Committed to delivering our purpose – now and for the long term
Providing
great water…
Why we are here
Our purpose is to provide great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West.
This highlights how environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are integral to everything we do.
Chair's review
While the water industry continues to be the subject of public and media attention, United Utilities remains focused on delivering its purpose of providing great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West.
CEO's review
Delivering for customers now, and building our plan for a stronger, greener and healthier North West
It has been an extremely busy year, in which we have submitted a high-quality and ambitious business plan for the 2025–30 period (AMP8) while continuing to deliver for customers and the environment in the face of challenging weather conditions.
for a
stronger…
We deliver an essential service, help customers in vulnerable situations, invest in local communities, and support jobs and the economy, giving the North West resilience in a changing world.
Strategic priority:
Spend customers’ money wisely
>99%
Score in the CPDi assessment of our capital delivery programme
>99%
Score in the CPDi assessment of our capital delivery programme
Strategic priority:
Contribute to our communities
£21.6m
Total community investment as measured by the Business for Societal Impact (B4SI) method
£21.6m
Total community investment as measured by the Business for Societal Impact (B4SI) method
greener…
We protect and enhance urban and rural environments, and adapt to the challenges of climate change, allowing people, wildlife and nature to thrive – making the North West a better place to live now and for the future.
Strategic priority:
Improve our rivers
39%
Reduction in spills from storm overflows since 2020
39%
Reduction in spills from storm overflows since 2020
Strategic priority:
Create a greener future
4*
‘Industry leading’ in the EA’s latest environmental performance assessment for 2023
4*
‘Industry leading’ in the EA’s latest environmental performance assessment for 2023
healthier…
We provide great quality drinking water and safely remove and recycle used water for more than seven million customers, while taking care of the beautiful landscapes in the North West every day.
Strategic priority:
Provide a safe and great place to work
87%
Level of colleague engagement as measured by our annual colleague opinion survey
87%
Level of colleague engagement as measured by our annual colleague opinion survey
Strategic priority:
Deliver great service for all our customers
Reward
Ofwat’s customer measure of experience (C-MeX), comprising two surveys – the customer service survey, and the customer experience survey
Reward
Ofwat’s customer measure of experience (C-MeX), comprising two surveys – the customer service survey, and the customer experience survey
North West…
Five counties
Each of the five diverse counties across the North West is unique. To build our AMP8 business plan, we worked with stakeholders and customers to better understand the needs, challenges and opportunities of each county.
Cheshire
With a dominant agricultural industry, we are collaborating with farmers on sustainable catchment management and working with partners to reduce flood risk.
Merseyside
We are investing to support growth, resilience to climate change, and tackling overflows as well as helping those that need affordability support.
Greater Manchester
With 38 per cent of the North West’s population and 37 per cent of our overflows, we are supporting growth, improving rivers, and working to secure a more resilient supply.
Cumbria
Supplying over a third of our water, we are increasing resilience and improving water quality in Cumbria, including significant improvements around the Windermere catchment.
Lancashire
With its popular beaches and areas of outstanding natural beauty; we are improving bathing waters, river water quality, and restoring peatland.
Our financial KPIs
Strong financial performance facilitates delivery of our purpose. Our financial KPIs include income statement, balance sheet, regulatory and investor return metrics to provide a snapshot of our performance for the year.
6.1%
cumulative return on regulatory equity (RoRE) over AMP7, outperforming the 4.0 per cent base return
60%
gearing and strong balance sheet providing financial flexibility
£634m
underlying operating profit (reported: £632 million)
+2.8%
Total shareholder return (TSR) for the year to 31 March 2025
49.6p
underlying earnings per share (EPS) (reported: 38.8 pence)
51.85p
dividend per share, increasing annually in line with CPIH inflation
Delivering value for a
broad range of stakeholders
We engage with all of our stakeholders, including the six key groups for whom we create value, highlighted in green, and others that influence our activities, highlighted in pale green:
Customers
We care for customers through building and maintaining trusted relationships
We care for customers through building and maintaining trusted relationships
Environment
We protect and enhance the environment
We protect and enhance the environment
Communities
We support communities to be stronger
We support communities to be stronger
Colleagues
We create a great place to work for all our colleagues
We create a great place to work for all our colleagues
Suppliers
We are innovating in partnership with our suppliers
We are innovating in partnership with our suppliers
Investors
We deliver sustainable returns to investors
We deliver sustainable returns to investors
Regulators
We engage constructively with economic, quality and environmental regulators
We engage constructively with economic, quality and environmental regulators
Politicians
We engage with regional and national politicians and other policymakers
We engage with regional and national politicians and other policymakers
Media
We continuously engage on important issues to promote fair coverage
We continuously engage on important issues to promote fair coverage
Largest
ever investment programme, with £5.7 billion being spent on enhancements
>60%
targeted reduction in spills from overflows this decade, the highest in the sector
30,000
jobs supported, bringing opportunities and helping to boost the local economy
1 in 6
North West households supported with £525 million of affordability support
Downloads
Our business at a glance
How we create value
Chair's review
Chief Executive Officer's review
