Troubled utility giant Thames Water has cautioned that its turnaround will “take time” as it revealed profits more than halving and its debt pile mounting further.
The group reported a 54% drop in pre-tax profits to £246.4 million in the six months to September 30.
Revenues rose 12% to £1.3 billion but it spent a record £1 billion on improving its network.
The results also revealed its debt pile swelled by 7% to £14.7 billion.
Interim bosses said “immediate and radical action” was needed to improve its environmental and financial performance.
They added: “Turning around Thames will take time. We simply cannot do everything that our customers and stakeholders wish to see at a pace and for a price that everyone would like.
“We will continue to make the tough choices required to deliver what matters most to our customers and the environment.”
The results come just days after it emerged that auditors of Thames Water’s parent company had warned it could run out of money by next April if shareholders do not pump in more cash.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) warned in accounts published last week on Companies House that there was a “material uncertainty” over the future of the main company behind Thames Water amid worries there were no plans in place to refinance a £190 million loan at one of its subsidiary companies.
Thames Water shareholders agreed in the summer to inject £750 million of new funding to bolster the firm’s finances and stave off the threat of nationalisation.
Last year the company had asked investors for £1 billion.
