UK water group reports fall in profits

Water company Severn Trent today reported a fall in profits as it counted the cost of a record fine from Ofwat and the impact of last summer’s flooding.

The surplus of £192.4m (€243.2m) for the year to March 31 represented a 41% decline on a year earlier, although the company said it made progress at an underlying level after profits rose 15.8% to £469.5m (€593.4m).