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Centrica plc is an integrated energy company operating predominately in United Kingdom and North America. In the United Kingdom, it operates three segments: upstream, downstream and storage.
Cold weather drives Centrica profits up 29%
February 24 2011, 9:56am
British Gas parent company Centrica (LON:CNA) reported a 29% jump in profits in 2010 after unusually cold weather at the end of the year triggered a surge in energy consumption.
Full year 2010 revenues climbed from £22 billion to £22.4 billion, while earnings rose from £856 million to £1.94 billion and basic earnings per share reached 37.6 pence, up from 16.5 pence a year earlier.
Operating profits jumped 29% to £2.4 billion, helped by a strong performance at British Gas, whose profits climbed 24%.
Growth in British Gas continued as the number of residential energy customer accounts rose 267,000 and customer accounts in services climbed 265,000.
Upstream gas and oil production volume was up 43%.
Centrica said that North American performance significantly improved, particularly in residential and business energy supply.
“In 2010 we delivered a strong operational and financial result, reflecting the contribution from the enlarged upstream business in the UK, together with good downstream performance in both the UK and North America.
“Our investment programme for 2011 and beyond will enable continued growth for the benefit of all our stakeholders, offering a competitive deal for customers, creating further job opportunities, and delivering superior financial returns for our shareholders,” said chief executive of Centrica Sam Laidlaw.
Centrica’s outlook for 2011 was upbeat.
“As we enter 2011, our integrated model leaves us well placed to manage the pressures on the downstream business from lower consumption and higher commodity prices.
“Our upstream activities will benefit from those higher prices, and we will look to our services and North American businesses to deliver further growth,” said chairman Roger Carr.
The company decided to hike its full year dividend 12% to 14.3 pence.
Yesterday Centrica announced that it had signed a £2 billion three year deal with Qatargas to deliver 2.4 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per annum to the UK Isle of Grain facility.
