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Yorkshire Electricity yesterday reported interim pre-tax profits down from pounds 111m to pounds 80.8m as a result of last year's regulatory price review. Malcolm Chatwin, chief executive, said the 13 per cent cut in prices forced on the group from April by Offer, the industry regulator, had lopped pounds 40m off the group's revenues.

The new price controls were prompted by the group's decision to make payouts worth around 500p a share as the main plank of its successful defence against a takeover bid from Trafalgar House. Yorkshire yesterday raised the interim dividend to 15.8p and hinted it was looking at other ways of returning value to shareholders, which analysts expected to involve a share buy-back.