on our ordinary operations and GBP0.7 million of deferred tax due to taxation timing differences.

As a result of the above, profit after tax has decreased from GBP25.4 million to GBP13.0 million for the first six months of the year.

Net cash generated from operations was GBP64.5 million for the period to 30 September 2017 compared to GBP62.9 million in the same period for the previous year. Also, during the period the company drew down GBP15.0 million from our committed loan facilities to ensure the capital programme could be maintained in line with the plans submitted to our regulators.

The interest paid in the year is significantly less than the previous year due to the timing of interest payments on our listed bonds.

We continue to comply with the financial covenants set out in our securitisation structure and continue to hold ratings from Moody's and Standard & Poor's consistent with the requirements of both our securitisation and our instrument of appointment.

Investing in customer satisfaction

We are the only water company which elected to include customer satisfaction measures with potential financial penalties and rewards within our five year performance commitments. It is important for us to make sure we were hearing from all our customers - including the silent majority - and therefore every month we survey a random selection of customers to ask how satisfied they are with the service we provide.

Across the business, initiatives have been running to keep improving customer satisfaction and for the second year our scores have improved. The period to 30 September 2017 saw an average of 75.57 per cent of customers surveyed say they are either satisfied or very satisfied with the service we provide. This compares to an average score of 74.76 per cent in the same period of 2016/17. In particular we have been focused on improving customer satisfaction with leakage and are pleased to say this has increased to an average of 3.9 out of five for the six month period, close to our target of 4.0.

We are delighted that our service incentive mechanism qualitative score has been an average of 4.33 out of 5.00 for the period to 30 September 2017 compared to 4.19 in the first half of 2016/17. One area of considerable improvement for our customers this year is our joint initiative with Southern Water for us to bill on their behalf for wastewater services, giving our customers the convenience of just one bill - something customers have asked for. Since this was agreed we have transferred more than 324,000 customers (to the end of November 2017) to the new joint billing approach, with the remainder due to move by April 2018.

We are on track with our planned capital investment programme of GBP83.9 million for the year 2017/18. For the period to 30 September 2017 we have invested GBP43.0 million on maintaining and improving our network of pipes, treatment works, metering and other key areas.

Our largest capital scheme during this five year investment programme is the extension of our water treatment works at Bray, Berkshire. The site is currently capable of treating up to 45 million litres of fresh drinking water per day and we plan to extend the works to be able to treat up to 68 million litres per day in order to secure water supplies for current and future customers across Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire. The scheme was submitted for planning permission in November 2017.

Our purpose built laboratory in Farnborough has tested more than 100,000 samples in the first six months of the year. Along with supporting our own water sampling programme, the UKAS accredited laboratory provides a service to more than 200 other businesses and organisations, from other water companies and local authorities through to individual private supplies.

One of our customer commitments is to keep interruptions to customer supplies to a minimum. Our underlying performance has been good and most customers who have suffered an interruption have had their water restored in under three hours, leading to an average interruption time across our whole customer base of 3.9 minutes per property for the period to 30 September 2017. Our target for the full year is to remain below 12 minutes per property.

We have launched an "in your area" map on our website that allows customers to quickly find out about any work or supply interruptions in their area. Simply entering a postcode allows you to zoom to an area of the map and find information about anything from planned roadworks to reported leaks. Customers can then sign up for email or text alerts to keep them updated on work that interests them. This online information is proving popular and between April and September we have sent more than 4,400 emails and 4,600 SMS text messages to help keep customers informed about our work.

This is just one of the ways we try to keep all our customers informed when we are working in their area. We also have our priority services register where people can sign up for special assistance, such as delivery of bottled water. We now have 16,708 customers on our register (at the end of September 2017) - an increase of just over 1,000 in the last six months.

Our Customer Care Team works in partnership with many organisations including other utilities to identify those customers who may need extra support whether that be through information we provide or if they have difficulty paying their water bills. The team sensitively talks through their situation to understand their circumstances and find the right tariff and payment options for them.

At the end of September 2017 we had more than 12,500 customers now signed up to our Social Tariff helping ensure their bills are affordable.

