ROBUST FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
- Adjusted earnings up 2% to £767 million; 14.8 pence adjusted basic earnings per share
- Total adjusted tax charge rises 21% to £690 million; effective tax rate of 47%, up from 43%
- British Gas Residential operating profit marginally higher than in 2012, with significantly higher environmental and commodity costs offsetting the impact of increased consumption due to prolonged cold weather
- Full year British Gas Residential operating profit expected to be broadly in line with 2012
- Challenging market conditions in UK business energy; implementing new systems to help improve service and reduce costs
- Direct Energy benefiting from enhanced scale downstream, offsetting pressure on margins from rising commodity prices
- Higher international upstream gas and oil production and profitability; continued good nuclear performance; UK gas-fired generation loss making in weak market conditions
INVESTING FOR GROWTH, ENERGY SECURITY AND JOBS
- Acquisition of Energy Marketing business of Hess Corporation makes Direct Energy the largest B2B gas supplier in the Eastern US
- Agreement with Cheniere to export LNG from the US; 20 year £10 billion contract, taking our total supply commitment to around £60 billion
- Announced £650 million Canadian gas asset acquisition, in partnership with Qatar Petroleum International
- Acquired 25% stake in Bowland shale exploration licence, a potentially important source of gas for the UK
- Organic investment of over £700 million in the first six months of 2013
- First gas from York development in Southern North Sea and Rhyl project in East Irish Sea
- 1,000 apprentices currently in training with British Gas; 200 new apprenticeships announced in June
DELIVERING FOR OUR CUSTOMERS
- 56,000 British Gas residential energy accounts added, reflecting competitive pricing and innovative products
- ˜Tariff Check launched, proactively helping British Gas customers to choose the best deal for them
- Over 500,000 vulnerable and elderly customers received £130 Warm Home Discount last winter
- Over 1 million smart meters installed in UK homes and businesses
- Launching ˜Free Electricity Saturdays' in Texas; Bounce Energy acquisition enhances online capabilities
DELIVERING FOR OUR SHAREHOLDERS
- All cash interim dividend up 6% to 4.92 pence per share, representing 30% of the prior year’s dividend, in line with established practice
- Over £240 million of shares bought back to date under £500 million share repurchase programme
