Water firm to pay £339m in dividends despite sewage spill
The Guardian|May 17, 2024
One of Britain's most polluting water companies has increased its payouts to shareholders by nearly 10% in the same week that it emerged it had pumped raw sewage into Windermere in the Lake District for 10 hours.
Jillian Ambrose
Water firm to pay £339m in dividends despite sewage spill

United Utilities will pay its investors which include some of the world's biggest asset managers £339m in dividends for this year, up from £310m for 2023, after it reported higher operating profits thanks to a rise in customer bills.

The company, which serves 7 million customers across north-west England, said its revenues had risen by about 8% to almost £2bn last year, driven by a higher revenue cap, which was reset by the regulator to take account of inflation.

United Utilities' dividend windfall will flow to funds managed by major institutional investors, which include the US finance giants Lazard Asset Management, Vanguard Group and BlackRock, as well as Legal & General Investment Management.

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