Bord Gáis Energy saw an increase in adjusted operating profits of 75% during the first half of the year and reported operating profits of £33m, up from £19m a year ago.

The company, which is owned by Centrica, saw customer numbers increase slightly to 513,000, and it credited its improved financial performance to the fact that Whitegate power station in Cork had returned to service late last year and rising energy prices.

Bord Gáis Energy has raised prices three times in the past year, making increases last August and October and again in April, and said improvements in performance were made "despite reduced retail margins in a challenging environment for energy supply".

Centrica announced group profit of £1.3bn for the six-month period, a more than five-fold increase from a year prior, and the group now plans to restore a dividend of 1p per share to stakeholders.

"The past year has demonstrated the importance of well-funded, well-run energy companies," said Chris O'Shea, CEO of Centrica. "We expect this to continue into the second half, underpinning continued investment in customer service and elsewhere in our portfolio.

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"We are very aware of the difficult environment many customers are facing and we will continue supporting them."

Centrica's cashflow from continuing operations was £643m, up from £524m last year, while statutory net cash flow of £164m was down significantly from £558m. Net cash of £316m compares to net debt of £93m last year for the British Gas owner.

(Pic: Getty Images)