British Gas owner Centrica’s shares fell on Thursday after half-year core profit dropped 18%, hit by asset disposals, outages and 1,300 planned job cuts.
Centrica published interim results for the six months to 30 June on Thursday morning, reporting adjusted EBITDA of £737m, down from £900m a year earlier. Shares are trading at 173.65p, down 3.4% on the session, having fallen as low as 171.62p. The stock has traded between roughly 152p and 220p over the past year.
Disposals and outages weigh on profit
Statutory pre-tax profit swung to £672m from a £43m loss a year earlier, while adjusted basic earnings per share came in at 6.8p, ahead of the roughly 6.5p analysts had expected but down from 7.0p a year ago, according to Alliance News. Revenue fell 12% to £10.53bn. Infrastructure earnings dropped 30% to £355m, mainly reflecting the ongoing sale of Spirit Energy assets, production outages and lower realised nuclear prices, while British Gas EBITDA rose 2% to £346m on better commercial performance. Centrica said it would cut around 1,300 jobs over two years, 800 more than first flagged, as it accelerates a £600m transformation programme investing in AI and digital services.
WELCOME BONUS - Free Share Bundle When You Invest £50!
Get up to £500 cashback for investing with IG.
Free cash flow swung to an outflow of £570m from a prior inflow, reflecting £698m of capital spending including April’s £370m purchase of the Severn gas-fired power station. Net cash fell to £709m from £1.5bn at the end of last year. The board raised the interim dividend by 9.3% to 2.0p per share, payable 22 September 2026, according to the company’s announcement.
Thursday’s decline continues a period in which Centrica’s earnings have repeatedly been dented by the multi-year run-down of its Spirit Energy upstream assets, a process that has weighed on comparable profit measures across recent reporting periods. Chief executive Chris O’Shea said: “Volatility across energy markets has created challenges in some parts of our business, and some of our delivery has been slower than we would like.” He added that the group continues to invest to strengthen its portfolio “and support long-term growth.”
Centrica also flagged a more cautious outlook for its energy trading arm, guiding 2027 EBITDA at Centrica Energy to around £200m-£250m, below the roughly £298m consensus cited by RBC Capital Markets. Jefferies said first-half EBITDA came in 4% below its forecast, noting the retail business outperformed but optimisation fell short. For 2026, Centrica now expects Infrastructure EBITDA of £650m-£750m, up from previous guidance, while retail is expected towards the lower end of its £500m-£800m range.
The company reiterated its target of £2bn adjusted EBITDA and doubling 2025 earnings per share by 2030. With the Energy division’s 2027 trajectory now in question and job cuts underway, markets will watch whether cost savings and infrastructure investment can offset the drag from further Spirit Energy disposals before the next trading update.