How Much Is Your Energy Provider Really Making?

Households across the UK spent 54% more on energy bills in April 2022 according to the domestic energy price report. This is not the last price increase of the year, as energy prices are predicted to go up again in October.  This adds even more pressure on people living in the UK amidst the rising costs of living. 

This led UK radiators to do some research to see if energy companies suffered any losses during that period. Here is what we found:

Over the last five years, how did the big six perform?

E.ON’s Profits (2016-2020)

The top energy company on our list over the last five years is E.ON. Their profit margins during that time period averaged out at around £710 million per year. Over the course of the five years, E.ON has earned £3.6 billion in post-tax profit.

British Gas’ Profits (2016-2020)

The second energy company on our list is British Gas. Their profit margins during that time period averaged out at around £310 million per year. Over the course of the five years, British Gas has earned £1.6 billion in post-tax profit.

EDF’s Profits (2016-2020)

The third energy company on our list over the last five years is  EDF. Their profit margins during that time period averaged out at around £322 million per year. Over the course of the five years, EDF has earned just over £1.6 billion in post-tax profit.

Scottish Power’s Profits (2016-2020)

The fourth energy company on our list is Scottish Power. Their profit margins during that time period averaged out at around £290 million per year. Over the course of the five years, Scottish Power has earned £1.4 billion in post-tax profit.

Npower’s Profits (2016-2020)

The fifth energy company on our list is Npower. Their profit margins during that time period averaged out at around £258 million per year. Over the course of the five years, Npower has earned £1.3 billion in revenue.

SSE’s Profits (2016-2020)

The final energy company on our list over the last five years is SSE. Their profit margins during that time period averaged out at around £142 million per year. Over the course of the five years, SSE has earned £0.7 billion in revenue.

Methodology

We used the list of licensed companies by Ofgem to gather all the Big 6 Energy companies that are licensed in the UK. We then got their official accounts from the UK’s companies house and calculated the total profit after tax for each of the years from 2016 to 2020.

To calculate the average household energy bill we used data published by Ofgem, the energy market regulator, showing that in September 2021 the average UK energy bill was £95 per month, or £1,138 a year.