Bord Gáis owner resumes dividend payouts boosted by surge in energy prices

Shell also made record profits of nearly £10bn between April and June and promised to give shareholders payouts worth £6.5bn

The Bord Gáis Whitegate power plant, Cork. British parent group Centrica supplies 513,000 customers in the Republic.  

Britain’s energy giant Centrica — owner of Bord Gáis and operator of the Whitegate power station in Cork that sells gas and electricity to 513,000 customers in the Republic — has restored its dividend payout to shareholders on the back of a huge increase in first-half profit helped by soaring energy prices.

Centrica, which also owns British Gas and is a major supplier of energy in Britain, said its adjusted operating profits for the first six months climbed to £1.34bn (€1.6bn) from £262m a year earlier. Restoring the dividend which will be worth about £58m to shareholders also comes after the energy firm sold off a number of businesses.