United Utilities Regulatory News (UU.)

United Utilities Group PLC 26 July 2013 UNITED UTILITIES GROUP PLC 2013 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT United Utilities issues an interim management statement, for the period 1 April2013 to 25 July 2013, ahead of its annual general meeting to be held today atThe Midland Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester. Trading update Current trading is in line with the group's expectations. Revenue is higher,reflecting the regulated price increase for 2013/14. However, as expected, thisincrease is slightly below the allowed regulated price rise, principallyreflecting the continuing impact of a tough economic climate on commercialvolumes. The increase in revenue is partly offset by higher depreciation andother operating costs, as expected. As planned, capital investment has continued at high levels as United Utilitiesinvests to maintain and improve services for customers and deliver furtherenvironmental benefits, as well as providing a positive contribution to theregional economy. Regulatory capital investment for 2013/14, includinginfrastructure renewals expenditure, is expected to be around £800 million. We continue to deliver improvements in customer service, underpinned by goodoperational performance. The ten water and sewerage companies have nowpublished their 2012/13 Ofwat key performance indicator reports and we arepleased to report an above average performance across this range of operationalmetrics. In addition, the ten companies have recently published their overallservice incentive mechanism (SIM) scores for 2012/13 and we were delighted tonote that United Utilities is again the most improved company over the year. Wehave also made an encouraging start to the 2013/14 financial year, with ourfirst quarter performance on Ofwat's qualitative SIM score showing a furtherimprovement in customer satisfaction. Financial position United Utilities' financial position remains robust. Group net debt ismarginally lower, compared with the position at 31 March 2013, despitecontinued high levels of capital investment. This is before payment of theproposed 2012/13 final dividend, which is scheduled for 2 August 2013, andtotals approximately £156 million. Gearing remains stable and in the middle ofOfwat's assumed range, supporting a solid A3 credit rating for United UtilitiesWater PLC. The UK Government, on 2 July 2013, substantively enacted the changes tofacilitate the staged reductions in the mainstream rate of corporation taxationfrom 23% to 21%, with effect from 1 April 2014, and from 21% to 20%, witheffect from 1 April 2015. This is expected to result in a deferred taxationcredit of around £150 million, which will be recognised in the financialstatements for the first half of 2013/14. Board changes Paul Heiden will stand down at today's annual general meeting, after over sevenyears as a non-executive director. Brian May, who joined the Board in September2012, will take over Paul's position as chair of both the Audit and RiskCommittee and the Treasury Committee. Nick Salmon, who is senior independentnon-executive director, will be appointed as a member of the Audit and RiskCommittee. These appointments will become effective at the conclusion oftoday's annual general meeting. Outlook The group expects to deliver a good underlying financial performance for 2013/14. The business will continue with its strong focus on customer servicethrough sound operational performance and sees plenty of opportunities forfurther improvements. The company remains well on track in delivering its2010-15 regulatory outperformance targets. The board's dividend policy oftargeting 2% per annum growth above the rate of RPI inflation through to atleast 2015 continues to be underpinned by a robust capital structure. In line with its usual practice, United Utilities intends to issue a pre-closetrading update on 19 September 2013. United Utilities contacts: Gaynor Kenyon, Corporate Affairs Director +44 (0) 7753 622282 Darren Jameson, Head of Investor Relations +44 (0) 7733 127707 Peter Hewer / Michelle Clarke, Tulchan Communications +44 (0) 20 7353 4200 This announcement is also available at:

http://corporate.unitedutilities.com/investors.aspx