Investor Guide
Last updated: August 2025
About us
United Utilities is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and provides water and wastewater services to around seven million people and businesses in the North West of England.
Shares also trade over the counter in the USA in the form of American depositary receipts (ADRs). Each ADR represents two ordinary shares.
Shares in issue: c682 million (100% free float)
Our investment proposition
Our purpose is to provide great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West
This drives us to deliver our services in an environmentally sustainable, economically beneficial, and socially responsible manner and create sustainable long-term value for all.
We have identified six strategic priorities to enable delivery of our purpose:
- Improve our rivers
- Create a greener future
- Provide a safe and great place to work
- Deliver great service to our customers
- Spend customers’ money wisely
- Contribute to our communities
These strategic priorities permeate everything that we do.
Our purpose and strategy are intrinsically linked to ESG
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters are strongly integrated into the way we approach our business and the way we monitor our performance – everything aligns under the stronger, greener and healthier ambition within our purpose.
The below infographic demonstrates the alignment between our purpose and our six strategic priorities with ESG.
Why invest in United Utilities?
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Our performance in 2024/25
Our operational highlights
Delivering our purpose is about more than just providing customers with water and removing wastewater. Our operational highlights provide an overview of how we are creating a stronger, greener and healthier North West.
- Upper quartile across a suite of ESG indices, including A for climate and A- for water security in the latest CDP assessment.
- 40% reduction in spills from storm overflows since 2020.
- We achieved the top 3 and 4 star ratings in every year of the EA’s environmental performance assessment to date with the ‘industry leading’ 4 star for 2023.
- We performed consistently strongly against both the MeX’s, one of only three companies achieving a reward in both C-MeX and D-MeX every year.
- We have helped 414,000 customers with affordability support in the last five years, we have around 540,000 customers registered to receive tailored support through Priority Services.
- Our colleagues are highly committed, with 87 per cent engagement which is seven points higher than the UK high performance norm.
Our financial highlights
| Year ended 31 March | 2025 £m |
2024 £m |
2023 £m |
2022 £m |
2021 £m |
2020 £m |
2019 £m |
2018 £m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 2,125.2 | 1,949.5 | 1,804.4 | 1,862.7 | 1,808.0 | 1,859.3 | 1,818.5 | 1,735.8 |
| Reported operating profit | 631.5 | 480.2 | 440.8 | 610.0 | 602.1 | 630.3 | 634.9 | 636.4 |
| Underlying operating profit | 633.8 | 517.8 | 256.3 | 610.0 | 602.1 | 732.1 | 684.8 | 645.1 |
| Reported profit before tax | 355.0 | 170.0 | 256.3 | 439.9 | 551.0 | 303.2 | 436.2 | 432.1 |
| Underlying profit before tax | 338.6 | 220.5 | (34.3) | 301.9 | 460.0 | 534.8 | 460.3 | 370.2 |
| Reported profit after taxation | 264.7 | 126.9 | 204.9 | (56.8) | 453.4 | 106.8 | 363.4 | 354.6 |
| Underlying profit after tax | 338.3 | 227.3 | (8.7) | 367.0 | 383.0 | 486.3 | 407.9 | 304.9 |
| Reported (basic) earnings per share (pence) | 38.8p | 18.6p | 30.0p | (8.3)p | 66.5p | 15.7p | 53.3p | 52.0p |
| Underlying earnings per share (pence) | 49.6p | 33.3p | (1.3)p | 53.8p | 56.2p | 71.3p | 59.8p | 44.7p |
| Dividend per ordinary share(1) (pence) | 51.85p | 49.78p | 45.51p | 43.50p | 43.24p | 42.60p | 41.28p | 39.73p |
| As at 31 March | 2025 £m |
2024 £m |
2023 £m |
