Npower’s adjusted earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) for the first half of 2018 was £5 million lower than the same time last year.
Chief executive Paul Coffey said the results “reflect how tough the market is for energy suppliers” in the H1 report released today (10 August).
The company’s revenue was up £198 million on the first half of 2017 due to higher domestic volumes and the impact of last year’s standard variable tariff (SVT) price increase.
The report also revealed domestic customer accounts have dropped by 350,000 year-on-year due to “ongoing competitive pressures”.
Coffey said the company was in a better position than this time last year in terms of its year-on-year changes in adjusted Ebit and revenue.
He added: “However, our results reflect how tough the market is for energy suppliers, especially in domestic supply. Intense market competition drove a decline in our domestic account base during the first half of the year and, at the same time, our metering and obligations costs are higher than last year, which has weighed on our profitability.
“To help counter this, we will continue to deliver on our recovery programme and will remain focused on keeping control of our costs throughout the rest of the year.”
Coffey added the company was making “real progress” in key areas including delivering its smart meter rollout and continuing to count many blue chip names as clients of its Npower Business Solutions.
The proposed merger with SSE’s UK retail arm is on track and is pending approval from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the results highlighted. SSE shareholders voted to approve the transaction at a general meeting on 19 July.
The CMA is expected to announce its results in October.