CENTRICA 2005 TRADING UPDATE

[BIZ/INFRA: London, December 16]
Centrica also active in Limburg(b) as Luminus notes that the importance of continental Europe is its increasing influence on UK wholesale markets. The European Competition Commission has stated that the market is not yet functioning on a competitive basis and will identify appropriate remedies which remove the barriers to effective competition. This lack of liberalisation will continue to impact gas prices for UK consumers. In Spain our business has been affected by government tariffs being set below wholesale market prices. However, we have progressed our aspirations in Northern Europe with the completion of our acquisition with Gaz de France of a controlling 51% stake in SPE. The acquisition has created a vertically integrated business which is the clear number two in the Belgian energy market. In Holland we are now serving around 600,000 customers in Oxxio. We remain optimistic that further opportunities will be available for us to expand our European footprint.
Discussions are continuing.
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