The owner of South West Water has cut its dividend by £2.4m after it was handed a record fine for illegally dumping sewage into rivers and the sea.

Pennon Water said the decision to reduce its total payout to investors by 0.84p a share to 44.37p showed “we are listening, clearing the way for long-term shareholder value”.

The business was fined £2.2m in April last year for illegally dumping sewage into rivers and the sea in Devon and Cornwall, following an investigation by the Environment Agency that found South West Water culpable for significant environmental harm.

The dividend, which is worth a total of £126.9m, comes as about 17,000 households were affected by the boil water notice after traces of the parasite were discovered in the company’s water network in Brixham, Devon. 

The utility company, which also owns Bristol Water, said revenues increased by 10pc to £907.8m while pre-tax losses deepened from £8.5m to £9.1m.

Chief executive Susan Davy said: “Whilst the results we are announcing today are based on our performance for the last financial year, we are 100pc focused on returning a safe water supply to the people and businesses in and around Brixham. 

“Normal service has returned for 85pc of customers, but we won’t stop until the local drinking water is returned to the quality all our customers expect and deserve. 

“Our absolute priority continues to be the health and safety of our customers and our operational teams are working tirelessly around the clock to deliver this.”

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