Severn Trent PLC on Wednesday said revenue increased but profit dropped slightly in its latest half year, with its chief executive hailing the ‘sector-leading performance’.

The FTSE 100-listed water utility said pretax profit for the six months that ended on September 30 was £70.7 million, down 32% from £104.7 million the year before. Earnings per share decreased to 20.5 pence from 31.4p, while adjusted earnings per share went to 29.7p from 29.9p.

Coventry, England-based Severn Trent said this ‘marginally lower’ profit was mainly thanks to the ‘expected impact’ of increased energy and chemical prices. These were weighted to the second half year in financial 2022.

Revenue increased 9.7% to £1.17 billion from £1.06 billion. Severn Trent credited higher revenue from its Regulated Water & Waste Water business, which likewise increased 9.7% to £1.08 billion from £984.9 million.

Power costs for Regulated Water & Waste Water increased 37% to £131.5 million from £95.7 million. For the whole company, total operating costs increased 14% to £910.2 million.

‘Our team has delivered for customers with a sector-leading performance over the last six months,’ proclaimed CEO Liv Garfield.

Severn Trent also declared an interim dividend of 46.74p per share, up 9.4% from 42.73p the prior year.

Severn Trent said these interim results were in line with its expectations, and made no changes to its full-year guidance. It continues to expect growth in adjusted earnings per share for the year ending on March 31, 2024.

Shares in Severn Trent were up 0.7% at 2,670.00p each in London on Wednesday morning.

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