Jersey Water has maintained high standards of water quality and leading customer service during an operationally and economically challenging year.
In its annual report and financial statements published today, the utility details its strong operational performance for the last financial year, despite having to respond to extremes in weather and inflationary cost pressures across its operations.
Contending with the drought of 2022, one of the wettest years on record in 2023 and the ongoing effects of the economic climate, Jersey Water still delivered high quality drinking water to the Island. The utility once again demonstrated compliance with EU and UK regulatory standards, achieving 99.98% to rank among the top countries in the world for water quality.
The company also improved on its already industry-leading rates for detecting and reducing leaks, connected more than 400 new properties to mains water, and provided even better levels of service, according to independently surveyed customers who gave a satisfaction score of 83.6%, compared to the UK all-sector average of 76.6%.
Heather MacCallum, Chair of Jersey Water commented: “2023 hasn’t been without it challenges, but the team has responded commendably in true Jersey Water style. While the variable weather tried its best to test our operational capabilities, we demonstrated our resilience through another year of strong performance.
“As well as our day-to-day role of supplying water to our customers, we made real progress on key strategic projects, namely updating our plans for managing the Island’s future water resources; designing the expansion of the existing desalination plant; submitting plans for our new Jersey Water headquarters and hub at Rue des Pres trading estate; and advancing our sustainability journey.”
Jersey Water’s financial results for 2023 reflect the challenging macro-economic climate. While turnover increased by £605k to £19,397k, operating expenditure went up by £1,959k to £17,457k, due to significant increases in the cost of materials, labour and power. The company’s profit before tax was £1,165k, compared to 2022’s like-for-like profit of £2,745k.
Helier Smith, Chief Executive of Jersey Water added: “We, like many businesses, have been feeling the ongoing effects of rising costs driven by the economic climate. That, combined with one-off events, such as an extended run of the desalination plant in autumn 2022 and the work we have undertaken to support the Government of Jersey with its flood response planning in Grands Vaux, have contributed to a year where our profitability was lower than our target.
“In response, we have proposed a lower final dividend payment for our shareholders and, as announced in October, we will be increasing our water charges in line with inflation from 1 January 2024, to ensure we have the resources in place to respond to ongoing rises in operating costs and invest in our water supply infrastructure to build a sustainable business for future generations.”
