Centrica Share Discussion Threads

[supermarky] 11/12/2017 17:35

Making an average profit per customer of £4.17 pcm (£50 per annum) see hardly excessive. And this before any cap. Why is this not all over the news? Anyway down down down we go. Merry Christmas! For goodness sake this company needs some backbone and stick up for itself a bit.

[nortic 007] 11/12/2017 16:44

Centrica Questions U.K. Government's Energy Price Cap FiguresSource: Dow Jones NewsBy Adam Clark Centrica PLC (CNA.LN) has claimed that the U.K. government's proposed price cap on energy could force suppliers into cutting investment and damage the roll-out of smart meters.In written evidence to parliament, published on Monday, the owner of British Gas said it was "concerned" about the government's claim that a price cap will remove 100 pounds ($133.82) from the average customer's bill.Centrica said it posts an average profit per customer of GBP50 and the cap would therefore assume suppliers recorded no profit.The company said it believes the case for the price cap has been built on the Competition and Market Authority's (CMA) estimate that customers were losing out on GBP1.40 billion in average on bills between 2012 and 2015--a figure that Centrica said has been "widely discredited" by former regulators and economists.Centrica also said the price cap risks lowering customer engagement in having a smart meter installed, and could leave suppliers unable to recover the costs of the program.The company said it opposes the introduction of a cap and proposes instead the phasing out of standard variable tariffs--more expensive pricing plans that are triggered when introductory fixed deals end.Centrica also said that if a cap is introduced, it should be subject to appeal to the CMA, and be kept under constant review.Shares are down 2.30 pence, or 1.6%, at 141.80 pence at 1422 GMT. Write to Adam Clark at [e-mail]; @AdamDowJones (END) Dow Jones NewswiresDecember 11, 2017 09:46 ET (14:46 GMT)Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[careful] 11/12/2017 16:05

cap £7.87bn.
Amazing that a real and profitable company working hard to keep millions of customers happy is in trouble.
..on the same time that bitcoin is launched, no one comes close to understanding it.
worth billions.

[supermarky] 11/12/2017 15:28

I'm waiting for the hot weather for this to do well lol

[careful] 11/12/2017 12:33

life is hard for a contrarian.
Always beaten up.
Eventually we do well, but what a price to pay.

[careful] 11/12/2017 12:30

money managers boost the markets at year end by buying winning shares.
Customer think they are smart when they study their funds.
The opposite must be also true.
They would dump Centrica to show how smart they are missing such a dud.
I remember how they all boasted when they avoided the awful commodity space.
Many missed the huge rise that followed.

[nortic 007] 11/12/2017 11:23

Careful Very true but frustrating at the same time.

[specul82] 11/12/2017 11:21

Coldest December in 50 years predicted profit warning to better than expected results

[careful] 11/12/2017 11:19

but he did get out of groundhog day in the end.
I do not mind waiting until early February, as long as it happens.

[nortic 007] 11/12/2017 11:17

Groundhog all over again :(

[careful] 11/12/2017 11:00

CNA historic pe 4.52, yield 8.46%.
must be a world record for a regulated utility.
strange times.

[garycook] 11/12/2017 09:02

Profit from cold winters with Centrica plc & SSE plc

Don’t you just love it when those gas and electricity bills hit the freezing doormat after a long and bitterly cold winter? No? Me neither. It’s the same all around the country. Those post-winter, post-Christmas energy bills are probably the worst to deal with. But not for the energy companies themselves, because that’s when they make their money. It’s their peak season, if you will.

So how can we profit from this phenomenon? We can become shareholders of course. But with six huge companies to choose from, which one(s) should we invest in?
Government crack-down

Well, you’ll be surprised to learn that only two of the UK’s ‘Big Six’ energy suppliers are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the rest have been taken over, with some now under foreign ownership. That leaves just SSE (LSE: SSE), which was formerly Scottish and Southern Energy, and Centrica (LSE:CNA), the owner of British Gas and the UK’s largest domestic supplier of gas and electricity.

The share prices of both these FTSE 100 stalwarts have come under pressure lately as Theresa May’s government promises to crack down on the Big Six, with the potential for industry regulator Ofgem capping the default standard variable tariffs until 2023. Needless to say, this will have a big impact on the profits of our two remaining listed energy giants.

But this threat has been lingering for some time, and the market has already responded by wiping billions of pounds off the value of SSE and Centrica’s shares, leaving them trading at multi-year lows, and further inflating the yields on their generous dividends.
Inflation-beating returns

In recent years SSE has performed the better of the two, suffering to a lesser extent from the effects of customers switching to alternative suppliers. As a major utility play, the energy giant has always been seen as a relatively safe place to park savings and earn inflation-beating income.

The Perth-based group has continued to reward shareholders with handsome payouts, with management working towards achieving dividend cover within a range of around 1.2 to 1.4 times earnings going forward. To me the dividend looks pretty safe.

SSE’s shares have suffered from recent concerns over plans to cap energy prices, leading to a share price slump to near three-year lows, while at the same time swelling the prospective dividend yield to 7%. Despite the recent noises from Ofgem and the government, I still see the utility giant as a safe place to stash your cash and generate steady and reliable income.
Monster yield

Meanwhile, in a trading update last month, rival Centrica warned that full-year earnings for 2017 would be below market expectations, reflecting lower-than-expected operating profit in its business divisions both in the UK and North America.

