Gas.

[fatboy47]

Massive congrats to Centrica on nearly hitting the billion profit mark in today's figures.

Awesome management under truly difficult circumstances.

[Cirrus_Minor]

Ha ha, nice cast but you need a better bait.

[bobinho]

Massive congrats to Centrica on nearly hitting the billion profit mark in today's figures.

Awesome management under truly difficult circumstances.

I hear ya…

[Woodleyclaret]

Another legacy of Tory sell off policy
Huge bills for customers vast profits for investors

[2 Bee Holed]

Surely it's Gas and Electricity?

[Clovius Boofus]

It doesn't matter what your politics are - raking in almost £1 billion in profit while millions of families in our country struggle to heat their homes in the colder months is obscene.

Ofgem is toothless and the energy market has become a private monopoly. We are basically here for the taking.

[evensteadiereddie]

It does matter what your politics are.
How the hell can any government think this is acceptable?

[dsr]

If we cancelled their entire dividend so that shareholders made no profit at all, we could knock almost £7 off the average household gas bill. (Though of course businesses might want a share in the bonanza as well.)

[JohnMcGreal]

It doesn't matter what your politics are - raking in almost £1 billion in profit while millions of families in our country struggle to heat their homes in the colder months is obscene.

But that is some people's politics. Slaves to private capital and profit, at any cost. This is what some people actively want.

[fatboy47]

But that is some people's politics. Slaves to private capital and profit, at any cost. This is what some people actively want.

Beats having Corbyn going round eating babies.

[LeadBelly]

Centrica is in competition (here in UK) with very large energy companies from Germany, France and Spain (and of course Dale Vince). They have to compete with all these (and many more) so it's not like they are a monopoly.

Turnover (revenue from ongoing business) was £20,486 millions on which pre-tax profit was £2.047 millions, tax was £564 million, leaving £1,483 m post tax profit- around 7%; Last years equivalent was just under 5%.

What % profit do people baulking at " a billion profit" think is acceptable for a large UK company in competition with foreign owned giant energy companies and lots of smaller UK companies?

If their prices are too high, surely Mr Vince and Powergen (owned by E.On of Germany I think), EDF (French owned), Scottish Power (owned by Iberdrola of Spain) etc would take all their customers. Its easy to switch suppliers.

[fatboy47]

Its easy to switch suppliers.

Please could you tell my 95 year old mother-in-law that?

[Tricky Trevor]

Centrica is in competition (here in UK) with very large energy companies from Germany, France and Spain (and of course Dale Vince). They have to compete with all these (and many more) so it's not like they are a monopoly.

Turnover (revenue from ongoing business) was £20,486 millions on which pre-tax profit was £2.047 millions, tax was £564 million, leaving £1,483 m post tax profit- around 7%; Last years equivalent was just under 5%.

What % profit do people baulking at " a billion profit" think is acceptable for a large UK company in competition with foreign owned giant energy companies and lots of smaller UK companies?

If their prices are too high, surely Mr Vince and Powergen (owned by E.On of Germany I think), EDF (French owned), Scottish Power (owned by Iberdrola of Spain) etc would take all their customers. Its easy to switch suppliers.

On the other hand if they lowered their price they would have far more customers and chase Johnny Foreigner out of the market.
Greed is greed. The rich get richer, the poor can get fuct. A tory mantra.

PS are you hiding billions as thousand millions?

[roperclaret]

Why do they only have to pay 25% tax on profit when the government take half of my wage every month?

[Lubanski]

Congrats Centrica, I like to think I've played a small part in your success.

[fatboy47]

On the other hand if they lowered their price they would have far more customers and chase Johnny Foreigner out of the market.

Ah yes.... But we wouldn't want Johnny Foreigner responding in kind now would we.?

We don't want anybody reducing prices or providing competition....thatd impact on our tiny profits.

[Big Vinny K]

Why do they only have to pay 25% tax on profit when the government take half of my wage every month?

Corporation tax is only one part of it.
The owners of a company also have to pay income tax on any money they take out via dividends etc.
So effectively they pay roughly the same as you plus the 25% corporation tax on top.

Not that I am supportive of the obscene Centrica profits made. The whole privatisation model and utilities industry is a mess.

[RMutt]

Corporation tax is only one part of it.
The owners of a company also have to pay income tax on any money they take out via dividends etc.
So effectively they pay roughly the same as you plus the 25% corporation tax on top.

Not that I am supportive of the obscene Centrica profits made. The whole privatisation model and utilities industry is a mess.

I don’t think it’s a mess, I think it’s working exactly as it was planned, to make more money for owners, shareholders etc.
Immoral is what it is.
Over the last few years big business and the government have realised that the British people have been softened up and groomed to except almost any nonsense. Turkeys that keep voting for Christmas.
The government are subsidising this with the energy support scheme, allowing companies to walk away with excessive profits whilst the taxpayer picks up the bill for the support scheme and all the while we keep lapping it up.

