British Gas Profits jump by 31%

Profits at British Gas have risen by 31% to £574m for the 12 months to 31 December as gas consumption increased. 

The rise in operating profits compared with £439m for the previous year.

British Gas said gas usage rose by 5% despite the warmest December on record, as 2015 had more normal temperatures compared with a very mild 2014.

However, profits at its parent company, Centrica, fell by 12% to £1.46bn as wholesale gas prices fell sharply.

Energy suppliers have been under pressure to pass on savings to customers after significant falls in wholesale gas prices in the past year.

Centrica's chief executive, Iain Conn, stressed that the rise in profits at British Gas was not because of the fall in commodity prices and that the drop in wholesale costs had been passed on to customers.

"The reason the profits went up in 2015 versus 2014 actually is very simple - it's about the weather and about consumption," he told the BBC. 

"We saw a very mild 2014 and we saw a more normal 2015 and therefore the amount of energy that our customers used went up and therefore the actual total profit went up."

He added that the wholesale costs were only part of the cost of a bill.