FTSE 100-listed water firm Severn Trent PLC (LSE:SVT) saw a huge swing in interim profits despite acknowledging that it will miss certain water-safety performance metrics this financial year.
The group reported a near tripling of profit after tax to £141.4 million for the six months ending 30 September, up from £51.60 million a year earlier.
Severn Trent espoused its environmental credentials by way of securing a four-star Environmental Performance Assessment (EPA) status from the Environment Agency for the fifth consecutive year.
However, the group also admitted that it is expected to fail the compliance risk index (CRI) this year.
Management stated: “Whilst our performance is green on the vast majority of water ODIs (outcome delivery incentives), one exception is CRI, which we're expecting to be in penalty this year.
“This is mainly caused by our Strensham site, where we expect the introduction of our biggest-ever ultraviolet disinfection scheme to deliver significant improvement.”
The CRI is a key performance metric in the water industry used to measure the risk of non-compliance with drinking water standards.
It is calculated by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and reflects how well water companies are managing water quality to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Severn Trent also missed its CRI target in the previous financial year.
Severn Trent increased the interim dividend by 4.2% to 48.68p per share.
The group had a net debt position of £7.7 billion and a pension deficit of £185 million at the end of the period.