British Gas sees profits up 24%

Operating profits at British Gas rose 24% in 2010 to £742m, its parent company Centrica has said.

The news comes two months after the UK utility announced a 7% rise in domestic energy bills, which it blamed on rising wholesale prices.

British Gas said it had increased its number of customers by 267,000 during the year to 16 million.

The results helped Centrica to achieve pre-tax profits of £2.8bn, with operating profits up 29% to £2.4bn.