The business retail market opens

On the 1 April 2017 we, along with the other water companies nationally, were ready for the opening of a new retail market for non-household customers. We welcomed the challenge and continue to work hard to ensure the new market is successful. Our dedicated Wholesale Service Desk is working closely with the new retailers to ensure a smooth transition and that the non-household customers continue to receive an excellent and reliable service.

South East Water Choice, our non-household retail business, has had a successful first six months with most of our business customers opting to stay and many choosing to now get both their water and wastewater services from us.

Our sister company Water Choice, which is part of our group, has also been offering water and wastewater retail services to all business customers across England since market opening.

Our next step is to bring all our retail activities under one roof. From 1 April 2018 all our water and sewerage retail business will be undertaken by Water Choice. This will simplify our operations, and help us provide a more efficient service and an improved customer experience.

An application has been submitted to the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and if given the go ahead the transition is planned to take place on 1 April 2018.

We will keep our customers fully informed along the way and maintain the best level of service to our customers through our knowledgeable and experienced team.

You can find out more about the new business retail market itself at open-water.org.uk.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The principle risks and uncertainties facing the business are set out in the Strategic Report within the group's Annual Report for the financial year 2016/17, which can be found on the South East Water website.

Going concern

The directors are satisfied that the group has sufficient resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future; a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this report.

Looking ahead

This year is a particularly important one as we prepare and consult on our long term plans. Along with our water resources management plan, we are preparing our business plan for the period 2020-2025 and will publish this in September 2018.

We have been working closely with our Customer Challenge Group (CCG), and engaging widely with customers and our communities to help us develop a plan that ensures everything we do reflects all of the many different people we serve and meets the needs of our customers, communities and the environment.

As a business that ensures there is a reliable supply of quality water for the south east of England, we know we have a potentially significant impact on society. We intend for our plan to be one that ensures we are building a future that puts the environment, society and the next generation at the forefront.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank Zoe Mcleod who chairs our CCG and all the members of the group who are giving us a strong challenge to ensure we develop a plan that truly makes customer engagement part of who we are at South East Water.

The board is excited by the future direction that we can see developing through our conversations with customers and stakeholders. There is real appetite for us to see South East Water recognised as a leading business in customer engagement, not just in the water industry, but to be an example for other industries too.

We know that it is the employees and business partners at South East Water and their dedication and passion for our vision that has helped us continue to improve as they keep aiming for five-out-of-five service for every one of our customers. On behalf of the board I would like to thank everyone involved. We look forward to the rest of this year and through 2018 as we work with our customers to develop a sustainable future for water in our community of the south east.

Nick Salmon

Chairman

14 December 2017

Statement of directors' responsibilities

The directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge:

-- the condensed group financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as endorsed by the European Union; and

-- the condensed group statements herein include a fair review of the information required by the Disclosure and Transparency Rules 4.2.7R.

The directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the group and enable them to ensure that the group financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The directors are also responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Paul Butler

Managing Director

14 December 2017

Condensed group income statement

for the six months ended 30 September 2017

 
                                                 Six months               Six months 
                                                      ended                    ended 
                                               30 September             30 September 
                                                       2017                     2016 
                                      Notes          GBP000                   GBP000 
 
 Revenue                                3           114,450                  110,990 
 
 Group net operating costs              5          (79,009)                 (72,890) 
 Other income                           3             3,840                    3,939 
 
 Group operating profit                              39,281                   42,039 
 
 Finance costs                          6          (26,957)                 (22,882) 
 Finance income                         7             2,349                    2,686 
 
 Profit before taxation                              14,673                   21,843 
 
 Taxation                               8           (1,662)                    3,596 
                                             --------------  ----------------------- 
 
 Profit for the period                               13,011                   25,439 
                                             --------------  ----------------------- 
 
 Earnings per share 
 Basic and diluted from continuing 
  operations                                         26.38p                   51.59p 
                                             --------------  ----------------------- 
 

Profit for the current and prior period is generated entirely from continuing operations.

