Pennon Group Plc (PNN) Q2 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning everyone, I'm Susan Davey, CEO of Pellon Group. I'm pleased to share the Group's half year results speaking to you from Dawlish in Devon, where we are making progress on our investment to reduce the use of storm overflows. I'm here today to see first hand what it means for customers and communities and say thank you to my brilliant team here from Southwest Water and our Amplify Supply Chain delivery partners. If you're one of the millions of visitors that ever caught the train down to Cornwall, you'll recognise Dawlish. The track runs directly parallel along the sea line and the cliffs, giving you a fantastic view of the beautiful coastline. You might also remember the rail track here being washed into the sea, cutting off Cornwall from the rest of the UK, a result of climate change and the changing weather patterns. Those weather patterns have also meant that the wastewater network here in Dawlish is under pressure as more homes are being built and more visitors arrive to this fantastic town with a population of 12,000 more than doubling in the summer months. In response, we're doing three things. First, engaging with the community to explain the work we need to do here on a time scale. Second, applying a tailor-made solution for Dawlish with a nature-first approach by removing as much flow from the system as we can. And third, installing two new underground tanks to store salt water before it's then treated. When combined with existing storage, we will hold up to 4.5 million litres of stormwater, the equivalent of two Olympic-sized swimming pools, which combined will reduce the use of stormwater grades by nearly 70%. This investment is just one of our wider multi-billion pound regional programmes to reduce the use of stormwater grades and enhance bathi...