Centrica shrugs off criticism
Utility giant Centrica has forecast its full-year earnings will be above expectations, despite a new survey today ranking subsidiary British Gas lowest for customer satisfaction.Berkshire-based multinational Centrica said in its annual general meeting that it had "performed well" during the year so far, with improved profits predicted to be announced later this year.Released to coincide with the group's AGM, price comparison website uSwitch's gas customer satisfaction survey says British Gas is the worst energy supplier in the UK in terms of customer satisfaction.But Centrica reported today that the number of customers at British Gas is on the rise, with 900,000 customers â€" 65,000 a week â€" joining since prices were cut twice on February 8th."Our UK services business is on track to deliver a year of strong operating profit growth, driven by higher customer numbers and improved service levels," said chairman Roger Carr.Mr Carr went on to say that lower wholesale prices had hit upstream gas production, with output in the first four months of 2007 down 48 per cent at 642 million therms."Overall the outlook for Centrica in all markets is encouraging, although significant uncertainty remains over wholesale gas and power prices for the balance of the year and over demand levels due to unusual weather patterns," the chairman continued."However, if wholesale prices turn out in line with current forward market prices and temperatures are seasonally normal, we would expect to deliver a group operating profit above current consensus estimates, due to the significant out-performance already seen in the first half."Centrica will announce its half-year results on August 2nd.
Share this..
Related stories
Did the UK government underestimate the level of future unemployment?
There are concerns like that upwards of 500,000 employees from the UK public sector may well have been left out of unemployment forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR has confirmed that up to 550,000 public sector employees were lifted from their calculations which indicated that one in 10 in the public sector would lose their jobs. This would indicate an additional 50,00...
Read MoreIs it fair to subsidise the energy industry?
After issuing a warning that UK consumers and businesses can expect to see energy costs increase because of the need to invest into a new breed of nuclear energy plants, the UK government has prompted the question - Is it fair to subsidise the energy sector?
The problem is, as we touched on in one of our earlier post, the vast majority of UK energy companies are owned by foreign par...
Alistair Darling's hands tied in run up to general election
Yesterday's news that Alistair Darling agreed to cut planned business tax rate rises from 5% to 2% (with the additional 3% staggered over the next two years) perfectly illustrates the difficult situation and UK government is in today. The need to both maintain and improve tax streams in the short term coupled together with the need to keep the UK public onside as we approach the next general elect...
Read MoreCould you handle a large vet bill?
While the UK has for many years been a country of pet lovers, could you handle a significant vet bill in the event that your pet needed treatment?
This is a question which many pet owners in the UK should be asking themselves and whether in fact they should be considering pet insurance plans. As with so many other areas of our financial lives it can often be easiest to ignore a pote...
West Ham United on verge of being taken-over
It has been revealed that London based financial company Intermarket is on the verge of making a takeover offer for West Ham United, the UK premiership football team. The football club has been in financial difficulties for some time and a number of potential suitors have stepped forward and stepped back. However it is believed an offer valuing the club at around £100 million will be announced in...
Read More