Centrica Share Discussion Threads

[supercity] 23/11/2017 21:12

Account losses will no doubt increase as customers start getting their 3 month bills after the September price rises and realize how much they have gone up - it literally takes 5 minutes to compare online...I did it and switched from them saving around 25% compared to their higher new prices in a 2 year fixed deal

[supermarky] 23/11/2017 21:11

It will last to infinity and beyond. Especially after 2 bottles of wine. Money isn't everything. Love is all you need!

[gregpeck7] 23/11/2017 21:01

Can't see it staying sub 140 tomorrow.

[minerve] 23/11/2017 20:47

Yes, I bought some today. On a forward yield of 8.66%. I wonder how long that will last?

[karateboy] 23/11/2017 20:30

Dividend yield is about 9% now. I believe it is the time to buy some for dividend and recovery.

[minerve] 23/11/2017 20:12

Personally I think all this doom and gloom is overdone. Centrica aren't going anywhere; I mean that in a good sense. I am probably one of the few that believe in the business plan and want Conn to continue with its implementation.

[pjw956] 23/11/2017 19:52

I think you will find that the management are responsible ....

they set retail price for their product - they can choose whether to compete in the market or not ...they are responsible for managing all businesses - uk and usa and to have lost the plot in the usa like this is unforgivable...

not holding at present - but was tempted a couple of days ago - glad I waited - what a shambles

[mitchy] 23/11/2017 19:41

Wasn't expecting that. Especially after Conn bought £170k a couple of weeks ago knowing the state of the company!I think cna is well and truly done. Can't see it recovering . Unless we get a hostile bid but who would want it ?The government are responsible for destroying this company.

[stewart64] 23/11/2017 18:48

Capeview....we are supposed to be entering La Nina (cold ocean). November has been slightly below average and the next ten days look set to be about 4c mean ( more typical of January).

[capeview] 23/11/2017 18:13

Careful, was thinking the same thing, but if anything learned from before, could be just to see if it picks up at all over the coming Winter months seeing as temps are set to drop, unless of course it's all priced in already, then we're screwed.

Not going to panic sell just yet, but give it a little bit of time, but if it gets worse, then who knows. It's still a profitable company, they just need to get there act together.

[careful] 23/11/2017 18:00

It often comes down to incompetent management.
Conn and his old Etonian predecessor, Laidlaw, are oil men.
Decent CV's, but they seem out of their depth.
I wonder if they have the right skills and background for Centrica.

A terrible day. Lost a shedload here today.
A difficult decision whether cut and run and take the hit after this collapse.
Feeling gloomy. These old economy utilities employ far too many people and have too many fixed overheads.
It would not take much to turn into a loss making situation here.

On the positive side they are still profitable and there is a possibility that this gloomy result may help educate the regulator.
The unworldly vicars daughter (Theresa) made a populist speech recently about rip off energy prices.
Clueless.

[eodfire] 23/11/2017 17:45

Good to see we have some comedians in here this evening "Another Carillion in the making." If people are going to deramp, at least be a little more subtle.

[dr biotech] 23/11/2017 17:25

More from bloomberg


Centrica ‘Blindsided217; by North America as Shares Plunge
By Rachel Morison
23 November 2017, 14:15 GMT
North America Business unit expected to drop 64% y/y
Performance indicators for U.S. unit weren’t fully visible


A surprise slump in Centrica Plc’s North America business helped send the utility’s shares down the most in 20 years.

Adjusted operating profit for the unit is this year expected to plunge 64 percent from a year earlier, the Windsor, England-based company said Thursday in a trading statement. In Centrica’s results statement less than four months ago, it still said its North America Business “continues to build on its position.”

“Management seem to be completely blindsided by the development in North America retail,” said Deepa Venkateswaran, a European utilities analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in London. “We believe that management credibility with investors is now at an all-time-low.”


Centrica bought Direct Energy in 2000 and it now has 5 million customers, making it the third-largest commercial and industrial retailer in North America. It is the largest household energy retailer in the region, providing residential natural gas and power in 13 U.S. states, as well as Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

The lowered U.S. outlook comes as a result of “highly competitive” market conditions and low price volatility putting downward pressure on power margins, as well as low volatility reducing opportunities for gas optimization, Centrica said. Separately, the company’s U.K. energy business lost more than 800,000 customers since the end of June.

