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Tuesday 26th April
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.
Notes to Editors
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Jersey Water is the trading name of The Jersey New Waterworks
Company Limited. |
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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). |
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Jersey Water is not listed on any stock exchange and therefore has
no official share price. |
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A copy of the Company’s 2004 Annual Report is available by
clicking
here. |
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A copy of the Company's 2004 Water Quality Report is available by
clicking
here.
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For further information, please contact:
David Norman
T: 883388
Issued by:
Rozena Newell
Concept Communications
T: 629800
E: rozena@concept-comms.com
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