The price of shares in FTSE 100 water and waste management firm Pennon Group (LON:PNN) fell by 3.35% to 1,153p (as of 11:55 BST) after the firm reported a 6% drop in underlying revenues for the year ended 31st March. Reported pre-tax profits for the year were up by 15.8%, but increased tax payments meant that overall profits were down by 7.3%.
CEO Chris Loughlin commented: “We are pleased with the solid operational and financial performance delivered this year. Viridor has continued to drive growth while South West Water has maintained its sector leading returns. In these uncertain and difficult times arising from the COVID-19 pandemic we would like to thank all our employees across the Group for the incredible hard work and dedication that has contributed to this performance. The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees and customers is paramount and continues to be our number one priority.
“The performance for 2019/20 underpins the dividend of 43.77p per share.
“It has been a landmark year for Pennon, culminating in the announcement in March of the proposed sale of Viridor to KKR for an Enterprise Value of £4.2 billion. Viridor has become a leader in engineering excellence, new technology and tackling environmental challenges, and the transaction recognises the strategic value that has been created over many years, accelerating the realisation of that value for shareholders.
“Following the sale, Pennon will be a leading UK-focused water infrastructure group, delivering for customers and providing services in the most efficient and sustainable way possible. We are pleased to announce our Continuing Group dividend policy of CPIH + 2% growth per annum through to 2025, with additional returns to shareholders to come from the sale of Viridor“.