Condensed group statement of comprehensive income

for the six months ended 30 September 2017

 
                                            Six months                Six months 
                                                 ended                     ended 
                                          30 September              30 September 
                                                  2017                      2016 
                                                GBP000                    GBP000 
 
 Profit for the period                          13,011                    25,439 
                                        --------------  ------------------------ 
 
 Items that will not be reclassified 
  subsequently to profit or 
  loss: 
  Re-measurement of defined 
   benefit liability                           (3,159)                  (10,664) 
  Deferred tax on defined 
   benefit pension schemes                         537                   1,920 
  Impact of deferred tax rate 
   change in respect of pension 
   schemes                                           -                     (389) 
 
                                               (2,622)                   (9,133) 
                                        --------------  ------------------------ 
 
   Total comprehensive income 
   for the period attributable 
   to Owners of the Company                     10,389                    16,306 
                                        --------------  ------------------------ 
 

Condensed group statement of financial position

as at 30 September 2017

 
                                          30 September        31 March    30 September 
                                                  2017            2017            2016 
                                 Notes          GBP000          GBP000          GBP000 
 
 Non-current assets 
 Intangible assets                10            10,830          11,058          10,777 
 Property, plant and 
  equipment                       11         1,480,018       1,455,380       1,430,220 
 Amount due from parent 
  undertaking                                  190,013         190,013         190,013 
 Defined benefit pension 
  surplus                                        8,104           9,616           7,372 
 
                                             1,688,965       1,666,067       1,638,382 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
   Current assets 
 Inventories                                       219             214             239 
 Trade and other receivables      12            77,336          72,113          72,627 
 Cash and cash equivalents        13            27,697          11,371          16,376 
 
                                               105,252          83,698          89,242 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
   Total assets                              1,794,217       1,749,765       1,727,624 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
 Current liabilities 
 Loans and borrowings             14          (15,000)               -               - 
 Trade and other payables         16         (110,544)        (96,130)        (89,380) 
 Deferred income                               (7,169)         (6,573)         (6,608) 
 Provisions                                    (2,361)         (2,472)         (3,860) 
 
                                             (135,074)       (105,175)        (99,848) 
 
 Non-current liabilities 
 Loans and borrowings            14/15       (888,586)       (882,024)       (872,610) 
 Derivative financial 
  instruments                    14/15       (104,501)       (100,916)        (91,052) 
 Trade and other payables         14           (5,347)         (4,261)         (3,501) 
 Net deferred tax liabilities                (133,080)       (132,895)       (131,326) 
 Defined benefit pension 
  liability                                    (1,378)         (1,851)         (8,577) 
 Deferred income                              (72,157)        (69,938)        (67,234) 
 
                                           (1,205,049)     (1,191,885)     (1,174,300) 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
   Total liabilities                       (1,340,123)     (1,297,060)     (1,274,148) 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
 Net assets                                    454,094         452,705         453,476 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
 Equity 
 Ordinary share capital                         49,312          49,312          49,312 
 Revaluation reserve                           258,965         261,549         264,063 
 Retained earnings                             145,817         141,844         140,101 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
   Total equity                                454,094         452,705         453,476 
                                        --------------  --------------  -------------- 
 

The notes below are an integral part of these condensed group financial statements.

Condensed group statement of changes in equity

for the six months ended 30 September 2017

 
                            Issued 
                             share     Revaluation     Retained      Total 
                           capital         reserve     earnings     equity 
                            GBP000          GBP000       GBP000     GBP000 
 
 At 1 April 2017            49,312         261,549      141,844    452,705 
                         ---------  --------------  -----------  --------- 
 
 Profit for the 
  period                         -               -       13,011     13,011 
 Other comprehensive 
  loss                           -               -      (2,622)    (2,622) 
 
   Total comprehensive 
   income                        -               -       10,389     10,389 
 Dividends (see 
  note 9)                        -               -      (9,000)    (9,000) 
 Amortise revaluation 
  reserve                        -         (3,064)        3,064          - 
 Release revaluation 
  on disposals                   -            (43)           43          - 
 Deferred tax on 
  reserve releases               -             523        (523)          - 
 
