The Severn Trent Group, which also owns Severn Trent Water and Severn Trent Laboratories, revealed a slight rise in overall turnover but a decrease in profit before tax. Turnover has risen by 1% to 906m for the Group, which profit before tax down 0.3% to 210m.
The results for Biffa Waste Services were of a similar shape, with turnover up 2.1% from 252.4m to 257.6m while profit before tax slipped 3.6% from 35.7m to 34.4m.
As with other waste companies in the UK, a component of Biffa's drop in profits has been because of the absence of the additional profits that came from the foot and mouth epidemic in the last financial year.
Pleased
Commenting on the results Robert Walker, Severn Trent Group chief executive said that he was pleased with the performance of the Group considering the current economic climate.
“Our three principal businesses have all done well given difficult market conditions,” he said. “Severn Trent Water has once again out-performed its regulatory targets, although this was offset by ongoing cost pressures. Biffa in the UK, and Severn Trent Laboratories in both the US and the UK, have consolidated their leadership positions and competitively are in robust shape.”
He went on: “While the markets for Biffa and Services are expected to remain difficult into the second half of the financial year, the strength of their market positions in waste in the UK and analytical services in both the US and the UK should provide platforms for future growth when the economic climate improves.”
In its publication Future Perfect, Biffa warned last month of the difficulties facing the waste management companies in the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).
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