Off the boil

Centrica, the UK’s largest energy supplier, has posted a total earnings loss of £144m after last year’s rise in gas prices damaged profits.

Centrica group business, British Gas Residential, saw profits drop 34 per cent, with total operating profit at £1.94bn in 2008, a 0.4 per cent loss on the previous year despite increasing prices twice last year.

Commenting on the loss, chief executive, Sam Laidlow, said: ‘In the first half of 2008 we experienced rapidly rising global oil and gas prices, only to see them fall in the second half, at the same time as the credit markets tightened greatly for all of our customers and counterparties.

‘This backdrop, coupled with the increasing obligations being placed upon the energy supply industry, meant that profits at British Gas Residential were down by 34 per cent.’

Centrica storage profits were down 14 per cent to £280m, following a drop in the cost of Standard Bundled Units (SBUs). The group’s Dutch division, Oxxio, also reported losses of £63m.