   At 30 September 
   2017                     49,312         258,965      145,817    454,094 
                         ---------  --------------  -----------  --------- 
 

for the six months ended 30 September 2016

 
                            Issued 
                             share     Revaluation    Retained     Total 
                           capital         reserve    earnings    equity 
                            GBP000          GBP000      GBP000    GBP000 
 
 At 1 April 2016            49,312         264,134     129,328   442,774 
                         ---------  --------------  ----------  -------- 
 
 Profit for the 
  period                         -               -      25,439    25,439 
 Other comprehensive 
  loss                           -               -     (9,133)   (9,133) 
                         ---------  --------------  ----------  -------- 
 
   Total comprehensive 
   income                        -               -      16,306    16,306 
 Dividends (see 
  note 9)                        -               -     (8,000)   (8,000) 
 Amortise revaluation 
  reserve                        -         (3,064)       3,064         - 
 Release revaluation 
  on disposals                   -            (20)          20         - 
 Deferred tax on 
  reserve releases               -             617       (617)         - 
 Impact of deferred 
  tax rate change                -           2,396           -     2,396 
                         ---------  --------------  ----------  -------- 
 
   At 30 September 
   2016                     49,312         264,063     140,101   453,476 
                         ---------  --------------  ----------  -------- 
 

Condensed group statement of cash flows

for the six months ended 30 September 2017

 
                                                 Six months       Six months 
                                                      ended            ended 
                                               30 September     30 September 
                                                       2016             2016 
                                      Notes          GBP000           GBP000 
 
 Operating activities 
 Net cash flow from operating 
  activities                                         64,450           62,882 
 Interest received                                    2,225            2,543 
 Interest paid                                      (6,337)         (17,354) 
 Group tax relief paid                              (2,000)          (1,000) 
 
   Net cash flow before investing 
   and financing activities                          58,338           47,071 
                                             --------------  --------------- 
 
 Investing activities 
 Proceeds from sale of property, 
  plant and equipment                                   103              159 
 Purchase of property, plant 
  and equipment                                    (47,807)         (39,436) 
 Purchase of intangible assets                      (1,414)          (1,297) 
 Fixed asset contributions 
  received                                            1,106              932 
 
   Net cash flow used in investing 
   activities                                      (48,012)         (39,642) 
                                             --------------  --------------- 
 
 Financing activities 
 New bank loans received                             15,000                - 
 Dividends paid to shareholder          9           (9,000)          (8,000) 
 
   Net cash flow used in financing 
   activities                                         6,000          (8,000) 
                                             --------------  --------------- 
 
 Increase/(decrease) in cash 
  and cash equivalents                               16,326            (571) 
 Cash and cash equivalents 
  at 1 April                                         11,371           16,947 
                                             --------------  --------------- 
 
   Cash and cash equivalents 
   at 30 September                      13           27,697           16,376 
                                             --------------  --------------- 
 

Notes to the condensed group financial statements

for the six months ended 30 September 2017

   1.    Basis of preparation 

The condensed group financial statements for the six months ended 30 September 2017 are set out above, and have been prepared in accordance with the Disclosure and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority and IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as endorsed by the European Union. The statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2017, which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") endorsed by the European Union.

The condensed group financial statements are presented in sterling.

These interim financial results are neither audited nor reviewed by our auditor. The information for the year ended 31 March 2017 does not comprise statutory accounts within the meaning of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2017 were approved by the Board of Directors on 14 July 2017 and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was not qualified, did not include any reference to any matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the report and did not contain any statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

   2.    Accounting policies 

Changes in accounting policies

The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2017 as described in those financial statements.

   3.    Total income 
 
                               Six months      Six months 
                                    ended           ended 
                             30 September    30 September 
                                     2017            2016 
                                   GBP000          GBP000 
 Revenue 
 Unmetered water income            19,083          24,537 
 Metered water income              92,573          83,417 
 Other sales                        2,794           3,036 
                           --------------  -------------- 
 
 Total revenue                    114,450         110,990 
                           --------------  -------------- 
 
 Other income 
 Rental income                        566             585 
 Sundry income                      3,274           3,354 
                           --------------  -------------- 
 
   Total other income               3,840           3,939 
                           --------------  -------------- 
 
   Total income                   118,290         114,929 
                           --------------  -------------- 
 

All revenue is from customers within the United Kingdom.

