02/15/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/15/2024 19:33
"At the start of the energy crisis we committed to contribute a material sum from British Gas Energy and Bord Gáis Energy profits to support our customers. Whilst we are starting to see material commodity price falls, today we have committed another £40 million, bringing the total voluntary customer support to £140 million, more than any other supplier. We've done a lot we can be proud of in 2023: we've paid over £1 billion in tax; we've created over 1,000 new UK based jobs as we continue to invest in customer service; and we've improved security of supply through doubling the capacity of the Rough gas storage facility, through extending the life of the Morecambe Bay gas field into the 2030s, and through investing to extend the life of our nuclear power stations. All of this has been made possible by the strong financial and operational performance across our balanced portfolio of businesses in 2023 as we deliver the strategy we set out in July.
We are pleased to report that this strong underlying operational performance has continued into early 2024. As you would expect, sharply lower commodity prices and reduced volatility will naturally lower earnings in comparison to 2023 as we return to a more normalised environment. Our performance over the past year has reinforced our confidence in delivering against our medium-term sustainable profit ambitions and continuing to create value for shareholders."
Chris O'Shea | Group Chief Executive
Year ended 31 December |
2023 |
2022 |
Adjusted measures |
||
Operating profit (i)(ii) |
£2,752m |
£3,308m |
Basic earnings profit per share (i) (ii) |
33.4p |
34.9p |
Free cash flow |
£2,207m |
£2,487m |
Net cash |
£2,744m |
£1,199m |
Total Group |
||
Operating profit/(loss) |
£6,512m |
(£240m) |
Basic earnings/(loss) per share (i) |
70.6p |
(13.3p) |
Net operating cash flow |
£2,752m |
£1,314m |
Full year dividend per share |
4.0p |
3.0p |
See notes 2, 5, 9, 10 and 11 to the Financial Statements and pages 76 to 80 for an explanation of the use of adjusted performance measures. |
Overall, the progress made in 2023 has reinforced our confidence in delivering the financial ambitions set out in July 2023, including building to deliver around £800m of sustainable adjusted operating profit over the medium-term from our Retail and Optimisation activities on average each year.
Strong underlying operational performance from 2023 has continued into early 2024. As is usual at this point in the year there are a range of factors that could impact financial performance, including the weather, commodity prices and volatility, the economy, the regulatory backdrop, the competitive environment and asset performance. Therefore, there are a range of possible outcomes for the full year.
In Retail, we do not expect a repeat of the 2023 one-off benefits from cost recovery in British Gas Energy. However, the underlying performance of British Gas Energy is in line with our medium-term expectation of
£150m-£250m of adjusted operating profit, and the performances of British Gas Services & Solutions and Bord Gáis in 2023 provide strong foundations to drive an improved result in both these businesses in 2024.
In addition, while lower commodity prices and reduced volatility relative to 2023 will naturally reduce optimisation opportunities in Centrica Energy (formerly Energy Marketing & Trading), Spirit Energy and Nuclear are largely protected from further commodity moves in 2024 by our rateable hedging strategy.