Why is the CEO of Centrica stepping down?

[Lillian McKenna]

[Simon Mugo]

The CEO of Centrica plc (LON:CNA) Iain Conn has announced that he will be stepping down from his position by early next year and will also give up his board seat after the multinational energy company booked a massive pre-tax loss of £446m in the half-year ended June 2019. The British multinational attributed the massive losses to the government cap on energy prices, which affected its consumer division including British Gas, whose profits fell 44% to £240m. Its business division reported an 89% slump in profits to £11m, which was caused by warm weather and nuclear plant outages. Mr Conn told the BBC’s Today programme that the firm was finalising its transformation into a consumer-facing company that provides energy services and solutions, which makes his planned exit a “natural moment” for his successor to take over. The energy company also announced a partnership with Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) to provide a dedicated installation service for home charging units for the carmaker’s electric models over the next five years.