To be completely appalled

[MansfieldLark]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-gas-profits-centrica-energy-bills-b2382758.html

Its disgusting, so many people suffered over the winter for utility companies to make obscene profits.

Those parasites are inclusive of

People paying into pensions
The actual staff of centrica (e.g. call centre staff as well as Mr O'Shea)

You're thinking it's all bigwigs and super rich. It's not.

Yes, I could tell you were here to defend shareholders from the tone of your last post.

I don't own stocks or shares. I would not buy shares in fossil fuels for various moral reasons. And guess what - this isn't about me, but thanks for the attempt to derail.

@Swansandcustard here's a link to the board of directors, which decides how much to pay to shareholders: https://www.centrica.com/who-we-are/leadership/ don't they all look pleased with themselves 🙃

We must surely know by now, that corporations do not give a fig about anything but profit.

Renationalisation is the only way forward.

As if you genuinely believe I want to take money from people who work in call centres 😂

Try again.

Haven't they sold off the National Grid now as well. I believe that Utilities should not be in private hands.
900% profit is just profiteering.

You said you wanted to know who the parasite's were. I just gave you insight.
I never implied you wanted to take money off them.

And yet people keep voting for the political party that sold off public services to their friends and relatives....

It's disgusting, but the public keeps voting for crap like this.

It's not like a company that provides frivolous services! They're the main gas supplier for the entire country! It's an essential service that should have never been privatised in the first place!

This!

Are you actually for real?????!!!!

Oh look, it's Amber Rudd, fresh out of a government post in 2021 and straight onto the board of directors of Centrica (who owns BG) in 2022.

The ruling class are never, ever going to give us what we need. They only know how to exploit us for their own gain.

If we want something better for ourselves, we have to take it.

I lost almost 15kg this winter as I could not afford to feed myself properly while keeping my children warm and fed.

No doubt the British gas shareholders do not give a shit about that tho.

This is the amazing Tory privatisation of services.

This is the idea of it isn't it? To make a profit out of providing essential services such as water and electricity.

Tory voters rarely poke their heads over the parapet here, but this is what they voted for. Are they happy?

I worked for the gas board in the 1980s.
It should never have been privatised.

What really gets me is that the suppliers were arguing "It isn't our fault, we have to buy the energy at wholesale prices, boo hoo". If that were the case then you'd expect to see a higher turnover but higher costs so profits about the same.

But surely the fact that they have increased profits means they have overcharged their customers and the excess profit should be returned directly to customers through crediting their accounts.

It's not just customers being directly affected, the energy costs have destabilised the whole economy and stifled economic growth as people and businesses have had to spend more on energy when they could have been investing in expansion or spending money on other things.

The tone of my post was not meant to imply any opinion either way - I think the question of windfall taxes is hugely interesting and nuanced. It was meant to suggest that informed arguments would serve your cause better but you go ahead with your 'parasites' line if that's where you feel most comfortable.

Yes, the directors of Centrica reintroduced the payment of dividends to shareholders in 2022, AND doubled the amount from 1p per share, to 2p.

Source: Page 69 of Centrica's 2022 Annual Report - there's a link to the document in small text right at the bottom of the homepage of https://www.centrica.com or a direct pdf link here: https://www.centrica.com/media/6151/centrica-annual-report-and-accounts-2022.pdf

I think most shareholders in any ftse100 company are pension companies anyway, so millions of personal small investors, rather than any fat cats as such.

Could you link to a source for that? I'd really like to know more.

I'd quite like the government to slap a windfall tax on them and then use the money for something useful like giving schools more funding.

Way back in the day I worked for British Gas so have some Centrica shares. I did get a small dividend from them this year - about £40! Significantly less than I've paid for my energy this year (to another provider!)

I’m not here to defend British Gas but you’ll see that the recent profits are from the first half of this year - wholesale prices have gone down, the profit margin allowed in the price cap had gone up, and the price cap has retrospective allowances applied in this time period.

Basically my point is that you’re conflating a few different things. It is true that retailers don’t control the wholesale prices and profits tanked in winter 2021. However market conditions have changed massively since the start of the crisis (which was now almost two years ago!) and so retailers are generally making much bigger profits now than they were in 2021 and 2022.

The company is doubling is usual payout to shareholders for 2022.

I don't live in the UK, but where I am the energy is not privatised. I reckon people in the UK should take lessons from the French and do something, anything about the way energy companies are laughing at you all.

Sorry to be so blunt. It is a national disgrace. But I doubt anyone will protest much.

Maybe you'll find your pension fund listed.

Also agree with PPs that this ‘shareholders = bad” is a massive and unhelpful oversimplification. Pension funds are massive shareholders.