Ervia today publishes its Annual Report for 2015, the second full year of operations for the multi-utility company responsible for Ireland’s national gas and water infrastructure. Ervia delivers its services through two operating companies, Gas Networks Ireland and Irish Water. In 2015, Ervia continued to enhance and expand the national gas network and began to address the massive underinvestment in Ireland’s water and waste water infrastructure over recent decades. Ervia is one of Ireland’s largest indigenous companies with 1,500 employees in 2015 and a further 5,700 employed in partner companies directly involved in providing services to its 2.4m customers. In 2015 Ervia contributed €1.8bn to the Irish economy, €1.3bn of which was to Irish suppliers.
Ervia revenue in 2015 was up 12% to €1,342m. Profit before tax of €152m compared with a loss of €2m in 2014, with profits in Gas Networks Ireland in line with the prior year and Irish Water reporting a €17m profit. Any surplus earned at Irish Water is reinvested directly in water infrastructure. In 2015, Ervia paid a dividend to the Exchequer of €151 million, all of which was earned through operating Ireland’s national gas network.
Gas Networks Ireland maintained a strong credit rating in 2015, while delivering €109m in capital investment and continuing to operate Ireland’s natural gas network to the highest safety standards. Working with the Corrib Partners, the company brought natural gas from Ireland’s west coast into the national gas network in 2015, the first new indigenous natural gas source to come ashore since the 1976. The company also launched its first apprentice training programme in 30 years in 2015, hiring 14 gas apprentices. In 2015 the company also significantly progressed the extension of the natural gas network to Nenagh and began work to bring gas to Wexford town. In a new development Ervia is ensuring that the water infrastructure in both of these towns is upgraded at the same time that the gas network is built, a multi-utility approach that reduces project costs and overall disruption to customers, residents and businesses in these towns.
The focus in Irish Water during 2015 was on delivering against the company’s 5 Year Business Plan, launched in October. This plan targets bringing Ireland’s water and waste water infrastructure and services up to an acceptable standard by 2021 through investing €5.5billion in capital projects while significantly reducing legacy costs and achieving €1.6bn in efficiencies over the same period. In 2015 a total of €544 million was invested in priority projects, delivering real benefits such as removing more than 20,000 people from long term boil water notices, saving 34 million litres of water everyday by reducing leakage, delivering 19 water supply projects and 34 new or upgraded wastewater treatment plants, removing 263,000 people from the risk of drinking water contamination and repairing 500km of water mains. Recent announcements by Government have confirmed that the current suspension of domestic water charges will not impact on the funding of the company or its capital investment plans.
“2015 was a year of solid financial performance across the group, but the real story of Ervia is one of transformation and investing much needed capital in our country’s infrastructure” commented Ervia Group Chief Executive, Michael Mc Nicholas. “Our work underpins the economic development of Ireland while seeking to protect our natural resources and the environment.”
“We have developed our gas networks to be among the most modern in Europe and we are starting that journey with our water infrastructure. In 2015 we began to address some of the worst of the water and wastewater infrastructure problems, but, given the scale of the investment and repair that is needed, we are only beginning this enormous and vital task, one to which we are absolutely committed,” Mr. McNicholas said.
You can download a copy of the Ervia Annual Report 2015 in pdf format.
Irish Water’s Financial Statements for 2015 are available to download online.