Thames Water has fallen to a £1.65 billion annual loss as the utility's debt mountain ballooned to £16.79 billion.
The company 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.
Results from the water supplier showed its net debts swelled by another £1.65 billion over the year, while it also revealed a “disappointing” performance on pollution and sewage spills.
It comes as the 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 re-set the regulatory landscape and acknowledge it will take at least a decade to turn Thames around."
(PA/London) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
