Audrey Gallacher, director of energy at Consumer Focus, said that consumers will be shocked to see such a big rise in profits when British Gas has been warning of the need for price increases.
"The disconnection between profits and prices risks deepening consumer distrust over energy bills. Wholesale prices rose slightly at the start of the year but have fallen and are now a long way from their peak," she said.
"Our economy needs profitable companies, but energy is an essential service we all need to heat our homes and keep the lights on. So customers need to know they are being charged a fair price through a competitive and transparent market. Customers need guarantees that falls in wholesale prices will be passed on as fairly and quickly as rises in wholesale prices. They also need commitments from British Gas in the light of these profit figures that there will be no customer price rises this year."
UPDATE 2-Clearwire loses customers but raises financial targets - Reuters UK
* Boosts revenue, loss outlook
* Hopes to make progress in wholesale agreements in 2012 (Adds analyst, executive comments)
By Sinead Carew
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Wireless service provider Clearwire Corp said it lost customers in the second quarter, but hopes to lose less money than it had expected in 2012 as it strives to conserve cash.
Risk-wary investors have pushed down Clearwire shares in recent months in the absence of any news about the additional funding it would need to expand its high-speed wireless network and keep the business afloat long term.
Clearwire, whose biggest shareholder is Sprint Nextel, said Thursday it has enough funding to last "at least 12 months" and noted that its cash position would be helped this year by an estimated slight increase in revenue and cost cuts.
Sprint is also Clearwire's biggest wholesale customer, renting capacity on its network to serve Sprint customers.
But Clearwire reported a net loss of 8,000 retail customers and a net loss of 34,000 wholesale customers for the second quarter said it expects more wholesale losses for the rest of 2012 because Sprint's sale of the popular Apple Inc for its own network is drawing away customers from Clearwire.
The loss of wholesale customers will not hurt revenue this year because Sprint is paying Clearwire a fixed fee, but Stifel Nicolaus analyst Christopher King said it could still hurt Clearwire's future funding prospects.
"It also becomes a bit of a chicken and egg thing. They are going to have to show they can grow the business but it's hard to do that when you're focused on cash conservation," King said.
Clearwire, which ended the second quarter with $1.2 billion in cash, has long said that it is considering new funding sources including adding other wholesale customers besides Sprint and possibly selling unused spectrum.
Chief Executive Erik Prusch said the company is still having "a lot of discussions" and expects to make progress in forging new wholesale agreements in 2012, but he would not give details.
"I don't see anything that precludes our ability to make progress," the executive told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a fixed revenue agreement with Sprint will keep Clearwire afloat while it prepares for a high-speed wireless service upgrade in five markets by the middle of next year.
Clearwire estimated a 2012 adjusted loss, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, of $175 million to $225 million, below its previous loss forecast of $250 million to $350 million.
The improvement will come from cost cutting measures and better-than-expected revenue from retail customers Clearwire signs up directly. Prusch said the second-quarter retail customer decline was "seasonal" and declined to give a forecast for retail customer growth.
The company also raised its revenue target range for the year to $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion from its previous expectation for $1.15 billion to $1.25 billion.
For the second quarter its adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization narrowed to $34.4 million from a loss of $79.6 million in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue fell to $316.9 million from $322.6 million and compared with analyst expectations for $320.83, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Clearwire shares were little changed after closing up 12 percent at $1.01 on Nasdaq. The shares have fallen about 60 percent since late March as investors have fled to more established telecommunications providers.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Richard Chang)
Family-owned wholesale business celebrates centennial - Orlando Sentinel
"They're very good about getting products in if I want something special or something different," Shannon said. And if the café gets itself in a bind, well, the Howard warehouse is right down the street.
"And they're a family-owned business, too, which we like," Shannon added. "Especially in his business, that doesn't happen very often." He said the family commitment Howard Wholesale has had for three generations translates into better service and a better understanding of the business.
The 13 employees at Howard Wholesale are committed to the business, too. Victor McCalla has worked at Howard Wholesale for 22 years; Ethel Huggins has been there for 12. McCalla and Huggins work in the front office, but they pretty much do whatever needs to be done, McCalla said.
Dale Heintzelman, office manager, has worked at Howard Wholesale for 41 years. His father, Elvin Heintzelman, retired in 1998 after working at the company for 44 years.
Heintzelman said he had only one other job — a stint as a janitor at a women's and children's school — before starting as a bookkeeper at Howard Wholesale in 1971. The Howards are "good people to work for," Heintzelman said. A son worked in the warehouse for three years, and he has a daughter that helps file paperwork once a week, Heintzelman said.
As for the future, Blair Howard, 60, said he is not planning on retiring anytime soon. His son lives in New York, and his daughter lives in Atlanta.
"Long-term, we will probably partner with another company in our industry," Howard said. "However, for now, we plan to continue as we are for as many years to come."
Blair Howard's advice for businesses that want to last at least a century:
Develop a great staff.
Take on little or no debt.
Sell quality products and consistent brands.
Think carefully before making promises, then keep them.
Ensure, with a system, that you're collecting from your customers.
Take any discounts offered when buying products.
Follow through and follow up with customers.
Correct promptly any mistakes you make.
Issue quickly any credit due a customer.
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