Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water is contributing more than a £1 billion a year to the Welsh economy, according to a new economic impact assessment from Cardiff Business School published today alongside the Company’s Preliminary Announcement of annual results.

The report also shows that for every ten jobs created by Welsh Water, a further fifteen are created in the supply chain, supporting more than 6,000 jobs across Wales.

Commenting on the economic impact assessment, Professor Max Munday, Director at Cardiff Business School’s Welsh Economy Research Unit, said:

“Dŵr Cymru’s spending has a substantial impact in Wales, and this impact is spread across a number of different sectors of the economy. As important is the security of this spending programme which is particularly valuable in these difficult and uncertain times.”

In the utility’s financial results, underlying profit for the utility stood at £28.9m, up from £6.6m last year, on revenue of £716.4m, compared to £695m in 2012.

Operating profit dipped slightly to £183.3m (2012: £191.4m).

The company invested £338m in capital projects in the last year (2012: £262m) and has confirmed that a further £650m will be invested over the next two years.

Commenting on the Preliminary Announcement, Nigel Annett, Managing Director, said:

“There have been calls for water companies to share gains with customers. In Wales - and in those parts of England served by Dŵr Cymru - the water industry is owned and managed on behalf of the three million people who rely on Dŵr Cymru for what is an essential public service. Because of this unique ownership structure all the gains from efficiencies and improving performance are retained for the benefit of our customers. And these gains are significant.

“We are now preparing our plans for the future ahead of next year’s regulatory review and our aim is to continue to maintain and improve service levels while keeping customer bills affordable, demonstrating that our ownership structure and purpose really does deliver the very best outcomes for customers – both today’s customers and future generations.”

New managing director

The Company also announced today that Chris Jones, Finance Director, will succeed Nigel Annett as Managing Director on 1 September this year. Nigel will remain with the Company until 31 March next year. Nigel and Chris are the founder directors of Glas Cymru, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, and together they conceived, initiated and executed the transaction that in May 2001 resulted in Dŵr Cymru being owned by Glas Cymru on behalf of Dŵr Cymru’s customers.

Commenting on taking over as Chief Executive, Chris Jones said:

“I am honoured to be taking over from Nigel and to lead this fantastic company at an important time for the water industry in Wales. There are many challenges ahead but we have a great team in Dŵr Cymru who are committed to doing our very best for the three million people who rely on us every day. We have made great progress since Glas Cymru secured the ownership of Dŵr Cymru back in 2001 and I am confident that we can continue that success in the years ahead.”