Centrica’s profits triple to £3.3 Billion


And they have around 10m customers so around £7 per customer not a lot of profit margin at all
For perspective, only 72m of those profits came from their British Gas energy supply business - about 2.2% of the overall profit.

Should still be made to pay their due in taxes though.
 
For perspective, only 72m of those profits came from their British Gas energy supply business - about 2.2% of the overall profit.

Should still be made to pay their due in taxes though.
A bit more perspective surely as how much was this?

In fact, it said British Gas's profits had decreased by 39% compared with 2021's levels, largely because of "voluntary donations" to support customers and the repayment of furlough funds from the pandemic.

 
Just read Nestle are increasing prices because the £8.3bn they made last year was less than the £10.4bn they were expecting.


At what point is the line drawn? Why is £8.3bn of profit not enough?

Consumers have a finite amount of money, if the price of items go up we buy less. We buy less and they lose more.
 
Just read Nestle are increasing prices because the £8.3bn they made last year was less than the £10.4bn they were expecting.


At what point is the line drawn? Why is £8.3bn of profit not enough?

Consumers have a finite amount of money, if the price of items go up we buy less. We buy less and they lose more.
Shareholders. If they make less £ than they did a year ago they’re more likely to sell their shares. Shares then become cheaper so the value of the companies go down.
Honestly, the idea of shareholders completely boils my piss, it really does.
 
Creative accounting imho, based on nowt other than i'm a cynical bstard
Possibly but having worked in the industry and the supply business it makes very little profit per customer. It’s all ok transmission and supplying to the meter where the profit is and that’s not the supply companies that make the money
 
Just read Nestle are increasing prices because the £8.3bn they made last year was less than the £10.4bn they were expecting.


At what point is the line drawn? Why is £8.3bn of profit not enough?

Consumers have a finite amount of money, if the price of items go up we buy less. We buy less and they lose more.

I imagine it is because the absolute profit figure is not particularly relevant. Whether £8.3Bn is good or bad depends on the capitalisation. A tiny, one-man-band company making £8.4Bn profit would be a miracle. For (e.g.) Amazon or Apple, it would be an absolute disaster. Nestle's current price-to-earnings ratio is 18.58 (source Yahoo Finance), which is equivalent to about a 5.4% return. Not bad, but not especially good either. You can get 4.2% risk-free on a one-year fix at the minute.
Shareholders. If they make less £ than they did a year ago they’re more likely to sell their shares. Shares then become cheaper so the value of the companies go down.
Honestly, the idea of shareholders completely boils my piss, it really does.

Nearly all the progress you have seen in your life occurred because some shareholders risked their money on an idea.
 
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Nearly all the progress you have seen in your life occurred because some shareholders risked their money on an idea.
When a company lays off thousands, hikes prices or makes their products more shit because they ‘only’ made £xxxx billion last year it doesn’t feel very progressive eh?
We probably have a different interpretation of what progress means but I get your point.
 
Shareholders. If they make less £ than they did a year ago they’re more likely to sell their shares. Shares then become cheaper so the value of the companies go down.
Honestly, the idea of shareholders completely boils my piss, it really does.

If you didn't have shareholders then businesses would just be owned privately and not subject to the same regulatory standards that publicly traded companies are. You'd then have a smaller number of people getting even richer than what we have now.

Anyone, if you have a private pension or other investment account then you are a shareholder. Many businesses also gives shares to staff as part of their employment package
 
When a company lays off thousands, hikes prices or makes their products more shit because they ‘only’ made £xxxx billion last year it doesn’t feel very progressive eh?
We probably have a different interpretation of what progress means but I get your point.

The money to invest in plant, R&D and staff, etc has to come from somewhere. It is either equity (shareholders) or debt. There isn't really anywhere else. The days when sole traders and partnerships could run large scale operations are pretty much gone.

Shareholder are generally a damn sight more tolerant of low returns than creditors. If you think shareholders are bad when their profit expectations aren't met, have a look at what creditors do if their interest expectations are not met. They'll close the company down, lay off all the staff, and have a fire sale of assets, if they aren't paid.
 
Is there any other explanation for this situation other than sheer greed? It feels like it’s a cartel situation tbh.


Where was the bulk of the profit made marra?

Imagine selling something for way way more than you produce it for, just because someone (whoever it is) decides that’s the price it is.

Remember it’s a world wide market.
 
Just read Nestle are increasing prices because the £8.3bn they made last year was less than the £10.4bn they were expecting.


At what point is the line drawn? Why is £8.3bn of profit not enough?

Consumers have a finite amount of money, if the price of items go up we buy less. We buy less and they lose more.
One solution is not to buy Nestle, we can't do anything about British Gas now but when switching suppliers reopens moving is an option, something has to be done the government won't do it maybe the buying public could.
 
If you didn't have shareholders then businesses would just be owned privately and not subject to the same regulatory standards that publicly traded companies are. You'd then have a smaller number of people getting even richer than what we have now.

Anyone, if you have a private pension or other investment account then you are a shareholder. Many businesses also gives shares to staff as part of their employment package

You could have it nationalised. You missed that out.
 
Nationalise every business with shareholders?

Thought you were talking about centrica - British Gas.

Utilities is always an option and we wouldn’t be in this shit show if we did.

I’m not talking about reducing costs I’m talking about reinvestment.
 

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