Chris O’Shea, group chief executive
“Nothing is more important than delivering for our customers – its why we are here. Today's results allow us to increase our customer support package to more than £100m, and the new green investment strategy we've announced will see us invest several billion pounds in the energy transition, creating thousands of new well-paid jobs. Our robust balance sheet has allowed us to invest heavily in the UK and Ireland's energy security and will make sure that our customers have cleaner energy at the right price.
Centrica is now a more focused and higher quality business. Our integrated portfolio of businesses and the relentless focus from our 20,000 amazing colleagues has enabled us to deliver another strong financial performance, which includes significant one-off recovery of past costs through the UK price cap mechanism.
I'm proud of the incredible work our colleagues do every day to help customers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. We are doing more than any other UK energy company – and we will continue to be there when our customers need us.”
Strong performance from our balanced portfolio
- Adjusted operating profit (AOP) of £2.1bn (2022: £1.3bn). Adjusted basic EPS of 25.8p (2022: 11.0p).
- Statutory operating profit of £6.5bn (2022: £1.1bn loss). Statutory basic EPS of 73.0p (2022: 14.7p loss).
- £4.7bn non-cash pre-tax gain on certain re-measurements (2022: £2.5bn loss), largely reflecting the unwind of unrealised losses from UK energy supply hedging positions at the end of 2022.
- Group free cash flow of £1.4bn (2022: £0.6bn), in line with the increase in AOP.
- Statutory net cash flow from operating activities of £2.5bn (2022: £0.2bn) includes £1.1bn of margin cash and collateral inflow (2022: £0.5bn outflow).
- Closing adjusted net cash of £3.1bn compared to £1.2bn at the end of 2022.
- Interim dividend up 33% to 1.33p per share.
- Share buyback programme extended by £450m.
- 2023 full year adjusted earnings and free cash flow expected to be heavily weighted towards H1.
A refreshed strategy focused on creating value through the energy transition
- A balanced portfolio with leading market positions, where each business complements, de-risks and adds value to other parts of the portfolio.
- Delivering ~£800m of sustainable AOP from our Retail and Optimisation businesses, with additional material cash flows from existing Infrastructure assets over the medium term.
- Strong liquidity and a robust balance sheet, with net debt/EBITDA of <1x over the medium term.
- A green-focused investment strategy with annualised investment building to £600m-£800m until 2028, delivering average portfolio post-tax unlevered returns of 7-10%+, with further Group portfolio benefit. Expect to maintain Return on Average Capital Employed of at least 20% through the investment horizon.
- Progressive dividend policy trending to 2x earnings cover over time.
Continuing to deliver for our customers, colleagues and communities
- Investing in strengthening the UK's energy security of supply, with asset life extensions for nuclear plants and the Morecambe Bay gas field, doubling gas storage capacity at Rough, opening the Codford solar farm and exploring hydrogen partnerships.
- Helping customers manage their energy bills by supporting them on over one million occasions and committing to £100m in additional customer support since the start of the energy crisis.
- Progressing our ambition to recruit 500 veterans, reservists, spouses and partners by the end of 2023.
- ~£650m of corporation tax and Upstream levies paid or payable in H1 2023.
- Download the announcement in full(PDF – 686kb)
Financial summary
Six months ended 30 June |
2023 |
2022 |
---|---|---|
Total Group |
||
Adjusted EBITDA |
£2,304m |
£1,660m |
Adjusted operating profit |
£2,083m |
£1,342m |
Adjusted tax charge |
(£586m) |
(£581m) |
Adjusted effective tax rate |
28% |
46% |
Adjusted earnings attributable to shareholders |
£1,466m |
£643m |
Adjusted basic earnings per share (EPS) |
25.8p |
11.0p |
Interim dividend per share (DPS) |
1.33p |
1.0p |
Group total free cash flow |
£1,377m |
£643m |
Group adjusted net cash |
£3,061m |
£316m |
Statutory operating profit / (loss) |
£6,462m |
(£1,099m) |
Statutory earnings / (loss) attributable to shareholders |
£4,150m |
(£864m) |
Statutory basic earnings / (loss) per share |
73.0p |
(14.7p) |
Statutory net cash flow from operating activities |
£2,485m |
£165m |
See notes 3, 4 and 9 to the Financial Statements and pages 71 to 75 for an explanation of the use of adjusted performance measures. |
Group performance indicators
|
2022 |
2021 |
Change |
---|---|---|---|
Total recordable injury frequency rate (per 200,000 hours worked) |
1.10 |
1.12 |
(2%) |
Total customers (‘000) (i) |
10,234 |
10,259 |
(0%) |
Group direct headcount (ii) |
20,590 |
20,567 |
0% |
Group colleague engagement (%) |
76% |
73% |
3ppt |
(i) Includes British Gas Energy, British Gas Services & Solutions and Bord Gáis Energy households and small and medium business customer sites in British Gas Energy and Centrica Business Solutions. |
NOTES
Investor presentation
Centrica will hold its 2023 Interim Results presentation for analysts and institutional investors at 10.30am (UK) on Thursday 27 July 2023. There will be a live audio webcast of the presentation and slides. Please register to view the webcast at:
News
Centrica announces extension to the lives of four nuclear power stations
Net Zero
News
Rough responds to manage demand from early winter
Net Zero
News
Centrica expands green power portfolio with purchase of Belgian Batteries
Tech & Innovation
News
Decisive Action Needed To Tackle Fuel Poverty, Says Independent Charitable Trust
Customers and Communities
News
Large scale hydrogen storage sites could reduce customer energy costs by £1bn per year
Sustainability
News
Centrica, Bosch and Ceres launch whitepaper around the role of hydrogen in decarbonising the UK
Sustainability