How long will luck last for Centrica’s 13% dividend yield? May 23, 2019 | City Talk Times are hard and the yield screams danger, but Centrica has not cut the payout. Next results are key. The press was awash with stories predicting a nasty cut to Vodafone (LSE:VOD) dividend before it published full-year results. Few would be surprised. But BT (LSE:BT.A) kept shareholders on side by committing to its generous payout, and Centrica (LSE:CNA), one of [...]
British Gas owner Centrica’s shareholders say yes to chief executive’s £740,000 pay rise in ‘challenging’ conditions May 13, 2019 Shareholders expecting their dividends to be slashed this year clubbed through a 44 per cent pay rise for Centrica’s chief executive today despite company’s disappointing performance. Conn has overseen a two-thirds drop in share prices, to a 20-year low, since stepping into the role while the British Gas owner is haemorrhaging customers to other suppliers. [...]
British Gas owner Centrica ‘may slash dividend’ after challenging start to the year May 13, 2019 Analysts warned that a dividend cut is on the horizon at British Gas owner Centrica after several external factors hit performance in the opening months of 2019. Centrica said that the government’s new energy price cap had dented its figures, including a one-off £70m impact in the first quarter. Read more: British Gas owner Centrica [...]
British Gas-owner Centrica faces calls for shareholder revolt amid chief exec pay furore May 12, 2019 Centrica shareholders will head into the British Gas-owner’s annual meeting (AGM) tomorrow amid a clamour to reject chief exec Iain Conn’s £740,000 pay rise. Read more: Centrica shares hit 20-year low as it warns of energy price cap hit Despite a torrid 2018 in which Centrica lost around six per cent of its customers, Conn’s [...]
Mike Ashley among Debenhams shareholders wiped out April 18, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. One of the most intriguing City soap operas is over for investors as lenders seize control of Debenhams. The fight for survival at Debenhams (LSE:DEB) stores goes on, but for investors the suspension of shares signalled the final act in a grim 13 years of stock market trading. The [...]
Lloyds Bank stars as FTSE 100 rockets in Q1 April 9, 2019 | City Talk By Graeme Evans from interactive investor. After a great first quarter for stock markets, we assess the best and worst blue-chips of 2019 so far. It’s been a storming start to 2019 for the FTSE 100 index, with popular interactive investor stocks including Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY), Next (LSE:NXT) and Tesco (LSE:TSCO) among those on [...]
Boss of British Gas owner gets £700,000 pay rise a week after hiking bills by 10 per cent April 8, 2019 The head of British Gas owner Centrica boosted his pay cheque by £740,000 last year, it has been revealed just a week after the firm upped prices for millions of customers. Iain Conn, who has led London-listed Centrica since 2015, was paid £2.42m in 2018, up from £1.68m the year before. Read more: Ofgem price cap: What [...]
Hedge funds take out £86m bets against British Gas owner Centrica March 31, 2019 Hedge funds are taking out record bets against British Gas owner Centrica as the energy sector faces challenges from Ofgem’s price cap. The cap, which increases from tomorrow, has put pressure on suppliers’ margins. Read more: UK must decarbonise heating, Centrica boss says Disclosed so-called short positions in the Big Six energy supplier have risen [...]
Dogs of the Footsie 2019: 10 shares yielding 6 per cent plus March 23, 2019 | City Talk By David Budworth from interactive investor. Here are the 10 high yielders that make it into this year's Dogs of the Footsie investment strategy. It's time to reset our Dogs of the Footsie portfolio, selecting the 10 highest-yielding shares of the FTSE 100 index. Around half of 2018's portfolio is carried over on to this [...]
UK must decarbonise heating, but not through hydrogen, Centrica boss says after government commitment March 19, 2019 Britain and other countries must remove carbon from their heating and cooling, British Gas owner Centrica said today, but warned a move to make the gas grid run on hydrogen is “unlikely to be practical”. Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said natural gas would be “crucial” in the transition to reducing carbon emissions, and that Britain [...]