British Gas owner Centrica has revealed that earnings at its retail supplier business soared by nearly 900% as it was handed a price cap boost of around £500 million.

The energy giant said underlying earnings at its gas and electricity supply arm leaped 889% to £969 million in the six months to June 30 from £98 million a year earlier.

It said the result was buoyed as Ofgem’s price cap in the first half of the year – when customers saw their bills limited to £2,500 a year under the Energy Price Guarantee – allowed it to recoup losses seen a year earlier – to the tune of about £500 million.

Overall, Centrica swung to a £6.5 billion operating profit in the first six months of the year against operating losses of £1.1 billion a year earlier.

On an underlying basis, operating profits rose to £2.1 billion from £1.3 billion a year ago.

Last year Centrica more than tripled its adjusted operating profit, which reached £3.3 billion in 2022 amid turbulence in global energy markets.

Big swings in energy prices helped the company’s energy marketing and trading division, which made £1.4 billion in profit during the year, an enormous 1,900% increase from the year before.