Select Committee on Public Accounts Minutes of Evidence

APPENDIX I (continued)

Leakage rates (in litres/property/day)

Leakage Expressed in Volume (and Targets)

Total leakage (Ml/d)
				(Co.s set)	(Ofwat's)	Reduction
	Actual	Actual	Actual	Target	Target	from
Targets	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	97-98
Anglian	231	236	213	211	186	12%
Dwr Cymru	390	413	357	354	308	13%
North West	874	789	666	705	515	23% (from present rate)
Northumbrian	187	190	192	187	173	7%
Severn Trent	665	632	479	410	348	15%
South West	145	142	129	110	96	11%
Southern	133	120	113	100	95	5%
Thames	1,077	1,109	1,083	962	781	19%
Wessex	140	133	129	124	103	17%
Yorkshire	536	485	420	434	363	13% (from present rate)
WaSC total	4,377	4,248	3,780	3,597	2,968	17%
WoC total	734	732	722	683	617	10%
Industry	5,111	4,981	4,502	4,280	3,585	16%

Leakage Expressed in Rates (and Targets)

Total leakage (litres/property/day)
						Reductions
Water and sewerage	Actual	Actual	Actual	Target	Target	from
companies	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	97-98
Anglian	136	136	122	121	105	12%
Dwr Cymru	314	331	284	280	175	13%
North West	290	260	218	229	167	22%
Northumbrian	171	172	174	169	157	7%
Severn Trent	213	202	152	129	109	15%
South West	215	208	188	159	137	11%
Southern	139	125	116	103	97	5%
Thames	324	331	321	283	228	19%
Wessex	283	264	255	249	201	17%
Yorkshire	277	249	214	220	183	13%
WaSC average	246	240	212	199	165	17%
Water only companies
(WoC) average	152	150	147	138	123	10%
Industry average	228	221	198	186	156	16%

Question 111-Yorkshire Water

The financial performance of Yorkshire Water Services for the current year is below.

1996-97 prices	(£m)
Turnover	544
Current cost operating profit	190.8
Net Debt	390.4
Gearing	22.1%
Return on capital employed	12.2%
Dividends reported	64.4
Dividend cover
-current cost	2.6
-historic cost	3.0
Capital investment
-water	240.6
-sewerage	115.0
-total	355.6
Notes Yorkshire Water Services Ltd reported a provision of £48.5 million for costs relating to the drought in the summer of 1995. Yorkshire Water plc carried out a complex form of share buy-back, resulting in the purchase of 10 per cent of equity. This was specifically to increase gearing within the appointed business. The £128 million paid by Yorkshire Water Services was described as "financing efficiency". Yorkshire Water Services are required to set out a dividend policy which meets the requirements of the Director as part of its licence.

Questions 112-114

South West Water Services Ltd: financial performance since privatisation-in 1996-97 figures

£ million
								Total
								since
								privatisation
	1990-91	1991-92†	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95‡	1995-96	1996-97
Price limit	6.5%	6.5%	11.5%	11.0%	11.0%	1.0%*	1.0%
Capital Investment
Water	90.0	83.6	68.1	70.4	42.2	46.5	83.2
Sewerage	52.4	115.8	158.8	152.2	125.9	64.6	78.5
Total	142.4	199.4	226.9	222.6	168.1	111.1	161.7	1,232.2
Turnover	165.4	180.8	202.3	225.3	246.3	249.8	241.6	1,511.5
Current Cost Operating Profit
	55.7	67.4	83.9	103.0	76.8	118.4	110.3	615.5
Net Debt (and Gearing)
	(277.6)	(167)	(5.7)	119.7	217.9	246.8	298.2
	n/a	n/a	n/a	11.6%	19.5%	20.9%	23.7%
Return on capital employed
	27.2%	21.6%	18%	15.9%	9.0%	11.7%	9.9%
Dividends	38.8	39.6	42.7	44.9	47.4	47.6	55.5	316.5

† The Director re-set the price limits for South West Water only as a result of a decision taken by the Secretary of State for the Environment at the time to accelerate compliance with the bathing water programme.

‡ The Director's re-set price limits take effect (1995-96 to 1999-2000).

* South West Water appealed to the MMC against the Director's price limits. They lowered the price limit by 0.5 per cent for the first of the five years.

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Prepared 19 May 1998