[davideyresleftear]

Awesome news. Proud of the boys for carving out a sliver of profit in these trying times

[Big Vinny K]

I don’t think it’s a mess, I think it’s working exactly as it was planned, to make more money for owners, shareholders etc.
Immoral is what it is.
Over the last few years big business and the government have realised that the British people have been softened up and groomed to except almost any nonsense. Turkeys that keep voting for Christmas.
The government are subsidising this with the energy support scheme, allowing companies to walk away with excessive profits whilst the taxpayer picks up the bill for the support scheme and all the while we keep lapping it up.

can’t disagree with any of that.
Let’s call it a manufactured mess then !!

It’s a disgrace. Private companies many of them foreign owned running our essential services and making billions out of the taxpayer….and when the market takes a downturn they are protected by government subsidies. They can’t lose.
How the feck have we ended up like this ?
Like you say the people got what they deserved - or the 38% of people it tends to take to get a government in these days.

[Sproggy]

So this thread is fine, but threads about Josh Brownhill's ears get pulled (the thread not his ears).

Of course you're all associating Centrica with British Gas. What you actually mean is Centrica Retail (UK) which "only" made a profit of £72 million in 2022 (expected to go up this year). The majority of Centrica's profits come from business overseas.

Though Centrica wouldn't exist in the first place without the privatisation of British Gas of course.

[dsr]

So this thread is fine, but threads about Josh Brownhill's ears get pulled (the thread not his ears).

Of course you're all associating Centrica with British Gas. What you actually mean is Centrica Retail (UK) which "only" made a profit of £72 million in 2022 (expected to go up this year). The majority of Centrica's profits come from business overseas.

Though Centrica wouldn't exist in the first place without the privatisation of British Gas of course.

That's about £1 a head, then? Give me my £1!

[Big Vinny K]

Big chunk of its profits are from selling energy to the market though.
Irrespective of where their profits come from they are allowed to operate in these markets because of privatisation.
What they call themselves is irrelevant too.

It wasn’t that long ago when it was rare to see any company in the world make profits in the billions. Now it doesn’t even make the news of a company makes less than a billion.

[dsr]

With £1,000,000,000 you could run the NHS for almost 2 days.

[RMutt]

The question still remains, why is the British tax payer taking the hit and not the privatised companies?
Meanwhile my EDF payments are subsidising the French bill payer. That can’t be right can it?

[Stayingup]

Massive congrats to Centrica on nearly hitting the billion profit mark in today's figures.

Awesome management under truly difficult circumstances.

Bit limp really 900% increase in profits. And they had a great hand from Ofgem who allowed them to charge domestic customers more.

[Stayingup]

can’t disagree with any of that.
Let’s call it a manufactured mess then !!

It’s a disgrace. Private companies many of them foreign owned running our essential services and making billions out of the taxpayer….and when the market takes a downturn they are protected by government subsidies. They can’t lose.
How the feck have we ended up like this ?
Like you say the people got what they deserved - or the 38% of people it tends to take to get a government in these days.

We have ended up like this beacuse we are run by a set of T0ssers. MP's in other words. Not business people.

[fatboy47]

We have ended up like this beacuse we are run by a set of T0ssers. MP's in other words. Not business people.

If you don't think our government is comprised of business people you need to have a glance at the register of interests.

[Big Vinny K]

If you don't think our government is comprised of business people you need to have a glance at the register of interests.

I think the normal order of events for many MPs is that they enter politics and get elected as an MP and then by pure coincidence and absolutely nothing to do with lobbying, carrying favours, backhanders, miraculous granting of planning permission, opportune reward of development grants and funding etc etc…
……they end up as non executive directors and sat on multiple company boards and then have to register their interests.

Not sure many of them enter the House of Commons with much business experience. Take our own Royston Vasey lookalike MP. The last time I saw him queueing up in Tesco he could barely work out how to use his debit card.

[Claretincraven]

I am happy to admit to being a Centrica shareholder, from the initial privatisation. Not many, and certainly not life changing.
Ten years ago the shares were worth almost £4 each. Today less than £1.50
Between November 2019 and November 2022 no dividends were paid.
When dividends restarted they amounted to 3p per share, less than a 3% return on the current share price.
I accept that this won’t fit the political mantra of many on this thread, but at least some facts are now out there.

[fatboy47]

I am happy to admit to being a Centrica shareholder, from the initial privatisation. Not many, and certainly not life changing.
Ten years ago the shares were worth almost £4 each. Today less than £1.50
Between November 2019 and November 2022 no dividends were paid.
When dividends restarted they amounted to 3p per share, less than a 3% return on the current share price.
I accept that this won’t fit the political mantra of many on this thread, but at least some facts are now out there.

Should have sold them 10 years ago then Sid...dont come crying to me.