Earth Science News
WATER WORLD
Britain's Thames Water plans 'radical' turnaround
Britain's Thames Water plans 'radical' turnaround
by AFP Staff Writers
London (AFP) Dec 5, 2023

Thames Water on Tuesday pledged a "radical" turnaround but warned it would take time to deliver change after announcing a slump in profits and mounting debt during its first half.

Profit after tax tumbled 57 percent to 172.3 million pounds ($218 million) in the six months to the end of September despite an emergency financial rescue, Britain's biggest water supplier said in a results statement.

Net debt grew seven percent to 14.74 billion pounds for the company that supplies more than 16 million homes and businesses in London and elsewhere in southern England.

"Our financial performance... needs to improve. It is clear that immediate and radical action is required," group interim Co-CEOs Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran said in Tuesday's statement.

However, they warned that "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".

The pair replaced Sarah Bentley, who resigned in June.

The following month, Thames announced a significant financial injection from shareholders that kept it afloat.

On the eve of Tuesday's results update, auditors warned that the company risked running out of money by April without further financial support.

Thames, reported to have been at risk of renationalisation without July's bailout, saw shareholders provide funding worth 750 million pounds.

However, it fell short of the 1 billion pounds the group sought on top of 500 million pounds secured from shareholders in March.

Thames has noted that it would need a further 2.5 billion pounds of support between 2025 and 2030.

- Environmental fallout -

The indebted company and its peers in England and Wales have announced plans to nearly double infrastructure investment as they seek to reduce leaks and cut river sewage, triggering higher bills for customers.

Companies will together spend 96 billion pounds on water and sewage infrastructure between 2025 and 2030, a 90 percent increase on the current five-year period.

Thames Water co-CEOs on Tuesday acknowledged that "performance needs to improve, including some areas of operational and environmental performance that matter most to our customers and communities".

UK regulators recently ordered water companies in England and Wales to return a combined 114 million pounds to customers for failing to meet performance targets, including over river pollution.

Thames Water was ordered to return the highest amount at 101 million pounds.

The British government in July announced that any company or individual polluting the country's rivers and other ecosystems would be liable for unlimited fines.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Google's 'A Passage of Water' Brings NASA's Water Data to Life
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 01, 2023
As part of the long-standing partnership between NASA and Google, NASA worked with Google Arts and Culture and artist Yiyun Kang to create an interactive digital experience around global freshwater resources titled "A Passage of Water." This immersive experience leverages data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites and new high-resolution data from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to illustrate how climate change is impacting Earth's water cycle. " ... read more

WATER WORLD
Seychelles starts clean-up after massive blast, floods

Tekniam and Rivada Collaborate to Enhance Emergency Communications and Disaster Recovery

Three months after quake, Morocco villages face winter chill

US pledges climate aid for cities, more private sector finance

WATER WORLD
Transforming Waste into Strength: The Graphene Revolution in Concrete Recycling

The Rise of the Virtual Mission

Unlocking the secrets of natural materials

MIT engineers develop a way to determine how the surfaces of materials behave

WATER WORLD
Britain's Thames Water plans 'radical' turnaround

Study identifies key algae species helping soft corals survive warming oceans

Plankton's Vital Role in Carbon Sequestration Unveiled

Norway to allow deep-sea mining

WATER WORLD
Greenland's Inuit falling through thin ice of climate change

Himalayan glaciers react, blow cold winds down their slopes

Russia ramps up Arctic route ambitions

Antarctica's ancient ice sheets foreshadow dynamic changes in Earth's future

WATER WORLD
Novel meat and dairy alternatives could help curb climate-harming emissions - UN

Building a better indoor herb garden

How climate change threatens global agriculture

'We need information' plead Peru farmers battling drought, climate change

WATER WORLD
Indonesia ends search after volcano eruption kills 23

Magnitude 7.1 quake hits off Vanuatu, tsunami warning lifted

Heavier rains in East Africa due to human activity: study

Indonesia volcano search effort focuses on last missing hiker

WATER WORLD
'National circumstances' key to COP28 fossil fuel deal: S.Africa minister

NASA Helps Study One of the World's Most Diverse Ecosystems

UN peacekeepers hand over one of last camps to Mali authorities

Guinea-Bissau army displays weapons haul after coup attempt

WATER WORLD
Wild birds analyze grunts, whistles made by human honey-hunters

Languages are louder in the tropics

New Archaeological Discoveries Shed Light on Austronesian Migration

Fishing chimpanzees found to enjoy termites as a seasonal treat

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.