Citi stays at 'buy' on Centrica

Analysts at Citi reiterated their 'buy' rating on energy and services company Centrica on Monday following the publication of the group's full-year results.

Fundamentally, Citi said the group appears to have made operational progress in further strengthening its retail and services businesses, with a clear line of sight for further cost reduction through the removal of duplicate IT costs and for growth in the on-demand market.

"We see scope for further cash return through share buyback, supported by further improvements that we anticipate in Centrica's net cash position to over £3.0bn by FY24," said Citi.

Citi also noted that market participants' main concern was on its underlying net cash position. However, it highlighted that these concerns were potentially "misplaced", as it said any adjustment for customer money should also be accompanied by receivables owed to Centrica - a net addition to the cash position.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com