United Utilities Group PLC (LON:UU) lifted its total dividend 3% despite a 70% fall in reported profit after tax.
The FTSE 100 water company said its “robust liquidity” of around £1.2bn and improved underlying profits supported paying the final dividend of 42.6p in line with its policy under the AMP6 regulatory period, which concluded last year.
He said that it is too early to predict the full impact of Covid-19 on inflation, the economy more generally and on the business, and the board “will review the dividend policy for AMP7 as a clearer picture of the post COVID-19 economic environment emerges”.