The owner of British Gas, Centrica, expects a near eightfold increase in its earnings this year due to its balance sheet being boosted by soaring wholesale gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 group said on Thursday it expected earnings a share to be more than 30p this financial year. That represents an upgrade on City expectations of 23.6p to 26.6p a share, far outstripping the 4p a share generated in 2021, when pre-tax profits hit £761m.