Britain's biggest energy supplier, Centrica, has said its 2005 profits rose 11% after a year in which wholesale gas prices surged to record levels.
The firm, which has seen its shares rise sharply in recent months on speculation it could be a takeover target for Russian energy giant Gazprom, said operating profit hit a record £1.5 billion. The company said 2006 would be difficult but it remained upbeat.
'Market conditions are volatile but our priorities remain unchanged. Centrica may face further turbulence in the commodity markets, but the results of 2005 clearly show a strong underlying business,' Centrica chief executive Roy Gardner said in a statement. Turnover grew 18% in 2005 to £13.4 billion.
The company said it had 11 million residential gas customers and 5.9 million electricity users at the year-end. It said it had a 54% share of the UK residential gas market, down from 57% in 2004, and a 23% share of the electricity market, unchanged on the year.
Centrica, which has a 36% share of the UK's residential energy market with its British Gas brand, hit the headlines last week after it said it was hiking domestic bills by more than a fifth from March 1. British wholesale gas and electricity prices hit record highs late last year, boosted by strong oil prices and worries about declining North Sea gas production.
