Shares of United Utilities, water supplier to the North West of England, rose 12% on Thursday after it said its profit before tax rose 119.4% to £779 million in the year to March 31, 2026, and said it plans to increase its capital investment programme to £11.5 billion from £9 billion.
United Utilities said it will fund the equity element of the £2.5 billion incremental investment through an £800 million share sale.
The water firm said its revenue rose 22% to £2.6 billion.
United Utilities paid £357.6 million in dividends to shareholders. Dividend per share for the year was 55.54p. Net debt rose 6.4% to £9.943 billion.
The firm also published a strategic update, giving guidance “for AMP8 capital investment programme increased to c. £11.5 billion, up from c. £9 billion, representing c. £2.5 billion of incremental investment …
“Funding the equity element of the c. £2.5 billion incremental capex through an £800 million placing, announced separately today, with gearing to remain within target range of 55-65% through AMP8 …”
The company added: “To fund the equity element of the c. £2.5 billion incremental investment programme, United Utilities Group PLC is today separately announcing an equity placing of £800 million.”
United Utilities CEO Louise Beardmore said: “Our BIG North West upgrade is now well underway, marking the most significant transformation of our region’s water and wastewater infrastructure in more than a century.
“One year into our five‑year AMP8 programme, we are delivering at pace and at scale – strengthening the resilience and quality of our services, protecting and enhancing the environment, and supporting sustainable economic growth and thousands of new jobs across the North West.
“We already have more than 1,000 projects live across the region, supported by over 100 supply chain partners, and we have delivered our year one regulatory commitments on time. Operationally, we are making real progress on the issues that matter most, including significant reductions in storm overflow spills and sewer flooding, alongside strong customer service performance.
“Building on this platform, today we are announcing a plan for additional investment in our region1 – including proposals for new water and wastewater infrastructure critical to the development of homes, data centres and clean energy.
“We expect it could create a further 4,000 jobs across our supply chain, on top of the 30,000 supported by our existing AMP8 programme. This focused, disciplined and well-funded plan will help us accelerate delivery of the transformation in infrastructure and services that the North West expects and deserves.”