Centrica Share Discussion Threads

[korvet] 10/5/2021 16:02

The continued focus on the negative. The biased reporting. The Marxist slant on businesses. Need I go on.

[jd 1965] 10/5/2021 15:45

What part dont you like

[hamhamham1] 10/5/2021 13:04

As Jonathan Woss would say :)

[hamhamham1] 10/5/2021 13:03

A wokal paper.
For wokal people.

[hamhamham1] 10/5/2021 13:02

Gotta love The Guardian ;)

[korvet] 10/5/2021 12:44

Left wing propaganda.

[korvet] 10/5/2021 12:44

Left wing propaganda.

[the grumpy old men] 10/5/2021 12:28

THE GUARDIAN


British Gas owner Centrica warns financial outlook is uncertain

Energy supplier’s parent company tells investors it has faced difficult start to the year amid pandemic

Jillian Ambrose

Mon 10 May 2021 11.40 BST

Last modified on Mon 10 May 2021 11.50 BST



The owner of British Gas has warned investors it has faced a difficult start to the year, weeks after sacking hundreds of its engineers through a controversial fire and rehire scheme to help turn the business around.

Centrica told its shareholders its financial outlook for the year was uncertain after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to drag on the business, which has struggled in recent years due to rising competition in the energy market.

In the first quarter of this year, demand for electricity was 15% lower than the year before among the company’s business customers, the company said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting. Home boiler repairs and installations were 11% lower than the same time last year because non-essential home service visits were postponed to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The slump in home energy services was also due to a long-running series of strikes by thousands of its engineers in response to the company’s plan to toughen its employment contracts in an effort to boost productivity and become more competitive.

Under the fire and rehire plans, most of Centrica’s 20,000 staff were told to accept the new conditions, which would increase working hours for its engineers, or lose their jobs.

The company confirmed that 460 engineers were dismissed last month, as a result of what the GMB trade union has called “a dirty, bullying tactic”. A survey by the union found that more than three-quarters of the public believe that fire and rehire schemes should be made illegal.
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Chris O’Shea, who became Centrica chief executive last year, said his plans to modernise the company remained on track and “the difficult, but necessary process to move colleagues on to new terms and conditions is now complete”.

“We are pleased that 98% of UK colleagues have accepted the new contracts which will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers. Although the external environment remains uncertain, our tight focus on cash and on fixing the basics across the group leaves us well placed as we continue the turnaround of our company,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea hopes to save £100m in operational costs this year as part of a plan to stem the steady decline of the FTSE 250 energy company in recent years. British Gas has lost about 3 million household energy customers in the last decade following an influx of successful new energy startups. Centrica crashed out of the FTSE 100 after losing more than 70% of its market value in the last five years.

[the grumpy old men] 10/5/2021 12:28

THE GUARDIAN


British Gas owner Centrica warns financial outlook is uncertain

Energy supplier’s parent company tells investors it has faced difficult start to the year amid pandemic

Jillian Ambrose

Mon 10 May 2021 11.40 BST

Last modified on Mon 10 May 2021 11.50 BST



The owner of British Gas has warned investors it has faced a difficult start to the year, weeks after sacking hundreds of its engineers through a controversial fire and rehire scheme to help turn the business around.

Centrica told its shareholders its financial outlook for the year was uncertain after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to drag on the business, which has struggled in recent years due to rising competition in the energy market.

In the first quarter of this year, demand for electricity was 15% lower than the year before among the company’s business customers, the company said in a trading update ahead of its annual shareholder meeting. Home boiler repairs and installations were 11% lower than the same time last year because non-essential home service visits were postponed to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The slump in home energy services was also due to a long-running series of strikes by thousands of its engineers in response to the company’s plan to toughen its employment contracts in an effort to boost productivity and become more competitive.

Under the fire and rehire plans, most of Centrica’s 20,000 staff were told to accept the new conditions, which would increase working hours for its engineers, or lose their jobs.

The company confirmed that 460 engineers were dismissed last month, as a result of what the GMB trade union has called “a dirty, bullying tactic”. A survey by the union found that more than three-quarters of the public believe that fire and rehire schemes should be made illegal.
Business email signup

Chris O’Shea, who became Centrica chief executive last year, said his plans to modernise the company remained on track and “the difficult, but necessary process to move colleagues on to new terms and conditions is now complete”.

