Jersey Water today published its 2004 Annual Report and Financial Statements and its 2004 Water Quality Report. The annual report shows that the Company made a pre tax profit of £2.8 million including a profit of £520,000 on the sale of fixed assets. The Water Quality report confirms that the water supplied by the Company during 2004 was of a very high standard with 99.8% of regulatory samples meeting or exceeding water quality regulations.
Jersey Water’s Chairman, David Norman, said “we are very pleased with the results for 2004, which demonstrate that despite the ownership uncertainties during the year we have still been able to generate an increase in the profits of the Company whilst maintaining our capital works programme. Over 7km of new mains were laid and we completed 2.5km of mains renewals. The extension to the mains has meant that we have been able to bring mains water to a further 812 homes.”
Water supply revenue increased by 5.6%, mainly due to the Company’s 3.5% tariff increase in 2004. Metered water sales recovered after being adversely affected in 2003 by the water restrictions that year.
Operating expenditure increased by 2.6% mainly due to an increase in the depreciation charge on completed capital works. The underlying operating and administration expenses were in line, overall, with the previous year.
Following the States of Jersey announcement on 6 April that its shareholding in the Company was not for sale, Jersey Water published a new dividend policy which places more emphasis on shareholder value whilst maintaining current levels of planned capital expenditure. The financial statements reflect the new dividend policy with a total net ordinary dividend for the year of £1,000,000 (this being subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting).
Capital expenditure for the year totalled £2.6 million of which the majority was used to extend the mains network and renew old water mains. Jersey Water also commissioned the new gravity fed, high level distribution system served by the Les Platons Service Reservoir. The system doubles the treated water storage capacity and reduces the energy required to deliver that water to customers’ taps.
Jersey Water’s 2004 Water Quality report shows that during the year the Company took 8,485 samples for testing the 7,305 million litres of treated water supplied. As reported in February, of those samples 99.8% met the water quality requirements of the Water (Jersey) Law 1972. 95% (2003: 84%) of treated water samples tested for Nitrates showed levels below the regulatory limit of 50mg/l and the maximum level recorded was only 51.8 mg/l (2003: 55mg/l), well within the level of 70mg/l permitted by the dispensations granted to the Company in respect of Nitrates.
| • | Jersey Water is the trading name of The Jersey New Waterworks Company Limited. |
| • | Of the 483,000 equity shares of Jersey Water in issue, 73.9% are owned by the States of Jersey. The balance of shares are owned by Companies and individuals (mainly Jersey residents). |
| • | Jersey Water is not listed on any stock exchange and therefore has no official share price. |
| • | A copy of the Company’s 2004 Annual Report is available from the Shareholder Information section of the website |
| • | A copy of the Company’s 2004 Water Quality Report is available from the Shareholder Information section of the website |