“I am in particular disappointed in our North America Business,” Chief Executive Officer Iain Conn said on a call with analysts. Performance indicators weren’t fully visible in July during the company’s market communication when Centrica was “feeling competitive pressure but had not seen some of the North America headwinds,” he said.

The adjusted profit outlook for the North America Business unit was revised down to 80 million pounds ($106 million) for this year. The unit is taking a one off non-cash post-tax charge of 46 million pounds related to billing, Centrica said.

The company is forecasting earnings per share of 12.5 pence, down 26 percent from last year, according to Thursday’s trading statement. The average estimate by 20 analysts polled by Bloomberg is 15.5 pence. Centrica fell as much as 18 percent to 133.7 pence in London, the lowest since March 2003, before trading at 139.3 pence. It is down 41 percent this year.



When asked if Centrica would consider selling the North America unit to give some stability to its balance sheet, Conn said it was “core” to the company. However, there are questions about the suite of products the company is offering to customers in the U.S., he said.

“I don’t think that the outcome of North America Business today reflects the future of that business,” he said.

— With assistance by Mathew Carr

[sux_2bu] 23/11/2017 17:23

Another Carillion in the making.

[gaffer73] 23/11/2017 17:07

Car crash!

[svenice7] 23/11/2017 17:04

Bought in at 136p, hopefully they will keep the 10% divi long term..

[hamhamham1] 23/11/2017 16:58

Thats a well written article on Bloomberg.

[mj19] 23/11/2017 16:47

nvestors have been wary of feeling any optimism around Britain's biggest gas supplier. On Thursday, Centrica Plc justified their caution, inflicting a severe profit warning that took the shares down 16 percent. That adds to a 60 percent drop since 2013. Centrica and its CEO Iain Conn have some difficult questions to answer.The shares have been hammered in recent years as government intervention in its home market has become increasingly likely. The latest warning relates mainly to North America. Centrica's operation serving business customers there experienced a sudden and dramatic increase in competition in recent months. To cap it all, the company has discovered billing errors dating back four years.In the U.K., Centrica has suffered a sharp drop in retail customers, losing more than 800,000 accounts. True, many of these were on Centrica's least profitable tariffs -- but not all were.Taking all the bad news together, and adding the risk of tougher regulation at home, Centrica says it's possible that earnings don't fully cover its dividend at some point.Things shouldn't have been allowed to deteriorate so quickly. Centrica was aware of the squeeze from rivals in the middle of the year but clearly failed to grasp its severity and didn't respond fast enough. Its financial reporting seems poor too. A week after British industrial group GKN Plc revealed accounting charges in the U.S., here's another U.K. company with a loose grip on activities on the other side of the Atlantic.Conn says some domestic rivals are offering loss-making packages that make sense only if the customers get flipped onto higher tariffs later -- a game he's rightly staying out of. Still, Centrica's scale should give it home advantage. It needs to do better at making this work for customers and, in turn, investors.There was a strategic review after he joined in 2015. He wants to build a Centrica whose stability comes from global diversification. He insists the North American business is "core", and Centrica has useful expertise to bring to that market. Yet these capabilities just aren't delivering.The recent missteps mean he should consider seriously whether this business might be worth more to someone else, who could pay Centrica a price that exceeds the value he can achieve from running it.The prospect of a strain on the dividend is already raising Centrica's borrowing costs. Conn indicates that any departure from the current dividend cover would be temporary. The snag is that this is a company that lacks visibility over the next three months. Investors won't feel confident about reassurances extending further out.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.To contact the author of this story:Chris Hughes in London at [e-mail]

[minerve] 23/11/2017 16:34

Well, I was considering a very nice chainsaw. I then have to decide whether I will continue to use it as planned - for managing some woodland - or use it for something else! 🤡





Just kidding! 😉

[wipo1] 23/11/2017 16:28

Cheer up Minerve, spend your cash while you're here.

[hamhamham1] 23/11/2017 16:25

Same profit as 2016 in that division I mean. Other divisions may vary ;)

[hamhamham1] 23/11/2017 16:06

If you can shed well over a million accounts in 2017 and still make the same profit as 2016 then freakin A :) I just feel for all the poor 1500 staff got rid of

[hamhamham1] 23/11/2017 15:59

Noticenthat in the consumer supply aspect onbtodaya update that there is no reference to profit or loss made. It just says this which I think is good...." In UK Home, despite the impact of account losses and warmer than normal weather in the year to date, cost efficiency delivery means 2017 full year adjusted operating profit is expected to be broadly in line with 2016."