Drax looking at 'coal-free future' as it reveals £83m pre-tax loss

Operator of UK's largest power station says it plans to convert one of three remaining coal-fired units to gas

The operator of the UK's largest power station has seen its share price slide after it posted a pre-tax loss of 83m in the first half of the year despite increasing earnings by 73%.

Drax Group, which runs a coal and biomass plant in North Yorkshire, boosted its earnings to 121m from 70m last year, due to its acquisition of the business energy supplier Opus Energy.