E.on UK retail earnings plummet

ENERGY giant E.on has blamed the energy price cap for sending UK retail earnings crashing 78%, as it also lost more customers.

The German-owned Big Six provider revealed underlying earnings at its UK household supply arm plunged to €12m (£11m) in the three months to June 30. It said it saw a fall in customer numbers in the first half, having earlier reported a drop of around 200,000 in the three months to March, from 6.6 million at the end of 2018.

The second quarter performance left overall first-half underlying UK retail earnings 65% lower at €71m (£65m) in the first half of 2019, and E.on warned the price cap will leave annual earnings in the wider division “significantly below” the previous year.

E.on said the market was “particularly challenging” in the UK after the introduction of the price cap for default and standard variable tariffs in January.

The figures come as UK energy regulator Ofgem also announced yesterday that the price cap will reduce by £75 to £1,179 a year from October 1 due to lower prices in wholesale energy markets.

E.on’s wider group also saw figures impacted by the energy price cap and retail arm woes, contributing to a 12% fall in total half-year underlying earnings to €1.72bn (£1.58bn).

Across the group, earnings at its customer solutions retail division nearly halved to €240m (£221m) in the six months to June 30 from €477m (£439m) a year earlier.

The firm also revealed an 11% fall in staff at its retail business to 17,608 amid restructuring efforts in the UK and across Europe.