5 stories mentioning CNA.LUpdated 20d ago
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Centrica (CNA.L) unit Centrica Energy signed a long-term natural gas purchase agreement with Peyto Exploration & Development Corp.The British energy and services company said Wednesday that Canada-based Peyto will deliver 50,000 million British thermal units of natural gas per day, or five liquefied natural gas cargoes annually, over the next 10 years from 2029.The gas pricing will be linked to European benchmarks.
British equities concluded the trading week in the red, with London's FTSE 100 down 1.72% on Friday's close, as investors assessed the latest corporate updates and the growing political uncertainty in the UK."Financial markets have responded to renewed UK political turmoil by ramping up bets on Bank of England tightening ... Almost three rate hikes are priced before year-end, almost identical to what's expected from the European Central Bank. We remain unconvinced. We're now forecasting one rate hike from the BoE in June, but only narrowly," ING said. "Though Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting on, investors are increasingly pricing a leadership contest that leaves Labour shifting left, loosening fiscal rules and increasing borrowing."In corporate news, Centrica's (CNA.L) British Gas subsidiary agreed to pay 20 million pounds sterling into a voluntary redress fund to settle a probe by the UK's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, or Ofgem, into legacy prepayment meter practices. British Gas will also write off up to 70 million pounds in energy debt for customers in vulnerable situations as part of the settlement package. Centrica's shares lost 6.40% at closing."It is clear that British Gas fell short in its treatment of an unacceptable number of vulnerable customers who had a PPM installed without consent, and it's right that they've taken action to put things right. Because of our action customers will receive a substantial package of redress, compensation and debt write off," Ofgem Chief Executive Officer Tim Jarvis said.Meanwhile, Hiscox (HSX.L) jumped 12.32% to become the blue-chip index's top performer amid chatter that its Canadian peer Intact Financial Corp. is looking at potentially acquiring the London-listed specialty insurer, according to Insurance Post.The UK economic calendar was empty for the day, but the week ahead will see a barrage of private sector and economy-related data, including the April inflation rate figures, along with the S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI data for May.
(Corrects day in last paragraph)Centrica's (CNA.L) subsidiary British Gas agreed to pay 20 million pounds sterling into the voluntary redress fund of the UK's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, or Ofgem, to settle the regulator's three-year probe into prepayment meter practices.In a Friday release, the UK-based energy and services company said British Gas will provide redress and compensation to affected customers over the 2018 to 2021 period, in addition to the compensation already paid to those impacted in 2022 to 2023.The settlement follows an investigation into British Gas that Ofgem initiated in February 2023 for allegedly breaching license conditions aimed at protecting vulnerable customers. The regulator concluded that the Centrica subsidiary "failed to meet the standards required of an energy supplier when installing prepayment meters.""It is clear that British Gas fell short in its treatment of an unacceptable number of vulnerable customers who had a PPM installed without consent, and it's right that they've taken action to put things right," Ofgem Chief Executive Tim Jarvis said in a same-day release. "The installation of prepayment meters under warrant should only be a last resort, with rigorous checks to ensure debt is recovered lawfully, proportionately and safely."As part of the agreed settlement package, British Gas will also write off up to 70 million pounds in energy debt for customers in vulnerable situations. The remainder of a 22.4 million-pound voluntary support package that British Gas launched in 2023 will also still be provided by the company."When these issues came to light in 2023 - we apologised, stopped the activity immediately and took rapid action to improve our processes and change how we engage with customers in debt, particularly those in vulnerable situations," Centrica Group Chief Executive Officer Chris O'Shea said in a statement. "Over the last three years, we have treated this matter with the seriousness it deserves and have made changes to our practices and put safeguards in place to ensure we deliver the standards our customers have every right to expect."Centrica noted that the settlement is not expected to have an impact on its 2026 financial guidance.As of late Friday morning, Centrica shares were trading 4% lower in London.
Centrica's (CNA.L) subsidiary British Gas agreed to pay 20 million pounds sterling into the voluntary redress fund of the UK's Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, or Ofgem, to settle the regulator's three-year probe into prepayment meter practices.In a Friday release, the UK-based energy and services company said British Gas will provide redress and compensation to affected customers over the 2018 to 2021 period, in addition to the compensation already paid to those impacted in 2022 to 2023.The settlement follows an investigation into British Gas that Ofgem initiated in February 2023 for allegedly breaching license conditions aimed at protecting vulnerable customers. The regulator concluded that the Centrica subsidiary "failed to meet the standards required of an energy supplier when installing prepayment meters.""It is clear that British Gas fell short in its treatment of an unacceptable number of vulnerable customers who had a PPM installed without consent, and it's right that they've taken action to put things right," Ofgem Chief Executive Tim Jarvis said in a same-day release. "The installation of prepayment meters under warrant should only be a last resort, with rigorous checks to ensure debt is recovered lawfully, proportionately and safely."As part of the agreed settlement package, British Gas will also write off of up to 70 million pounds in energy debt for customers in vulnerable situations. The remainder of a 22.4 million-pound voluntary support package that British Gas launched in 2023 will also still be provided by the company."When these issues came to light in 2023 - we apologised, stopped the activity immediately and took rapid action to improve our processes and change how we engage with customers in debt, particularly those in vulnerable situations," Centrica Group Chief Executive Officer Chris O'Shea said in a statement. "Over the last three years, we have treated this matter with the seriousness it deserves and have made changes to our practices and put safeguards in place to ensure we deliver the standards our customers have every right to expect."Centrica noted that the settlement is not expected to have an impact on its 2026 financial guidance.As of late Thursday morning, Centrica shares were trading 4% lower in London.
London's FTSE 100 closed 1.43% lower on Thursday as local elections began in the UK.Market sentiment was off amid the possibility of a "significant setback" for the ruling Labour Party, which could increase pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, Danske Bank said."Grassroots Labour party members will choose the next party leader, who automatically becomes Prime Minister," Berenberg said. "Keir Starmer's replacement will therefore likely sit further left on economic policy. This raises the risk of another increase in business costs and/or looser fiscal policy, both of which could undermine the rate cuts and consequent pick up in GDP growth in our forecasts."Across Britain's construction sector, the downturn worsened in April as residential and civil engineering activity levels continued to decline amid rising input cost inflation. The S&P Global UK Construction PMI came in at 39.7, lower than 45.6 in the previous month and the consensus of 45.8 from Investing.com.In corporate news, energy and services company Centrica (CNA.L) dropped 5.32% to log the second-steepest decline among FTSE 100 constituents after guiding 2026 retail EBITDA towards the lower end of its outlook range, owing to the impact of warmer weather, commodity prices, and ongoing challenges in residential energy bad debt collection.On the contrary, JD Sports Fashion (JD.L) gained 8.62% to lead the blue-chip index after recommending a higher final dividend amid a lower attributable profit for fiscal 2026 and higher revenue year over year."JD Sports has delivered a mixed bag with its FY26 results with FY26 [pretax profit] inline with guidance, a sequential slowdown in 1Q [like-for-like] to -2.3%, FY27e PBT guidance c.-4% below consensus at the midpoint but a welcome [free cash flow] beat in FY26 combined with a new capital return framework of growing dividends and a rolling GBP200m share buyback," Deutsche Numis Research said. "The 3-year FY27-29 FCF guidance of at least GBP1.4bn will provide reassurance and is largely delivered in [capital expenditure] discipline and working capital improvement."
