London-based energy supplier Octopus Energy has recorded its second year of profitability, despite a dip in revenues. The company’s tech arm, Kraken, which files separate financial accounts, saw a near six-fold increase in profit in 2024.
Octopus, which supplies gas and electricity to customers in the UK and six other countries, recorded £159m in post-tax profit for the year ending April 30, 2024. That’s a 12% dip compared to 2023, when it recorded £182m in profit.
The company’s revenues dipped 16% in the year ending April 30, 2024 compared to the year prior. Octopus puts the dip down to a drop in wholesale energy prices, which peaked in 2023 during the energy crisis.
The drop in revenues was offset by Octopus’ customer growth, particularly through its acquisition of rival energy supplier Shell Energy, which it acquired for £429m.
Octopus recently became the UK’s largest residential energy supplier by meters, overtaking British Gas.
Kraken
As well as supplying gas and electricity to customers, Octopus also has a tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which licenses software to other energy companies.
Kraken recorded £35m in profit for the year ending April 30, 2024 – a 483% increase on the £6m it made in profit the year prior.
$9bn valuation
Octopus, which was founded in 2016, has raised $2.5bn over its lifetime and scored a $9m valuation in May last year, when it raised an undisclosed sum from Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management and Canadian pension fund CPP Investments.
Previous backers include Tokyo Gas and Origin Energy, which backed Octopus in an $800m raise in 2023.
The company was among a cohort of startups that sought to challenge the established energy companies. Octopus consolidated its position as the leader of the pack during the 2021 energy crisis, when it snapped up bankrupt competitors, including Bulb Energy.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/octopus-energy-profit-kraken-2024/
