TIDMBA18
RNS Number : 4768F
Thames Water Utilities Finance PLC
10 July 2023
Thames Water Utilities Limited
Full Year Results for the twelve months ended 31 March 2023
Thames Water Utilities Finance Plc announces that Thames Water
Utilities Limited has announced its Full Year Results for the
twelve months ended 31 March 2023.
Record investment and new operational model supporting the
turnaround of Thames Water
-- Record GBP1.8 billion investment in our assets, a 60% increase in two years
-- Restructured the business to a regional operating model
-- Insourced repair and maintenance of water network and on shored customer-facing care teams
Operational performance impacted by extreme weather and ageing
assets
-- 55% of annual performance commitments met
-- Complaints fell by 28%, the second consecutive significant year-on-year reduction
-- Improvements in several key performance commitments including
a reduction in sewage discharges, internal sewer flooding, and
sewer blockages
-- Record summer drought had significant impact on leakage and pollutions performance
Increased support for customers and focus on environmental
transparency
-- Supported over 300,000 customers, increasing social tariff
support to GBP50 million in the year
-- Taking leadership stance on river health and transparency -
the first company to publish a live map of sewage discharges
Financial performance impacted by high inflation and investment
in leakage
-- Revenue increased 4% to GBP2.3 billion largely reflecting tariff growth
-- EBITDA down 3% to GBP1.1 billion, reflecting higher operating costs
-- Gearing fell 3.2 ppts to 77.4%, its lowest level in 10 years
Strong liquidity and ongoing shareholder support underpin a
transition to a more focused turnaround plan
-- Strong liquidity position of GBP4.4 billion as at 31 March 2023
-- An initial GBP500 million of shareholder funding was drawn on 30 March 2023
-- Shareholders have agreed to provide a further GBP750 million
of equity funding in AMP7, subject to satisfaction of certain
conditions (1)
-- Shareholders have also acknowledged that delivery of the
Turnaround Plan is likely to require the provision of further
equity support in AMP8 (2025-30), significantly in excess of their
current AMP7 commitment and indicatively is expected to be in the
region of GBP2.5 billion (2)
Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran, Interim Co-CEOs of Thames
Water said:
"It was an extremely challenging year for Thames Water and the
water industry. Our network came under unprecedented pressure from
record temperatures, a drought and a freeze / thaw event. At the
same time, economic factors also impacted our financial results
with high inflation driven by a surge in energy and chemical
prices. In short, our performance was not as we - or our customers
- wanted it to be.
"Despite this, we are in a robust financial position. We had
GBP4.4bn liquidity as at 31 March 2023 and are extremely fortunate
to have such supportive shareholders. Their commitment to
delivering Thames' turnaround and life's essential service is
reflected in the largest equity support package ever seen in the UK
water sector, whilst taking no dividends out.
"Given our performance, we launched a review of our turnaround
two and a half months ago to identify what needs to change to
deliver better performance, quicker. As a result, we are
transitioning to a more focused Turnaround Plan - this targeted
approach focuses expenditure on a smaller number of initiatives
that will deliver substantial and sustainable improvements in key
performance metrics over the next three years.
"This plan builds on the foundations that have been put in place
over the last two years and progress made this year. We have
brought customer-facing teams back into our region and insourced
the repair and maintenance of our water network. We're fixing more
leaks and customer complaints have continued to fall significantly.
We have also increased investment in our networks and assets to
record levels as we undertake a detailed review of our ageing
Victorian asset infrastructure to determine what needs to be done
to improve operational resilience and performance over the
long-term.
"Our balance sheet remains robust and, while change will not
happen overnight, we are confident we have the right strategy, team
and support in place to deliver for our customers, communities and
the environment in London and the Thames Valley."
Financial performance
Year ended 31 March 2023 31 March 2022
-------------------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------------
GBPm Underlying BTL(3) Total Underlying BTL(3) Total
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Revenue 2,180.7 84.5 2,265.2 2,092.0 84.9 2,176.9
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Operating expenses (2,016.7) (0.1) (2,016.8) (1, 843.3) (0. 1) (1, 843.4)
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Operating profit 271.6 84.4 356.0 344.4 84.8 429.2
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
EBITDA 1,001.8 84.4 1,086.2 1,039.4 84.8 1,124.2
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Net finance expense (476.5) - (476.5) (384.5) - (384.5)
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Net gain / (loss)
on financial instruments 122.3 - 122.3 ( 895.5) - ( 895.5)
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
(Loss)/Profit before
tax (82.6) 84.4 1.8 ( 935.6) 84.8 ( 850.8)
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Profit / (Loss) after
tax (132.3) 102.2 (30.1) (1 ,042.0) 68.7 ( 973.3)
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Capital expenditure
including intangibles 1,769.7 - 1,769.7 1, 344.0 - 1, 344.0
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Operating cash flow 1,114.4 1.8 1,116.2 1,191.4 1 .6 1,193.0
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Net debt (statutory) 13,958.6 - 13,958.6 12, 935.0 - 12, 935.0
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Dividends paid to
immediate parent
company 45.2 - 45.2 37.1 - 37.1
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Distributions paid - - - - - -
to external shareholders
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Senior gearing (4) 77.4% - - 80.6% - -
-------------------------- ---------- ------ --------- ---------- ------ ----------
Credit Rating (5) Baa2 stable / BBB stable Baa2 stable / BBB+ watch
negative
-------------------------- ----------------------------- ------------------------------
Notes
1. This further funding is subject to satisfaction of certain
conditions, including the preparation and production of a business
plan that underpins a more focused turnaround that delivers
targeted performance improvements for customers, the environment
and other stakeholders over the next three years and is supported
by appropriate regulatory arrangements
2. The nature and level of such medium-term support will depend
on the finalisation of the business plan
3. Refer to pages 124 to 125 of the Thames Water Annual Report
2022/23 for information about the Bazalgette Tunnel Limited ("BTL")
arrangement
4. Ratio of Senior covenant net debt to Regulatory Capital Value ("RCV")
5. Representing the consolidated Corporate Family Rating
assigned by Moody's / S&P Class A debt of the securitisation
group; S&P placed its ratings on negative CreditWatch on 30
June 2023
For media enquiries please contact
Hannah Law - Media Relations Manager
Hannah.law@thameswater.co.uk
Sarah Long - Head of Media Relations
Sarah.long2@thameswater.co.uk
For investor enquiries please contact
Sarah Davies - Head of Investor Relations
Sarah.davies@thameswater.co.uk
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
ACSURRNRONUBARR
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 10, 2023 02:10 ET (06:10 GMT)
Thames Wuf 6.5% (LSE:BA18)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Oct 2024 à Nov 2024
Thames Wuf 6.5% (LSE:BA18)
Graphique Historique de l'Action
De Nov 2023 à Nov 2024
