PA MediaTroubled Thames Water has revealed it slumped to a £1.65 billion annual loss and saw its debt mountain balloon to £16.79bn.
The struggling utility tumbled to the pre-tax loss in the year to March 31 from profits of £157 million the previous year after it booked a £1.27 billion bad debt provision on intercompany loans and set aside £122 million for fines from Ofwat, among other costs.
The group’s full year results showed its mammoth net debts swelled by another £1.65 billion over the year, while it revealed a “disappointing” performance on pollution and sewage spills.
The figures come as the water firm remains in talks over a rescue funding deal with senior creditors after private equity firm KKR last month pulled out of plans to inject much-needed cash.
Chris Weston, chief executive of Thames Water, said: “We recognise that our current gearing is too high and, to address this, we are progressing with our Senior Creditors’ plan to recapitalise the business which will see us return to a more stable financial foundation.
“This will come with a requirement to reset the regulatory landscape and acknowledge it will take at least a decade to turn Thames around.”
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