Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2022

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Chris O'Shea, Group Chief Executive 

“Our performance in 2022 demonstrates the benefits of our balanced portfolio and our strong balance sheet. The energy crisis and cost of living pressures have created a challenging environment for customers and communities, but we have been able to provide much needed stability and support. We invested £75m in supporting our energy customers in 2022, which was greater than the £8 post-tax profit per customer earned by British Gas Energy. Whilst customers may see some relief given recent easing of prices, it remains clear that some will continue to need help and we will do what we can to support them in the year ahead."

Helping customers and communities through the energy crisis

• Invested over £200m in customer service, support and pricing across the Company.
• Supported and helped 650,000 customers manage their energy bills since the start of the energy crisis.
• Paid ~£1bn in tax relating to 2022 profits.
• Materially helped UK energy security of supply with the reopening of Rough, and a new gas supply agreement with Equinor sufficient to heat 4.5m homes.

Strong operational and financial performance from a balanced portfolio

• Adjusted basic EPS of 34.9p (2021: 4.1p); 34.2p excluding Spirit Energy disposed assets.
• Strong gas production and electricity generation against a backdrop of higher commodity prices.
• Strong management of increased commodity volatility in Energy Marketing & Trading (EM&T).
• Lower retail adjusted operating profit including a small loss in British Gas Services & Solutions, reflecting weak commercial performance and investment in customer service, support and pricing.
• Statutory basic EPS loss of 13.3p (2021: profit of 20.7p) including a £2.4bn loss on certain
  re-measurements after taxation, largely reflecting the revaluation of UK energy supply hedging positions due to wholesale gas and power price falls towards the end of 2022.
• Group free cash flow from continuing operations of £2.5bn (2021: £1.2bn), including some big swings in working capital with £1.1bn inflow in British Gas Energy reflecting the short-term acceleration of cash flows from government support schemes and a £1.6bn build in EM&T and Centrica Storage.
• Statutory net cash flow from operating activities of £1.3bn (2021: £1.6bn) includes £1.2bn of margin cash and collateral outflow to support hedging and trading activity.
• Closing adjusted net cash of £1.2bn at the end of 2022 compared to £0.7bn at the end of 2021.

Positioning ourselves for growth through net zero

• Strong capabilities and positions in Retail and EM&T leave us well-placed for growth as core markets transition to net zero.
• Investing in flexible and transition assets for value; £400m of in-flight solar, battery and gas-peaking generation projects and progressing plans to repurpose Rough and Morecambe as net zero assets.
• Intention to provide more detail on longer-term investment plans and expected returns alongside Interim results in July 2023.

Delivering returns for shareholders

• Reinstated progressive dividend policy in July; 2022 full year dividend of 3.0p.
• Intention to extend existing £250m share buyback programme by an additional £300m, which at the current share price would result in Centrica buying back 10% of its issued share capital in total.

Financial summary

Group performance indicators