Centrica's CEO, Chris O'Shea, saw a significant increase in his annual pay, rising by nearly £4 million to £8.2 million in 2023.
This surge comes after O'Shea remarked earlier in the year that there was "no point" in justifying his salary. The remuneration package comprised £810,000 in salary, approximately £1.4 million in annual bonuses, and £5.9 million in longer-term bonuses tied to the company's share price performance.
The rise in stock price over the past year, along with reported profits of £2.8 billion, the second highest in the company's history, contributed to the substantial increase in compensation.
Centrica reaped significant benefits from the surge in energy prices triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ofgem's decision to lift the price cap on household bills. This regulatory move permitted energy suppliers, including Centrica, to charge consumers higher rates, bolstering the company's financial position.
The publication of the annual report comes two months after O’Shea, 50, said “you can’t justify a salary of that size” when questioned on BBC Breakfast. Speaking about his £4.5 million pay from the year before, he said: “It’s a huge amount of money, I am incredibly fortunate. I don’t set my own pay, that’s set by our remuneration committee. That’s the first bonus I’ve taken in my time at Centrica, for a number of years, I’ve given up bonuses because of hardships that customers were facing.”
