British Gas rise in bill warning

May 12 2008 By Sion Barry, Media Wales

BRITISH Gas owner Centrica  today warned that continuing high wholesale gas prices would hit its results this year, adding that customers could be hit by increased bills.

The firm said that overall operating profits for the first half of this year would be "materially lower" compared with a year ago, mainly due to poorer performance in its British Gas Residential arm.

It added that wholesale gas prices for the second half of this year were double those compared with a year ago.

Centrica said: "While the current outlook for gas prices does create a challenging environment for energy suppliers, we will take the necessary action to deliver reasonable margins in the retail business."

British Gas upped gas and electricity bills by an average of 15% in January to help cope with rising wholesale prices.