This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28579589
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| British Gas profits hit by warmer weather | British Gas profits hit by warmer weather |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| British Gas has reported a sharp drop in profits for the first half of the year due to warmer weather. | British Gas has reported a sharp drop in profits for the first half of the year due to warmer weather. |
| Residential supply operating profit fell by a quarter to £265m, owner Centrica said. Operating profit at the parent company was down 35% at £1.03bn. | |
| Centrica said the average annual British Gas customer bill would be £90 lower this year than in 2013. | Centrica said the average annual British Gas customer bill would be £90 lower this year than in 2013. |
| Earlier, regulator Ofgem said the big six energy firms were set to double profit margins over the next year. | Earlier, regulator Ofgem said the big six energy firms were set to double profit margins over the next year. |
| The industry accused Ofgem of using inaccurate figures. | The industry accused Ofgem of using inaccurate figures. |
| Profit margins | Profit margins |
| The predicted fall in bills this year is due to warmer weather and energy efficiencies, Centrica said, rather than to any fall in residential energy prices. | The predicted fall in bills this year is due to warmer weather and energy efficiencies, Centrica said, rather than to any fall in residential energy prices. |
| It added that post-tax profit margins would be about 4%, lower than last year and below the 4.5%-5% the company says it needs to achieve in order to make necessary investments in the business. | It added that post-tax profit margins would be about 4%, lower than last year and below the 4.5%-5% the company says it needs to achieve in order to make necessary investments in the business. |
| Centrica said the number of British Gas residential customer accounts fell by about 1% in the first three months of the year before stabilising in the second quarter. | Centrica said the number of British Gas residential customer accounts fell by about 1% in the first three months of the year before stabilising in the second quarter. |
| "We had warmer weather in the UK which meant that actually our average customer's consumption of gas was down 24%," Centrica's chief executive Sam Laidlaw told the BBC. | |
| "We actually also simultaneously had very cold weather in the US - the polar vortex - which resulted in generating companies charging us with a lot of additional ancillary costs. | |
| "The good news from a customer's point of view is that actually we expect average bills to be down by some 7%, or £90, this year." | |
| Mr Laidlaw also said profits would be lower this year than last, but that the group was "well positioned to return to growth in 2015". | |
| Earlier this week, Centrica announced that Iain Conn, currently BP's head of refining and marketing, will take over from Mr Laidlaw as chief executive at the start of 2015. | |
| Investigation | |
| Ofgem estimated that the big six energy firms - British Gas, EDF, E.On, RWE, Scottish Power and SSE - would make on average a profit margin of 8% over the next year. | |
| But the industry said the figures were not only inaccurate, but did not take tax or interest into account. | |
| Ofgem has already referred the industry to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). | |
| The CMA is looking at rising bills, service quality and profitability of big energy companies, but will focus particularly on whether they can be both energy generators and retailers at the same time. |