LONDON, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Britain's energy company Centrica, which owns British Gas, posted record profits for 2022 on soaring energy prices, the company said on Thursday.
Centrica's total adjusted operating profit for 2022 jumped to 3.3 billion British pounds (3.96 billion U.S. dollars) from 948 million British pounds in 2021 and exceeded the previous record set in 2012.
"Centrica's operational performance was very good across 2022, against a backdrop of elevated and volatile commodity prices," the company said. The bulk of its profit came from the company's gas, oil and nuclear businesses.
Centrica's financial figures came after two other British energy giants, BP and Shell, also reported record profits for last year at 27.7 billion U.S. dollars and 39.9 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.
The energy companies' record profits once again sparked criticism and discussions about windfall taxes as the country has been struggling with rising energy bills and a cost-of-living crisis. (1 British pound = 1.2 U.S. dollar) ■