- The supplier says it absorbed higher costs instead of passing on
- About 30 companies have exited the UK market since 2021 because of thin margins and the difficulty in passing on soaring wholesale costs that have roiled the household supply business.
British energy retailer Octopus Energy Ltd. posted a £161 million ($198 million) loss for the last fiscal year because it absorbed costs that could have been passed on to customers. Chief Executive Officer Greg Jackson said in an official statement, “We could have made a profit, but now’s not the time. Instead, we chose to absorb £150 million of escalating costs on behalf of customers through prices and support funds, debt-forgiveness and increased service.”
For the year ending April 30, Octopus’s revenue doubled to £3.9 billion. Its customer base grew to 3.2 million households from 2 million amid a marketing push and the migration of hundreds of thousands of customers from failed supplier Avro Energy. About 30 companies have exited the UK market since 2021 because of thin margins and the difficulty in passing on soaring wholesale costs that have roiled the household supply business.
Parent company Octopus Energy Group, backed by Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management, also saw a boom in demand for Kraken Technologies, its digital management platform licensed to other suppliers, as revenue from the platform grew by 66% to £115 million, according to the statement.