British Gas Owner Centrica loses more customers

British Gas Owner Centrica lost 340,000 customer accounts in the UK in the first half of this year, chief executive Iain Conn has told the BBC.

His comments came as Centrica said operating profits at its consumer business fell 20% to £ 430m in the six months to the end of June.

Mr Conn said he would have hoped it would stabilize but would not give a timeframe for when this might

British Gas still has 3.5 million customers on standard variable tariffs

This is down from 4.3 million at the beginning of the year

Analysis:

by BBC business editor Simon Jack

The continuing fall in customer numbers and the number of services they will be able to offer to their customers.

That push towards connected services is having some acidity – British Gas is failing.

Centrifcation is much more than just British Gas, of course – it has businesses in the US and Europe but overall performance has been roughly flat.

Chief Executive Iain Conn is coming under pressure from shareholders to improve the performance of the company. The share price has more than halved in the years that he has been in charge.

He points to a collapse in oil and gas prices since 2013, the current regulatory probes, the cost of smart meter and the introduction of a price cap.

Despite this, he is convinced that growth is around the corner.

He'll want that corner to come soon.