Management attempted to reassure investors concerned about the sustainability of its dividend, pointing out that the current year shareholder payouts were underpinned by net debt which was within its target £2.5bn-£3bn range, along with £2bn of operating cash flow. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop the shares plunging to 18-year lows.

Yet at current levels, Centrica’s prospective yield equates to a massive 8.3%, according to consensus forecasts, and even if management was forced to trim the dividends in the future, we’d probably still be left with a yield that beats most of its blue-chip peers.

[skinny] 11/12/2017 07:03

SPIRIT ENERGY LAUNCHED FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF CENTRICA AND BAYERNGAS NORGE E&P JOINT VENTURE

Spirit Energy, the E&P joint venture which combines Centrica plc's E&P business with Bayerngas Norge AS, has begun trading as an independent oil and gas operator. Completion of the transaction - which was announced on 17 July, 2017 - follows receipt of all the required regulatory approvals and Spirit Energy now becomes a leading independent European E&P company.

Centrica plc owns 69% of Spirit Energy, with Bayerngas Norge's former shareholders, led by Stadtwerke München Group (SWM), owning 31%.

2017 production from the combined portfolios is expected to be around 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from 27 producing fields, and total 2016 year end 2P reserves and 2C resources were 625 mmboe. The company employs more than 700 people in the UK, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark.

The formation of Spirit Energy creates a strong and sustainable European E&P business, combining Centrica's cash-generative and relatively near-term production profile with Bayerngas Norge's more recently on-stream producing assets and development portfolio. The new company will be a robust, self-financing entity, and will invest in the range £400-£600 million per annum to deliver sustainable medium-term production of 45-55 mmboe. The transaction is expected to generate £100-£150 million net present value of synergies and the joint venture will have the opportunity to strengthen through further consolidation and joint ventures.

For Centrica, the creation of Spirit Energy completes the first phase of its planned portfolio transformation, as it continues to pursue delivery of longer-term returns and growth with a greater focus on its customer-facing businesses within clear strategic frameworks for both Consumer and Business divisions. The establishment of Spirit Energy also gives its shareholders greater strategic optionality including the potential to participate in further industry consolidation.

Spirit Energy's focus in 2018 will be to maximise efficiency from its producing assets, as well as progressing several key projects including the developments of Maria and Oda, appraisal drilling at the Fogelberg discovery and drilling on a number of exploration prospects. Spirit Energy will also partner with Wintershall in submitting a plan for development and operation for the Skarfjell development.

Iain Conn, Group Chief Executive of Centrica plc, said:

"I'm delighted that the Spirit Energy joint venture has completed, creating a more focused and sustainable European E&P business which will contribute to the resilience of Centrica while limiting the Group's E&P participation. With the creation of Spirit Energy we have now completed the first phase of our portfolio transformation as we reallocate resources towards our customer-facing businesses, leaving Centrica well-positioned to deliver longer-term returns and growth.

"As one of the largest independent E&P companies in North-West Europe, Spirit Energy will have the possibility to participate in further consolidation and joint ventures, and creates further optionality for Centrica's shareholders."

Florian Bieberbach, Chief Executive of Stadtwerke München Group, said:

"Combining our E&P business units will enable us to run our joint business more effectively and cost efficiently in the future. Future investments and risks will be spread broader in the more diversified and balanced portfolio. SWM Group is looking forward to the future cooperation with Centrica in the joint company Spirit Energy."

Chris Cox, Chief Executive of Spirit Energy, said:

"Teams across both Centrica's E&P business and Bayerngas Norge have been working hard over the last few months to combine the businesses and today that hard work is reflected in the launch of Spirit Energy.

"Now that both businesses have been brought together, these teams and complementary portfolios set us up to be a strong and sustainable E&P business, built for the long-term and committed to Europe."

Chris Cox will be joined on the Spirit Energy management team by Andrew le Poidevin as Chief Financial Officer and Gerry Harrison as Chief of Staff. Spirit Energy's board will be made up of Chris Cox, plus four appointees from Centrica and two from Stadtwerke München. It will be chaired by Centrica's Group Executive Director Mark Hanafin.


Ends

[mitchy] 10/12/2017 23:39

Well the cold weather should help stop cna from sinking . The stronger pound should help as well.So I'm going to stick my neck out and say it's going to go up next week....before it starts going down again.Remember though it is only worth £1 due to it's debt which it will never be able to repay because of the increased competition and price caps. In fact I would expect the energy sector to start reporting further losses. GOOD LuckPs I'm putting all my spare pennies in Lloyds....

[kunama] 10/12/2017 18:36

Hi Yump

Now that takes me back

But what of tomorrow for Centrica

skating away on the thin ice of a new day perhaps

GLA

[w1ndjammer] 10/12/2017 17:05

here you go then a more recent success story, 3 years ago this is where it all
started for a couple of our friends. Now they own a $1,000,000 catamaran .
116 episodes worth watching over Christmas instead of the usual junk that is on the TV



WJ.

[careful] 10/12/2017 11:17

This weather must be good for Centrica.

[portside1] 10/12/2017 10:32

in the late 60s I built the roof on the reactors on wilfa station .
them days the boss would be going up on ladders to check your job
and I mean the boss of the company he was a yank

[ccraig69] 09/12/2017 14:54

i buy esse made un lancashire