“We are pleased that 98% of UK colleagues have accepted the new contracts which will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers. Although the external environment remains uncertain, our tight focus on cash and on fixing the basics across the group leaves us well placed as we continue the turnaround of our company,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea hopes to save £100m in operational costs this year as part of a plan to stem the steady decline of the FTSE 250 energy company in recent years. British Gas has lost about 3 million household energy customers in the last decade following an influx of successful new energy startups. Centrica crashed out of the FTSE 100 after losing more than 70% of its market value in the last five years.

[bookbroker] 10/5/2021 08:24

Upgrades, I think not, but more news on corporate re-structuring maybe at the AGM, I want to hear about intentions for Spirit, it is possible they have already received unsolicited offers.

[cleverinvester] 10/5/2021 08:19

Come on Aspers I know your out there and you want to say told you so...

[wendsworth] 10/5/2021 08:19

Looking good for the future. Upgrades expected.

[bookbroker] 10/5/2021 08:17

I think O’Shea is downplaying the facts, we have just had a near four month lockdown, and it has been tough with the disputes, etc over contracts. However this is work in progress, the company is far stronger with an improved balance sheet, smaller but financially stronger. Could it even be a takeover target at this point!

[cleverinvester] 10/5/2021 08:12

Great update onwards and upwards. I was hoping for the Divi re-instated ah well.

[temujiin] 10/5/2021 07:52

Net debt down loads is good Netcurtains, but sadly that is just down to the selling of Direct Energy.

[netcurtains] 10/5/2021 07:43

Temujiin: You could be right or could be net debt down loads.
I'll let the market decide.

[bookbroker] 10/5/2021 07:40

That is mainly because of the most recent lockdown. Hopefully the road ahead is clearer, unless this is a reflection of the real picture in the economy. All looks good seeing folk sitting outside on pavements, but that simply because no one indoors, once the doors open we’ll see who is havin fun.

[farrugia] 10/5/2021 07:37

debt is now manageable that's what counts.

[angeswar530] 10/5/2021 07:31

That doesn’t instil any confidence. I guess any recovery is going to take longer…..

[bookbroker] 10/5/2021 07:30

I think the statement simply emphasises caution, analysts likely more offered more access to detailed information. Clearly the last lockdown has slowed the process of recovery in earnings, but rising energy prices should help this company once business returns to some semblance of normality.

[waldron] 10/5/2021 07:23

10 May 2021

Centrica plc

AGM Trading Update

In advance of Centrica's Annual General Meeting at 11am BST today, the Company is providing an update on its performance and progress.

Chris O'Shea, Group Chief Executive:

"As expected, trading conditions have remained tough in the year to date. However, the modernisation of our Group remains on track and the difficult, but necessary process to move colleagues onto new terms and conditions is now complete. We are pleased that 98% of UK colleagues have accepted the new contracts which will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers. Although the external environment remains uncertain, our tight focus on cash and on fixing the basics across the Group leaves us well placed as we continue the turnaround of our company."

The factors impacting our 2021 outlook remain broadly unchanged since the time of the Preliminary Results in February. Some updates on performance and progress are provided below:

-- Our significant Group restructure is on track and we continue to expect year-on-year operating cost savings of more than GBP100m in 2021.

-- As expected, Covid-19 continues to impact the Company. In Q1 2021, electricity demand from our UK business customers was negatively impacted by around 15%, residential boiler installations were down 11% compared to Q1 2020, and non-essential service visits were postponed in order to protect colleagues and customers from the risks of catching and spreading Covid-19.

-- Bord Gáis Energy's Whitegate power station is now expected to return to service around the end of this year.

-- Group net debt including margin cash at the end of Q1 2021 was GBP0.5bn, down from GBP3.0bn at the start of the year, including the impact of net proceeds from the sale of Direct Energy.

Given the ongoing uncertain outlook, we are still not providing any specific Group earnings or cash flow guidance for 2021. The Company is due to release its 2021 Interim Results on 22 July 2021.

ENDS

[waldron] 10/5/2021 07:19

European markets head for positive open, following global trend higher

Published Mon, May 10 20211:02 AM EDT

Holly Ellyatt
@HollyEllyatt

Key Points

European stocks are expected to open higher on Monday, following positive momentum in other global markets.

London’s FTSE is seen opening 27 points higher at 7,154, Germany’s DAX 56 points higher at 15,438, France’s CAC 40 up 27 points at 6,389 and Italy’s FTSE MIB 100 points higher at 24,483, according to IG.