Sabtu, 12 Mei 2012

Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw survives the Shareholder Spring

Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw survives the Shareholder Spring

By Peter Campbell

PUBLISHED: 16:05 EST, 11 May 2012 | UPDATED: 16:05 EST, 11 May 2012

Centrica's investors last night waved through a multi-million pound pay package for the company’s chief executive despite profits that halved and a share price 19 per cent lower than five years ago.

It came as Britain’s largest energy provider warned it faced soaring costs over the coming year, which could push the average family bill to more than £1,400 before  next winter.

At yesterday’s annual shareholder meeting, 16 per cent of investors failed to back the group’s pay report â€" with 4 per cent abstaining from the vote altogether.

Centrica: Boiling over

But 88 per cent of those who cast their ballot voted in favour of the group’s rewards schemes,  which saw Sam Laidlaw, who presided over a price hike for the company’s 13m families last year, receive a pay package worth £4.1m for 2011 as well as £5.05m in share deals.

It also saw annual pre-tax profits fall from £2.8bn in 2010 to £1.27bn last year.

And in the past 12 months the group’s share price has risen by less than 1 per cent, and now sits at a 19 per cent discount to its price of 397p in May 2007.

Despite an annual meeting fraught with protests about the company’s pay-outs, the energy boss survived investors’ wrath to collect his  pay cheque.

Laidlaw negotiated what has become known as the Shareholder Spring that has so far seen four chief executives lose their jobs.

In January, Centrica (7.2p higher at 317.4p) trimmed electricity prices but said it couldn’t lower gas bills because of long-term prices for the volatile fuel.

Yesterday it warned that rising global gas prices and a higher cost of delivering power to homes could see the group’s margin cut if it leaves rates as they are.

But if costs are passed onto customers, the average family bill could rise from £1,260 to  more than £1,400.

‘The trend for retail energy costs remains upwards’, the company warned in  a statement.

Over the winter the group managed to stem the loss  of customers that ensued after  it announced price rises  of 18 per cent for gas and 16 per cent for electricity.

The number of customer accounts remained ‘unchanged’ at 15.9m, the group said.

In the first four months of the year, the company saw energy usage rise by 1 per cent for gas and 3 per cent for electricity compared to the same period last year.

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