Britain’s unseasonably warm and sunny start to spring is casting a mixed shadow over corporate earnings, helping retailers and hospitality firms while weighing on energy suppliers.
As households switched off their central heating earlier than usual, Centrica – the country’s second-largest domestic energy supplier – warned investors on Thursday that its residential energy profits will be impacted.
Meanwhile, UK retailer Next and pub chain JD Wetherspoon both raised earnings expectations, citing better-than-expected trading conditions fuelled by the weather.
Centrica expects lower profit due to low gas consumption
Centrica, which owns British Gas, told shareholders ahead of its annual general meeting in Manchester that the unusually mild weather had led to weaker-than-anticipated gas consumption among households.
As a result, the company said it expected lower profits from its energy supply business.
However, it maintained guidance that the segment would remain within its “sustainable” profit range of £150 million to £250 million for the year.
Despite the reassurance, investors appeared unconvinced, sending Centrica shares down more than 5% in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.
At 9:32 am, London time, the shares had slumped by 7.2%.
Next benefits from jump in seasonal clothing demand
In contrast, fashion chain Next reported a sharp uptick in full-price sales for the three months to April 26, prompting it to raise its annual profit forecast.
Sales rose by 11.4% over the period, well above the retailer’s previous estimate of 6.5%.
The company credited the warmer-than-average weather for helping boost sales of lighter, summer-weight clothing as customers updated their wardrobes earlier in the year.
The group said its performance had exceeded expectations both in the UK and overseas, although it cautioned that retail shops tend to benefit disproportionately from good weather, and that it expected its retail sales to return to being more or less flat for the remaining year.
Next raised its profit guidance by £14 million to £1.08 billion for the current financial year.
Source: Met Office
Sunny spell drives more people to Wetherspoons, more pubs planned
Pub operator JD Wetherspoon also saw positive momentum during the warm April period.
The company reported like-for-like sales growth of 5.6% in the 13 weeks to April 27 compared to the same period last year.
Total sales for the quarter rose by 5%, with year-to-date figures also showing steady growth.
“Bearing in mind that recent trading has been helped by favourable weather, the company anticipates a reasonable outcome for the financial year, notwithstanding previously reported wage and tax increases of approximately £1.2 million per week,” chairman of JD Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, said.
The group now plans to add another four or five pubs before the end of the current financial year, with around 10 further openings expected in the next.
Experts however cautioned the biggest drag on Wetherspoon’s bottom line this year is expected to come from rising staffing costs and higher taxes.
However, the full extent of their impact on profits will only become clear when the group releases its next set of results.
Will the sunniest April give way to a heatwave in summer?
According to provisional figures from the Met Office, April 2025 was the sunniest in the UK since records began in 1910, with 47% more sunshine hours than the long-term average.
It was also England’s sunniest April on record, and the second sunniest for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Average temperatures were 1.7°C above normal, meaning the UK has recorded its third warmest April for mean temperature since the series began in 1884.
Long-range forecasts suggest an increased chance of warmer-than-usual weather this summer, although more average or cooler conditions remain possible, the Met Office said about its summer forecast.
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