United hits leak targets
THE UK's biggest listed water company today said it had met annual leakage targets for the fourth year in a row despite the winter blizzards.
The performance from United Utilities came as the group reported a six per cent fall in underlying pre-tax profits to 500m due to higher borrowing costs in the year to March 31.
The firm - which serves around 3.2 million homes and businesses - drafted in extra leak tracing teams amid the January snows and took up to 7,200 calls a day from worried customers at the height of the bad weather.
Chief executive Philip Green said: "We are pleased to have met our regulatory leakage target for the fourth consecutive year, despite the exceptional winter weather conditions."