Centrica unveils £1.44bn profit

British Gas owner Centrica has posted a profit of £95 million for its household bills arm after reporting a loss for the first half of the year.

Centrica's overall profits for 2006 were £1.44 billion - down 5 per cent on the previous year.

The 6 per cent rise in operating profit for its home division comes after it lost one million customers in 2006 due to rising charges.

But it recently announced plans to reduce its standard tariffs for gas by 17 per cent and electricity by 11 per cent from March 12 after the wholesale cost of gas fell by 50 per cent.

"After a difficult few years, the wholesale pricing environment is starting to improve," said Centrica.

"However it is clear that the returns in our residential business in the UK have been low."

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