City analyst John Musk said there were “very few negatives” in Centrica’s results.
But Mr Musk, who works for RBC Europe, part of Royal Bank of Canada, also warned the company continued to be “strategically challenged”.
He said: “2017 has been a disappointing year for CNA (Centrica’s stock symbol), with Centrica Business underperforming in both the UK and North America, whilst the growth segments of distributed energy & power and connected homes saw increased losses.
“For 2018, CNA does not provided specific guidance but are pointing to growth in ebit (earnings before interest and taxes) for customer facing businesses, higher output for upstream activities (including storage), lower finance charges and higher tax rates.
“There are very few new negatives in these results. We expect the shares to react positively.
“CNA remains strategically challenged, with intense competition and the prospect of a tariff cap for SVT (standard variable tariff) customers putting pressure on the core business.
“However, most of these negatives appear to already be priced into the share price. There is potential upside … from structural reforms and streamlining of operations.”
Recommended for you