2022 £m |
2021 £m |
2020 £m |
2019 £m |
2018 £m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-current assets | 14,685.6 | 13,884.4 | 13,835.8 | 13,823.2 | 13,166.2 | 13,215.7 | 12,466.4 | 11,853.6 |
| Current assets | 2,083.9 | 1,769.0 | 691.4 | 613.8 | 1,012.9 | 828.4 | 721.4 | 1,149.9 |
| Total assets | 16,769.5 | 15,653.4 | 14,527.2 | 14,437.0 | 14,179.1 | 14,044.1 | 13,187.8 | 13,003.5 |
| Non-current liabilities | (13,693.7) | (12,489.5) | (11,442.6) | (10,791.0) | (10,152.6) | (9,877.3) | (9,025.0) | (8,911.1) |
| Current liabilities | (1,075.9) | (1,107.8) | (575.9) | (688.6) | (995.5) | (1,204.7) | (1,052.0) | (1,141.5) |
| Total liabilities | (14,769.6) | (13,597.3) | (12,018.5) | (11,479.6) | (11,148.1) | (11,082.0) | (10,077.0) | (10,052.6) |
| Total net assets and shareholders' equity | 1,999.9 | 2,056.1 | 2,508.7 | 2,957.4 | 3,031.0 | 2,962.1 | 3,110.8 | 2,950.9 |
| Net debt | 9,345 | 8,762.7 | 8,200.8 | 7,570.0 | 7,305.8 | 7,361.4 | 7,067.3 | 6,867.8 |
| RCV gearing (%) | 60% | 59% | 58% | 61% | 62% | 61% | 61% | 61% |
| Year ended 31 March | 2025 £m |
2024 £m |
2023 £m | 2022 £m |
2021 £m |
2020 £m |
2019 £m |
2018 £m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash generated from operating activities | 918.1 | 745.1 | 787.5 | 934.4 | 859.4 | 810.3 | 832.3 | 815.6 |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (987.2) | (731.4) | (593.4) | (639.7) | (549.3) | (593.9) | (627.7) | (723.2) |
| Net cash (used in)/generated from financing activities | 358.8 | 1,037.7 | (85.0) | (809.7) | (89.7) | (27.8) | (377.4) | 184.7 |
| Effects of exchange rates | - | - | (1.3) | 1.5 | - | - | - | - |
| Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 289.7 | 1,051.4 | 107.8 | (513.5) | 220.4 | 188.6 | (172.8) | 277.1 |
Capital investment
Capital investment is forecast to be approximately £9 billion across the 5 years to March 2030, representing an uplift of around £5 billion compared to AMP7. This investment is largely driven by:
- Safeguarding water supplies for 2 million customers, improving water quality and the security of future water supplies.
- Protecting and enhancing over 500km of rivers and bathing waters, targeting to reduce spills from storm overflow spills by over 60% and to reduce pollution incidents by 30%
- Building a more resilient water network, fixing leaks and replacing old pipes, targeting to halve leakage across our network by 2050
- Strengthening the network to respond to the challenges of climate change and population growth.
Growth in RCV
Attractive growth since privatisation.
Regulatory capital value (RCV) (as adjusted for actual spend and timing difference) of United Utilities Water Limited now includes the value of ex-post adjustment mechanisms. Prior year figures have been re-presented for comparative purposes.
For more information please contact:
Chris Laybutt, Investor Relations and Clean Energy Strategy Director, chris.laybutt@uuplc.co.uk, T: 07769 556 858
Jennifer Platt, Investor Relations Manager, Jennifer.platt@uuplc.co.uk, T: 07733 064 907
United Utilities Group plc
Haweswater House
Lingley Mere Business Park
Lingley Green Avenue
Great Sankey
Warrington WA5 3LP
corporate.unitedutilities.com
This document contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the operations, performance and financial condition of the group. By their nature, these statements involve uncertainty since future events and circumstances can cause results and developments to differ materially from those anticipated. The forward-looking statements reflect knowledge and information available at the date of preparation of this document and the company undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements. Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast. Certain regulatory performance data contained in this document is subject to regulatory audit.