British Energy reports massive losses

British Energy, the UK's biggest electricity producer, has reported a first-quarter loss of 115 million pounds and says it is making progress in plans to delist its shares. British Energy nearly went bust in 2002 after power prices slumped. It subsequently drew up a restructuring deal with creditors and the government that is set to favour bondholders but leave shareholders with little.

Earlier this week, British Energy ended a legal dispute with investment company Polygon over its delisting plans. Some shareholders have called for a special meeting on October 22 to oppose the delisting. Polygon had originally been against delisting, but subsequently decided to side with British Energy.

British Energy's financial plight saw its shares slump from being a member of the FTSE 100 index (news) to becoming a penny stock.