British Gas-owner Centrica adds £300m to share buyback plan

FTSE 100 giant Centrica has added another £300m to its existing share buyback plan, meaning it will have snapped up some £1.5bn in shares over the last two years.

In a trading update today, the owner of British Gas said that it expected its 2024 full-year earnings and net cash to be broadly in line with the market’s expectations for the year.

Analysts currently expect the firm’s adjusted earnings per share to reach 18.5p in 2024, with a mean net cash forecast of £2.6bn.

“The usual uncertainties remain for the balance of the year, including weather, commodity prices and asset performance,” the company added.

Centrica’s share buyback programme, which began in November 2022, means the company will have purchased around 20 per cent of the company’s stock once completed by September 2025.

Last week, Centrica said it would be increasing the lifespan of four of its nuclear power reactors until March 2027, one year later than previously expected.

Nuclear generation in the UK has been slowly ramping up throughout 2024, with a two per cent increase since the start of the year, according to analysts at Jefferies.

Meanwhile, UK household gas consumption was six per cent above the three-year average between September and November, while power and gas prices are up 20-30 per cent.

The nuclear news helped push Centrica’s share price up 12.7 per cent in the last month. The company is still down seven per cent since the start of the year.

Looking ahead, Centrica said it expected its retail energy business to “be in the medium-term sustainable adjusted operating profit ranges”.

“British Gas Services & Solutions is expected to deliver a further improved financial result compared with 2024, as it continues its recovery towards its medium-term sustainable adjusted operating profit range by 2026,” it added.