British Gas profits up 11%

Some Twitter users questioned why British Gas needed to make a profit at all:

British Gas replied:

British Gas said any customers who required further help with their account should call 0800 048 02020.

A selection of #AskBG questions have so far gone unanswered:

Following today's announcement of a 11% profit increase, British Gas is offering to answer customer questions in a Twitter Q&A:

One Twitter user asked if today's profit announcement would mean a future price cut:

Rather than give a direct answer, Bert Pijls linked to a YouTube video:

Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw told ITV News Business Editor Laura Kuenssberg that he agreed with David Cameron that "there has been too much confusion and proliferation of different tariff types."

He said simplifying pricing would mean that "the range between cheapest and most expensive is going to narrow" and that "the deeply discounted deals are disappearing".

British Gas was writing to customers every six months to advise on the cheapest tariffs available, he added.

Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw told ITV News Business Editor Laura Kuenssberg that British Gas profits rose because of increased consumption and that margin per household actually fell.

He said that wholesale gas costs rose "by about 13%" and not all of that increase was passed on to customers, "which is why our margins actually went down year-on-year."

"We had a cold winter - much colder than the previous winter, which was actually unusually warm - so we sold a bit more gas, which is why the British Gas profits were up," he added.

Caroline Flint MP, Labour's Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said David Cameron should not let Centrica "get away" with profit increases at the same time as price rises above inflation:

Managing Director of Services for British Gas Chris Jansen said the profits need to be "put into context".

He said the figures released this morning amount to £60 per household per year, to supply energy, a figure which he says has been the same for "quite a while".

This morning energy company Centrica announced a group adjusted operating profit of £2,415 million in 2012, up 14 per cent from 2011.

Mum of three Tracy Hogan says she is having to use money normally spent on food, to fund her rising fuel bills.

Tracy is a British Gas customer, which Centrica owns.

Centrica said "cooler weather" in 2012 saw domestic gas consumption increase by 12% following a warm 2011.

Sam Laidlaw, Centrica chief executive, pointed towards the group's tax contribution and investment in future energy sources: