Bord Gáis owner Centrica posted record high annual profits amid an ongoing energy crisis

The British energy giant, which also owns Whitegate power station in Cork, posted earnings of €3.7bn for 2022.

Bord Gáis Energy adjusted operating profit increased by 11% to £31m, reflecting good wholesale trading performance and strong availability from the Whitegate.

Centrica, which owns Bord Gáis and the Whitegate power station, posted record high annual profits amid an ongoing energy crisis which have led to soaring consumer bills.

The energy giant, which also owns British Gas in Britain and has over 525,000 Bord Gáis customers in the Republic, said earnings tripled to £3.3bn (€3.7bn), up from £948m in the previous year.

The profits surge has put the spotlight back on to the operations of the energy giants, especially after wholesale energy prices have started to fall from their peaks last summer. 

Wholesale prices had surged to record levels since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago. 

However, Centrica said it made a loss on its Bord Gáis retail business last year, blaming the "higher bad debt and lower customer consumption from warmer weather" and insisted that it was running its Irish business efficiently. 

“Bord Gáis adjusted operating profit increased by 11% to £31m, reflecting good wholesale trading performance and strong availability from the Whitegate, which was offline for most of 2021. This demonstrates the value of an integrated business model in Ireland,” said Centrica chief executive Chris O'Shea.

Bord Gáis controls around 41% of the residential gas market in the Republic.

It said had absorbed €60m in losses in its residential supply business in the Republic and had "shielded customers from some of the worst increases in energy prices".

Earlier this week, Bord Gáis in a statement said it buys wholesale energy from markets 18 months before it is consumed by its customers. It said in the statement it protected its customers from "ongoing extreme price volatility of the energy markets".

"For this reason, the recent downward fluctuation in wholesale energy prices is not reflected in current customer prices,” it said in its statement this week.

Last October, the Bord Gáis increased electricity costs by 34% and gas prices by 39%.

Meanwhile, questioned on Thursday, Mr O'Shea wouldn't comment on whether he will waive a £1.6m. 

Mr O’Shea is due to be paid with bonuses more than £3m this year. 

He had waived a £1.1m bonus last year, saying he could not take it “given the hardships faced by our customers”. 

Mr O’Shea said it was “too early to have a conversation” about his potential bonus payout despite pressure from campaigners to reject it.

Centrica announced it would pay out a total of £750m of its profits to shareholders, including dividends and a share buyback programme. The dividend for the year will be worth more than £200m, while a further £300m will be spent boosting its share price by buying back its own stock. The sum is on top of an already announced £250m share buyback.

The company said its “balanced portfolio” will cushion it against headwinds such as changes to the weather, commodity prices, the economic backdrop and new regulation of government policy.

“This leaves us well placed to profitably manage a range of external environments. We have also developed good growth options and would expect capital expenditure to increase in 2023 compared with 2022,” said the company. 

Shares in Centrica soared almost 6% following its financial results for 2022.

- Additional reporting by The Guardian