Steve Holliday, Chief Executive, said:
"Our businesses continue to make good progress toward their priorities for the year and have delivered further solid operational and financial performance. We remain on track to achieve our efficiency goals in our US businesses this year. In addition, our UK regulated businesses all reached significant milestones in the development of new business plans to run from April 2013 as part of the RIIO process.
Our dividend is an important part of our returns to shareholders. Under our new one year dividend policy we plan to deliver nominal dividend growth of 4% for the 2012/13 financial year, which represents real growth in the dividend based on forecast inflation of around 3%. We expect to announce a longer term policy in 2013 once we have clarity on the key regulatory outcomes and the resulting medium term growth and investment needs.
Overall, we reconfirm our positive outlook for 2011/12 - we expect to deliver another year of good operating performance, although, as previously highlighted, comparative progress will be impacted by the timing differences that benefited 2010/11."
