 Northumbrian Water sees no need for a hosepipe ban |
Northumbrian Water has said it has no plans to introduce water restrictions, after reporting a 35% rise in profits. The firm serves about 1.7 million customers in the Essex and Suffolk regions, as well as 2.6 million in the north east of England.
But it said that the situation in Essex was "less challenging" than that faced by other firms in the south.
Pre-tax profits of �130.3m were helped by a 10% increase in bills allowed by regulator Ofwat to fund investment.
Investment target
Group revenue, in the year to the end of March, including from its finance subsidiary, increased to �591.5m from �541.6m a year earlier.
The water business alone saw sales of �555.5m, up from �508.2m.
Northumbrian said that it had met Ofwat's leakage targets for the year and that it was on track to invest nearly �1bn by 2010.
Parts of southern England are facing a "serious situation" regarding water shortages, according to the Environment Agency, and millions of households are subject to water restrictions.
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