Telecom Plus shares jumped 17 per cent on Monday after it said soaring energy prices had driven an influx of customers to its discount bundles of gas, electricity, mobile, broadband and insurance contracts.
The FTSE 250 company, which trades as Utility Warehouse and offers customers bigger discounts the more services they sign up for, said cost-of-living pressures had helped it attract 86,000 new customers in the six months to September.
That took its total customers to 814,684, in line with its aim of more than doubling its customer base over the next four to five years. It now expects full-year profits to be “materially ahead of market expectations”.
“At a time when cost of living pressures continue to rise, we are uniquely positioned to offer households what they need now more than ever: savings on their essential bills and an extra income from recommending these savings to their friends and family,” said Andrew Lindsay, co-chief executive.
Shares were up 370p at £20.96 in late-morning trading.
The company has attracted new customers as the wider British energy retail market has fallen into crisis amid soaring wholesale prices.
More than 30 energy suppliers have gone out of business since January 2021 as increasing wholesale gas and power prices exposed undercapitalised balance sheets and poor hedging strategies.
Typical annual household energy bills rose to £2,500 this month, up from £1,971 previously, although the precise amount will depend on usage.
Charities have warned that millions of Britons face a “public health crisis” this winter because of high energy bills, despite the government’s £150bn package to limit costs.
About 6.7mn households, or more than a fifth of the total, are expected to be in fuel poverty this winter, up from 4.5mn a year earlier, charities including the Food Foundation have warned.
A YouGov poll of more than 4,000 households published by the charity National Energy Action on Friday showed 24 per cent of parents had cut the amount of food they were buying. One in 10 said they were eating cold meals to reduce energy use.
According to energy consultancy EnAppSys, electricity demand in Britain over the past few months has fallen 9 per cent compared with the same period last year and 8 per cent compared with 2019.
Telecom Plus in March reported full-year pre-tax profits of £47.2mn on record revenues of £967.4mn.
