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Centrica scraps final dividend

The Covid-19 pandemic adds to the group’s many problems
April 2, 2020

Centrica (CNA) can’t seem to catch a break. Last year saw it swing from a £987m statutory operating profit to an £849m loss following the introduction of a price cap on UK energy bills, lower wholesale commodities prices and nuclear power station outages.

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Now, Covid-19 and the oil price war have created further headaches. The group is guiding to an increase in working capital outflows and bad debt as customers defer payments. The dramatic drop in oil prices is expected to reduce adjusted operating cash flow in its exploration and production business, Spirit Energy, by around £100m. The group had been planning to sell this business with bids due to come in at the end of March. That process has now been put on ice.