Southern Water responds to Moody's Ratings announcement
Stuart Ledger, Southern Water's Chief Financial Officer, comments on the rating update published by Moody's on Tuesday 30 July 2024.
Stuart Ledger, Southern Water's Chief Financial Officer, said:
“Southern Water notes the rating update published by Moody's on Tuesday 30 July 2024. Moody’s has changed the Baa3 senior secured ratings of Southern Water’s financing subsidiary, SW (Finance) I plc, from stable to on review for downgrade.
"This change has no material impact on Southern Water, or SW (Finance) I plc, and as highlighted by Moody’s in their report, Southern Water has an excellent liquidity position with £513m of cash and deposits and £350m of undrawn credit facilities.
"Funds managed by Macquarie Asset Management have invested £1.6bn into the Southern Water Group since 2021. This has helped to support Southern Water’s progress on delivering its Turnaround Plan, which has seen pollutions cut by over 35% and customer complaints reduce by nearly 60% in the last year.
"Securing an investible PR24 determination that meets the needs of our customers, and the environment is a critical priority. The Moody's report highlights some of the key challenges in the Draft Determination and we will be responding to Ofwat at the end of August.”