   4.   Segmental analysis 

The group's revenue mainly arises from the supply of water and related activities. The activities of the group, for management purposes, fall into three operating areas being the supply of potable water on a wholesale basis, the supply of potable water and waste water services on a retail basis, both of which are governed by the Water Act 2014, and related non-regulated activities.

The group analyses results by segment to operating profits only, therefore no segmental statement of financial position or statement of cash flows are presented.

 
 Period to 30 September        Wholesale        Retail         Other 
  2017                        activities    activities    activities      Total 
                                  GBP000        GBP000        GBP000     GBP000 
 
 Total income                    101,921        12,329         4,040    118,290 
                            ------------  ------------  ------------  --------- 
 
 Operating profit                 36,019         1,725         1,537     39,281 
                            ------------  ------------  ------------ 
 Finance income                                                           2,349 
 Finance costs                                                         (26,957) 
                                                                      --------- 
 
 Profit before taxation                                                  14,673 
 Taxation                                                               (1,662) 
                                                                      --------- 
 
   Profit for the 
   period                                                                13,011 
                                                                      --------- 
 
   Period to 30 September 
   2016 
 
 Total income                     98,932        12,074         3,923    114,929 
                            ------------  ------------  ------------  --------- 
 
 Operating profit                 38,610         1,560         1,869     42,039 
                            ------------  ------------  ------------ 
 Finance income                                                           2,686 
 Finance costs                                                         (22,882) 
                                                                      --------- 
 
 Profit before taxation                                                  21,843 
 Taxation                                                                 3,596 
                                                                      --------- 
 
   Profit for the 
   period                                                                25,439 
                                                                      --------- 
 
   5.   Net operating costs 
 
                                   Six months      Six months 
                                        ended           ended 
                                 30 September    30 September 
                                         2017            2016 
                                       GBP000          GBP000 
 
 Employee benefits expenses            14,662          13,550 
 Asset expenses                        24,348          22,616 
 Other operating expenses              39,999          36,724 
                               --------------  -------------- 
 
                                       79,009          72,890 
                               --------------  -------------- 
 
   6.   Finance costs 
 
                                     Six months      Six months 
                                          ended           ended 
                                   30 September    30 September 
                                           2017            2016 
                                         GBP000          GBP000 
 
 Effective interest on listed 
  debt                                   11,129          10,950 
 Fair value movements on 
  interest rate swap                      3,585           3,825 
 Indexation on listed debt                3,143           1,729 
 Interest on index linked 
  loans                                   5,810           5,657 
 Indexation on index linked 
  loans                                   3,146             727 
 Other finance costs                      1,189           1,208 
                                         28,002          24,096 
 Less: interest capitalised             (1,045)         (1,214) 
                                 --------------  -------------- 
                                         26,957          22,882 
                                 --------------  -------------- 
 
   7.   Finance income 
 
                                         Six months      Six months 
                                              ended           ended 
                                       30 September    30 September 
                                               2017            2016 
                                             GBP000          GBP000 
 
 Interest receivable from group 
  undertakings                                2,210           2,462 
 Pension fund finance credit                    124             168 
 Interest receivable on bank 
  balances and short term deposits               15              56 
 
                                              2,349           2,686 
                                     --------------  -------------- 
 
   8.   Taxation 
 
                                                     Six months      Six months 
                                                          ended           ended 
                                                   30 September    30 September 
                                                           2017            2016 
                                                         GBP000          GBP000 
 
 Current taxation charge                                    940           1,717 
 Deferred taxation charge/(credit)                          722         (5,313) 
 
                                                          1,662         (3,596) 
                                      -------------------------  -------------- 
 

The current tax charge is recognised based on management's estimate of the weighted average annual corporation tax rate expected for the full financial year.

