Centrica’s H1 2007 revenue was down to GBP8.6 billion, from GBP8.7 billion a year earlier. However, the company’s adjusted basic earnings per share stood at 21.5 pence, up from 7.6 pence a year earlier.
Despite British Gas’s substantial profit increase, the unit’s revenue in the first half fell 13% to GBP3.5 billion from GBP4 billion a year earlier. British Gas’s sales were impacted by a 25% fall in residential gas consumption and an 11% fall in residential electricity consumption.
British Gas said that following significant customer account losses in the first three months of 2007 in response to 2006 price increases, the company added 46,000 customer accounts to its energy customer base in the second quarter. British Gas now has 15.8 million customer accounts.
The results in the first six months have been due to exceptional circumstances and will not be repeated in the second half. Forward commodity prices for the coming winter have become more challenging in recent weeks, but we believe the combination of our competitive price levels and continued management endeavor will provide the foundations for customer retention and more sustainable profits, commented Roger Carr, Centrica’s chairman.
According to Reuters, despite British Gas’s substantial profits, Centrica has said that any further price cuts are unlikely.
