Pennon Group Plc (LON:PNN) has announced the following trading update for the year ending 31 March 2024.
Financial performance for the full year 2023/24[1], remains in line with management expectations.
Key highlights
· The acquisition of SES Water is progressing through the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review, as expected
· Four renewable energy generation sites acquired, Dunfermline solar construction commenced
· Record levels of K7 (2020-25) water and wastewater investment – expectation of c.£850 million capex to 2025
· 90% strategic reservoir capacity achieved ahead of 1 April 2024 target
· Targeted for 2023 to retain EPA[2] performance gains delivered in 2022 (EPA 2*)
o 50% increase in rainfall over the long-term average has impacted headline levels for storm overflows and wastewater pollutions
o 78 interventions at storm overflow sites underway to improve water quality at 49 of 151 beaches through our WaterFit programme to 2025
· Supporting our customers – over £95 million customer support unlocked to date
o Innovative water efficiency campaigns launched across Devon & Cornwall
· Well positioned to deliver on our ambitious business plan for K8 (2025-30)
o New K8 capital delivery partners mobilised on over 1,000 schemes
o The Group is well positioned with liquidity for the current regulatory period – over £700 million funding secured since March 2023.
Investment in water resource diversification delivering results and long-term resilience
100% of the programme of work to diversify the Group’s portfolio of water resources in Devon is now complete, with 70% of the programme of work in Cornwall also complete. This has contributed to the early achievement of 90% storage for our strategic reservoirs in the region.
Construction work at Blackpool Pit is now complete which brings our portfolio of repurposed quarries to four. Blackpool Pit, along with Stannon, Park and Hawks Tor, will have all been used this year to support an improvement in water resources in Cornwall. In Devon, our winter pump storage work at Gatherley is also now operational, and along with the Lyd pumping scheme delivered last year, both new schemes have been used this year to support improvement in our water resources in Devon.
In addition to these, our desalination plant in South Cornwall is on track to be operational in 2024/25 and our Porth Rialton water abstraction and treatment scheme will be operational under its winter licence in 2024/25. With these projects we are improving the long-term resilience of the region following a year-long drought. We are on track to reach our target of a 45% increase in Cornwall water resources by 2025, having already achieved our targeted 30% increase in Devon water resources one year ahead of schedule.
Waste water operational performance impacted by challenging weather conditions
Annual rainfall in the South West has increased by 50% in the second half of the year, when compared to long term averages, in addition to the 10 named storms since September 2023[3] and 12 yellow weather warnings for rain in the region. The significantly increased wastewater flows have impacted our headline performance for wastewater pollutions and use of storm overflows.
That said, we continue to make sustainable progress on delivering environmental improvements across the region, with 78 interventions underway to improve 49 of 151 beaches through our WaterFit programme by 2025.
We anticipate retaining 2 star EPA status for 2023, assuming Environment Agency confirmation of our improved water resource position.
For 2024, whilst six of the seven EPA metrics are tracking positively towards 4 star equivalent performance, current operating conditions have meant the benefits of our Pollution Incident Reduction Plan (PIRP) will not be seen until 2025. As such overall 4 star EPA status is now reprofiled for 2025.
Supporting our customers
Over £95 million of customer support has been delivered for customers to date in K7, whilst keeping bills as low as possible with below inflation increases to 2025. We are investing record levels whilst keeping bills low for all customers, and are pleased that more than 125,000 customers are now benefiting from one or more of our extensive package of affordability support.
Alongside this, our suite of innovative water efficiency initiatives has helped customers save money on their bills whilst enabling a sustained reduction in demand of 2%. This included a 65% increase in free customer leak repairs along with issuing over 300,000 water efficiency devices to date.
Executing our strategy for growth
Acquisition of SES Water
Following the successful acquisition of SES Water in January 2024, the customary CMA review process is now underway, with potential for clearance at phase 1 in summer 2024.
Progress to Net Zero
As planned, a total of four renewable energy generation sites have been acquired at a cost of c.£40 million. Construction has commenced at one of the four sites, Dunfermline, where 39 GWh generation is anticipated annually, alongside 60 MWh battery storage, with grid connection in expected in late 2024.
Liquidity
The Group is well positioned with liquidity for the current regulatory period and has secured over £700 million through Pennon’s Sustainable Financing Framework (SFF) since March 2023. New debt will be raised through the SFF through access to public and private markets, whilst maintaining the Group’s diverse portfolio of debt.
[1] 2023/24 financial results will reflect c.2.5 months contribution from Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water
[2] Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) as measured and reported on an annual basis by the Environment Agency
[3] Equivalent number of named storms in 2022/23: 1