   9.   Dividends 
 
                                       Six months      Six months 
                                            ended           ended 
                                     30 September    30 September 
                                             2017            2016 
                                           GBP000          GBP000 
 
   Equity dividends paid during 
   the period of 18.3p per share 
   (2016: 16.2p)                            9,000           8,000 
                                   --------------  -------------- 
 

10. Intangible assets

 
                                              GBP000 
 Net book amount 
 At 1 April 2017                              11,058 
 Additions for the period                      1,953 
 Reclassification of assets in the period      (539) 
 Amortisation for the period                 (1,642) 
                                            -------- 
 
   At 30 September 2017                       10,830 
                                            -------- 
 
 Net book amount 
 At 1 April 2016                              11,046 
 Additions for the year                        3,197 
 Amortisation for the year                   (3,180) 
 Disposals for the year                          (2) 
 Impairment for the year                         (3) 
                                            -------- 
 
   At 31 March 2017                           11,058 
                                            -------- 
 
 Net book amount 
 At 1 April 2016                              11,046 
 Additions for the period                      1,297 
 Amortisation for the period                 (1,566) 
                                            -------- 
 
   At 30 September 2016                       10,777 
                                            -------- 
 

11. Property, plant and equipment

 
                                                GBP000 
 Net book amount 
 At 1 April 2017                             1,455,380 
 Additions for the period                       46,908 
 Reclassification of assets in the period          539 
 Disposals for the period                         (88) 
 Depreciation for the period                  (22,721) 
 
   At 30 September 2017                      1,480,018 
                                            ---------- 
 
 Net book amount 
 At 1 April 2016                             1,412,184 
 Additions for the year                         86,625 
 Disposals for the year                          (116) 
 Depreciation for the year                    (43,275) 
 Impairment for the year                          (38) 
                                            ---------- 
 
   At 31 March 2017                          1,455,380 
                                            ---------- 
 
 Net book amount 
 At 1 April 2016                             1,412,184 
 Additions for the period                       39,245 
 Disposals for the period                         (63) 
 Depreciation for the period                  (21,120) 
 Impairment for the period                        (26) 
                                            ---------- 
 
   At 30 September 2016                      1,430,220 
                                            ---------- 
 

12. Trade and other receivables

 
                                 30 September   31 March   30 September 
                                         2017       2017           2016 
                                       GBP000     GBP000         GBP000 
 
 Financial asset receivables 
 Trade receivables                     33,580     32,669         31,033 
 Accrued income                        36,879     32,433         35,288 
 Amounts due from group 
  undertakings                            273         96             37 
                                       70,732     65,198         66,358 
                                -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 Non-financial asset 
  receivables 
 Prepayments                            4,727      3,302          4,438 
 Other receivables                      1,877      3,613          1,831 
                                -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 
                                        6,604      6,915          6,269 
                                -------------  ---------  ------------- 
                                       77,336     72,113         72,627 
                                -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 

13. Cash and cash equivalents

 
                              30 September   31 March   30 September 
                                      2017       2017           2016 
                                    GBP000     GBP000         GBP000 
 
 Cash at bank and in 
  hand                              27,697     11,371          9,376 
 Short term bank deposits                -          -          7,000 
                             -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 
                                    27,697     11,371         16,376 
                             -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 

14. Financial liabilities

 
                                     30 September   31 March   30 September 
                                             2017       2017           2016 
                                           GBP000     GBP000         GBP000 
 
 Non-current liabilities 
 
 Irredeemable debenture 
  stock                                       991        991            991 
 Listed bonds                             526,284    523,281        520,563 
 Index linked loans                       361,311    357,752        351,056 
                                    -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 
   Loans and borrowings                   888,586    882,024        872,610 
 Derivative financial instruments         104,501    100,916         91,052 
 Trade and other payables                   5,347      4,261          3,501 
                                    -------------  ---------  ------------- 
                                          998,434    987,201        967,163 
                                    -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 
   Current liabilities 
 
   Other bank loans                        15,000          -              - 
                                    -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 

Trade and other payables which fall under the heading of financial liabilities are reported under note 16.

