When Centrica (CNA) reveals its 2015 full-year results next week, all eyes will be on the progress of its strategic view. After all, it has been a tough two years. Profits at its upstream business have suffered as a result of weak wholesale gas prices, while its supply businesses continue to face pressure to cut prices.
Chief executive Iain Conn unveiled plans to reinvigorate the group's fortunes in August. These include allocating an extra £1.5bn in operating and capital resources over five years to its consumer-facing businesses, which include British Gas, US-based Direct Energy and the Irish Bord Gais. In tandem, the group is reducing its exploration and production activities by the same amount and will focus on the North Sea and East Irish Sea. The release of the group's full-year results will give investors the first in-depth view of progress towards its objectives.
A milder than usual December may have hit the performance of British Gas last year, as residential customers consumed less energy. However, in the group's year-end trading update in December management reported good progress in implementing its strategic review, despite a challenging backdrop of weakened commodity prices and power generation margins.
