Bord Gáis and British Gas owner Centrica's profits tripled to a record £3.3 billion last year on soaring energy prices and production, paving the way for a £300m share buy-back.
The company's shares to their highest level in almost four years today after the results.
The bumper results come as millions of households are struggling to pay energy bills.
The company has come under scrutiny after The Times newspaper reported that debt agents working for Centrica's British Gas business had forcibly installed prepayment meters in some vulnerable customers' homes.
The results also come after British energy groups BP and Shell reported record profits for 2022 of $28 billion and $40 billion respectively.
Centrica chief executive Chris O'Shea said on a call with reporters today the revelations made by the newspaper were deeply concerning and that it has halted forced prepay metre instalments and is carrying out an investigation.
Chris O'Shea said cost-of-living pressures had created a challenging environment for customers and defended the company's record profits, saying it spent £75m on support schemes for retail and business customers last year.
"It's important companies that contribute to our country are sustainable - you have to make a profit," he said.
The British government is currently subsidising gas and electricity costs for most households but even with this support costs are still around three times higher than before the pandemic and before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
O'Shea said profits at the British Gas fell, with British Gas Energy adjusted operating profit down 39% at £72m.
Operating profit at Bord Gáis Energy rose 11% to £31m, on the back of a 59% increase in revenue to £1.771 billion driven largely by the impact of higher wholesale commodity prices.
But some of the increased profit was accounted for by the Whitegate power plant, which was down for most of 2021, being back online again last year.
Centrica's earnings were boosted by soaring profit in its upstream oil and gas division, with wholesale gas prices hitting record highs last year as Russian gas supplies to Europe shrank following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The company also owns a 20% stake in Britain's nuclear power stations, which increased generation last year and benefited from higher electricity prices.
Centrica restored its dividend at its interim results last year for the first time since 2019. Today it proposed a final dividend of 2 pence, taking the full-year dividend to 3 pence.
The extension of the company's share buy-back programme, on top of the £250m buybacks already announced, would result in it buying back 10% of its capital, the group said.
Centrica last year partially reopened its Rough gas storage site which had closed in 2017 to help ensure gas supplies over the winter.
O'Shea said he expected the facility to be available at the same 30 billion cubic metre capacity for the winter of 23/24.
Centrica's total adjusted operating profit for 2022 rose to £3.3 billion from £948m the previous year.
Shares in the company were up more than 5% today, their highest level since May 2019.
Meanwhile, Bord Gáis Energy said today it had absorbed over €60m in losses in its residential supply business, which helped to shield customers from some of the worst increases in energy prices and helped the most vulnerable at a very challenging time.
Profits made in other parts of the business were re-invested in customer service and support, and will contribute to energy security, the company said.
Dave Kirwan, Managing Director of Bord Gáis Energy, said the company recognises the current difficulties facing consumers in relation to energy costs.
"Our focus is on protecting our customers as much as we can right now, while also using our financial strength to make investments that will protect them in the future," he added.
"We're committed to supporting our customers, particularly those who are most vulnerable through our Energy Support Fund, which amounts to €3.6m based on today's results."
Bord Gáis Energy last year pledged 10% of operating profit to its Energy Support Fund to help those most vulnerable.
This equates to €3.6m which is being administered with the help of Focus Ireland, St Vincent de Paul, MABS and ALONE.
It said that a dedicated Bord Gáis Energy support team has been working with the most vulnerable customers and over 18,000 payment plans were set up during the year.
Bord Gáis Energy also said it is investing in the country's energy security and recently announced an investment of €250m in two peaker plants in Athlone and Dublin.
This will help make Ireland’s energy supply more stable and secure, while also supporting the growth of renewables.
When complete, the new plants combined will provide 200MW of flexible gas fired power generation - enough power to keep 100,000 homes fully powered all year round.