15. Financial Instruments

Fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities

Fair value is the amount at which a financial instrument could be exchanged in an arm's length transaction between informed and willing parties. In the opinion of the directors, the fair values of the financial assets and liabilities of the group (apart from the specific items shown in the fair value table below) are not materially different from the book values.

 
                                   Book            Fair        Book          Fair            Book            Fair 
                                  Value           Value       Value         Value           Value           Value 
                           30 September    30 September          31            31    30 September    30 September 
                                   2017            2017       March         March            2016            2016 
                                 GBP000          GBP000        2017          2017          GBP000          GBP000 
                                                             GBP000        GBP000 
 Loans and receivables 
 Amounts due 
  from parent 
  undertaking                   190,013         173,920     190,013       140,373         190,013         193,321 
                         --------------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------------  -------------- 
 
 Financial liabilities 
  at amortised 
  cost 
 Irredeemable 
  debentures                        991             841         991           766             991             921 
 Listed bonds                   526,284         631,450     523,281       659,312         520,563         633,743 
 Index linked 
  loans                         361,311         660,655     357,752       441,423         351,056         489,057 
                         --------------  --------------  ---------- 
 
                                888,586       1,292,946     882,024     1,101,501         872,610       1,123,721 
                         --------------  --------------  ----------  ------------  --------------  -------------- 
 

The following table details the financial instruments that are carried in the group's books at the fair value at 30 September 2017.

 
                                            Book and      Book and        Book and 
                                          Fair Value    Fair Value      Fair Value 
                                        30 September      31 March    30 September 
                                                2017          2017            2016 
                                              GBP000        GBP000          GBP000 
 At fair value through 
  the income statement 
 
   Derivative financial instruments 
   - Interest rate swap                      104,501       100,916          91,052 
                                      --------------  ------------  -------------- 
 

The book value of the interest rate swap has been adjusted to reflect its fair value.

Fair value hierarchy

The group held the following financial instruments measured at fair value:

 
                                 Total     Level         Level     Level 
                                GBP000         1             2         3 
                                          GBP000        GBP000    GBP000 
 Financial liabilities 
  at fair value through 
  the income statement 
 
  30 September 2017 
  Interest rate swap         (104,501)         -     (104,501)         - 
                          ------------  --------  ------------  -------- 
 
   31 March 2017 
   Interest rate swap        (100,916)         -     (100,916)         - 
                          ------------  --------  ------------  -------- 
 
   30 September 2016 
   Interest rate swap         (91,052)         -     (91,052)          - 
                          ------------  --------  ------------  -------- 
 

During the reporting period ended 30 September 2017, there were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements and no transfers into and out of Level 3 fair value measurements.

The group uses the following hierarchy for determining and disclosing the fair value of financial instruments by valuation technique:

   --      Level 1: quoted (unadjusted) prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; 

-- Level 2: other techniques for which all inputs with a significant effect on the recorded fair value are observable, either directly or indirectly; and

-- Level 3: techniques using inputs which have a significant effect on the recorded fair value that are not based on observable market data.

16. Trade and other payables

 
                             30 September   31 March   30 September 
                                     2017       2017           2016 
                                   GBP000     GBP000         GBP000 
 
   Financial liability 
   payables 
 Trade payables                    10,674     14,339         11,724 
 Amounts due to group 
  undertakings                     10,191     11,266         10,839 
 Other payables                     5,119        949            675 
 Accruals                          46,088     33,354         29,682 
                            -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 
                                   72,072     59,908         52,920 
                            -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 Non-financial liability 
  payables 
 Payments received 
  in advance                       37,516     35,207         35,480 
 Other taxes and social 
  security                            956      1,015            980 
                            -------------  ---------  ------------- 
                                   38,472     36,222         36,460 
                            -------------  ---------  ------------- 
                                  110,544     96,130         89,380 
                            -------------  ---------  ------------- 
 

17. Subsequent events

There have been no post balance sheet events that require disclosure.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

IR BSBDDDBBBGRX

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)

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