BOTTLED gas supplier Calor has warned of further price increases this summer despite revealing its profits rose by almost two-thirds last year.
After taking five per cent hit to its revenues during 2020, the Northern Ireland operation of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) specialist bounced back in 2021, with both revenues and profits outperforming pre-Covid levels.
Revenues climbed 11 per cent to £33.6 million for the year ending December 31 2021, helping Calor Gas Northern Ireland record a pre-tax profit of £6.4m, an increase of 63 per cent.
In a new annual report filed with Companies House in recent days, the directors of Calor Gas NI blamed the war in Ukraine for LPG prices continuing to climb in 2022.
The supplier, which set up in Northern Ireland during 1971, has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dutch group SHV Energy since 1997.
In the latest report, the directors said: “LPG prices increased during the year and although the business operates a rolling 12-month hedge, we had to increase sales prices into the market in the Autumn of 2021 to cover higher cost of gas.
“In addition, as a result of the war in Ukraine, which started in late February 2022, the cost of LPG has continued to increase and the business will be increasing prices further in the summer of 2022 to mitigate the higher cost of gas."
Last week the gas supplier SSE Airtricity announced its gas tariff will rise by 28.3 per cent in October. It follows a 42.7 per cent increase in July and a 39 per cent rise in April this year.
The Utility Regulator said the wholesale gas market continues to surge, with prices 16 times higher than normal historic rates.
The directors of Calor Gas NI said the volatility in global commodity prices remain the key risk for the company: “In particular the relationships between oil and LPG prices.”
While Calor’s costs in Northern Ireland did rise during 2021, the latest annual reports show the increase was just 3.6 per cent, with distribution costs actually falling last year.
The company, which employed 88 staff in 2021, reported staff related costs of £4.79m last year, marginally down on 2020.
The 2021 report also revealed Calor Gas Northern Ireland paid a dividend of £3m in 2020 to its parent group.
