The company, one of the largest listed water companies in the UK, said the impact of the pandemic-related lockdown periods led to non-household revenues decrease by around 40 million pounds ($53.50 million) in the first half of the year, while household payment defaults rose.

Shares of the company rose 2.2% to 916.2 pence in early trade.

The sudden business closures and increase in unemployment driven by the crisis made it difficult for the company's customers to pay their bills.

"Average customer bills have reduced by 7% in real terms this year but we recognise that for many in our region, these are still challenging times," Chief Executive Officer Steve Mogford said.

The company was also impacted by price cuts imposed during the period as part of the new AMP7 five-year asset management plan set by the sector regulator Ofwat. Current period AMP7 covers April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025.

Price Review for water companies in England and Wales is a process led by Ofwat to determine prices.

The company proposed an interim dividend of 14.41 pence per share, up 1.5% from last year.

Underlying operating profit fell to 319.1 million pounds in the six months to Sept. 30, from 391.7 million a year earlier.

Financial investors find water companies attractive because they provide stable, secure cashflow that can be used to sustain other operations, including paying interest on bonds.

Full-year 2020/21 revenue is expected to be in the range of 1.75 billion pounds to 1.80 billion pounds, compared with 1.86 billion pounds last year, the blue-chip utility said.

(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)