FTSE 100 movers: Centrica, Relx in the black

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,984.77 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

British Gas owner Centrica surged as it said annual profits more than tripled to a record £3.3bn, driven by soaring wholesale gas prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Britons struggle with household energy bills.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Recently caught up in a scandal where bailiffs were breaking into people’s homes to fit pre-payment meters, today’s results from Centrica will do nothing to dial down the heat on the company. Talk of more aggressive windfall taxes seems inevitable.

"Investors in the company might argue after years of disappointing returns they are due some bumper rewards. However, the fact a big driver of Centrica’s soaring earnings and cash flow is the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine will sit uncomfortably with many struggling to heat their homes.

"It is fair to acknowledge that most of the company’s record profit came not from its retail-facing British Gas business but from its energy trading division as well as its oil and gas and nuclear assets, but casual observers are unlikely to make the distinction."

Relx was also a high riser after it posted a 15% jump in full-year adjusted operating profit and lifted its full-year dividend by 10%.

Standard Chartered gained after it announced a new $1bn share buyback as annual profits rose by almost a third on higher global interest rates, but still missed estimates after a sharp rise in bad debt provisions.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Centrica (CNA) 103.45p 4.96%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 102.28p 3.08%
BT Group (BT.A) 142.25p 2.86%
Relx plc (REL) 2,513.00p 2.66%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 747.80p 2.55%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 114.22p 1.98%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 129.00p 1.82%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,517.00p 1.70%
Fresnillo (FRES) 800.00p 1.39%
Diageo (DGE) 3,600.00p 1.38%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,982.00p -3.46%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,132.00p -2.85%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,801.00p -2.07%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,560.00p -1.77%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,426.00p -1.66%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 767.00p -1.60%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 625.60p -1.42%
3i Group (III) 1,650.50p -1.34%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 461.90p -1.32%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 759.00p -1.27%