Time for the British Gas profits hysteria again

[Mecky]

So Centrica/British Gas have made a profit again, that is what businesses are supposed to do and if they are paying the proper tax on them then that's how the world turns.

The headlines and the hysteria that follow the announcement is always this may millions or x mount per day but the ROCE (return on capital employed) never seems to be mentioned which to me is a far better indication of profiteering than a meaningless amount of millions in a headline.

 

Does anyone know what ROCE the current profits represent.

 

I love British Gas, they provide excellent value for money and their staff are really courteous and don't threaten people at all. I really appreciate the way they keep trying to bribe me to be their customer again, especially since they treat me so well before. I never felt like complaining even when someone says something like, "Queue the moaning." Well, that makes it all alright then, we're not allowed to moan.

[HeadingNorth]

Centricas profit was £1.45bn. I don't believe utility companies should be privatised, especially when the parent companies are foreign.

 

British Gas was not sold to a foreign company by the government; it was sold to the British public.

 

It was the British public who decided they didn't want the profit from owning the shares, and sold them all to private investors; that's why it is now in the hands of a foreign parent.

[iansheff]

British Gas was not sold to a foreign company by the government; it was sold to the British public.

 

It was the British public who decided they didn't want the profit from owning the shares, and sold them all to private investors; that's why it is now in the hands of a foreign parent.

 

I know that but it has ended up in foreign hands as has the electric companies, there should have been some kind of restriction on selling the shares. Thatcher knew that people would buy and then sell to make a quick profit thus allowing her capitalist friends to acquire them and make money. I bet the Germans and French don't allow a foreign country to have control of their utility companies.

[Bypassblade]

The 300 and odd million they've posted today is from the domestic side of BG I think...

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/jul/26/british-gas-urged-cut-prices?newsfeed=true

 

Beat me to it, the BBC said it was from household use, sorry but they ought to hang their heads in shame.

[Rupert_Baehr]

I know that but it has ended up in foreign hands as has the electric companies, there should have been some kind of restriction on selling the shares.

 

Really? You'd like to see ownership of an interest in a British Company restricted to British Nationals/Other British companies?

 

Would you be prepared to see British investors (including pension funds) stripped of their foreign assets? - After all, you could hardly have Brits owning shares in foreign companies if foreigners are not allowed to own shares in yours.

 

Thatcher knew that people would buy and then sell to make a quick profit thus allowing her capitalist friends to acquire them and make money.

 

You do surprise me! - Are you suggesting that British people are stupid and greedy?

 

Are you suggesting that they are too thick to be allowed to own shares?

 

I suppose that's one way 'to make friends and influence people'

 

I bet the Germans and French don't allow a foreign country to have control of their utility companies.

 

If - when the British utilities were privatised - the people running them were doing a good job, why were they put up for sale?

 

If they were worth buying, why, when they were put up for sale, didn't British Organisations buy them? (Let's not forget that a significant amount of government debt is owned by British Institutions, so it's not as if they are short of money.)

 

I seem to remember people getting worried about whether a buyer could be found for Rover, whether a buyer could e found for British Steel etc.

 

When these institutions were put up for sale, British Investors weren't interested. - But then the buyer started making a profit, and those previously unwilling investors start hopping up and down and complaining.

 

If the German and French Utility companies were up for sale (and shares in those companies are traded every workday) then the governments couldn't stop people from buying the companies.

 

It's extremely unlikely that the French or German utility companies will be up for sale (or vulnerable to a takeover) anytime soon, because they are well-run and the shareholders seem to be quite happy with the present managements.

[top4718]

I'm sorry ,I have to disagree with you..I used to be a BG customer,got fed up with their prices,went onto Uswitch and saved over a third on my dual fuel bill...

 

There maybe companies cheaper than BG but they all creep up eventually and are much of a muchness, no great savings long term.

[wednesday1]

So Centrica/British Gas have made a profit again, that is what businesses are supposed to do and if they are paying the proper tax on them then that's how the world turns.

The headlines and the hysteria that follow the announcement is always this may millions or x mount per day but the ROCE (return on capital employed) never seems to be mentioned which to me is a far better indication of profiteering than a meaningless amount of millions in a headline.

 

Does anyone know what ROCE the current profits represent.

 

 

 

Very good. Except as a former publically owned utility, it was us the taxpayer who initially provided the capital employed, not some risk-taking entrepreneur who had to source the financing himself!

[Darth Vader]

 

Its corporate greed on a massive scale, with a small minority getting vastly rich while the majority lose out.

 

Yep. And it's not just British Gas, but that doesn't make it right or any less immoral.