Thames puts in a mixed performance in final half year before PR24 decisions

In its half-year results announcement on 10 December, Thames reported operating profit up 34%, returning to a pre-exceptional profit of £329.1m.

It also delivered modest performance gains, including an 18.7% reduction in customer complaints, a further 4% reduction in leakage, and an overall improvement to ‘average’ in Ofwat’s annual performance ranking (from ‘lagging behind’), putting it ahead of Anglian, Welsh Water, and Southern.

Nevertheless, supply interruptions increased, and pollution incidents grew by 40%, reflecting heavy rainfall. At the same time, the key metric for water quality, the compliance risk index (CRI), deteriorated, rising to 1.86 during the first six months of the financial year, compared to 1.19 as of 30 September 2023, due to a number of microbiological sample failures.

Underlying post-tax profit was £187.3m, up from £141.7m at September 2023. There were a number of exceptional charges leading to a total loss of £189.7m.

Thames invested £1.033bn over the period to improve assets and network resilience. Net debt increased therefore to £15,797m from £14,738.7m at 30 September 2023. During the six months to 30 September 2024, the company paid no dividends.

Chief executive Chris Weston said: “The next critical step is receiving an investable final determination which is fundamental to our future.” Thames has put forward a proposal for total expenditure of £23.7bn for 2025-2030.