Octopus Energy Group announces results for FY20/21

• Support for UK customers drives operating loss of £1m for UK energy retail, before customer acquisitions and exceptional accounting charges
• Revenue from software licensing of Kraken technology grows by 584% to £69m and operating profit to £46m
• Group’s revenue increases by 62%, from £1.2bn to £2bn
• Strategic investment from investors in new business arms and technology brings Group’s year end net assets to £231m
• Group now active in 13 countries, with operations in renewable generation, energy retail, energy services, electric vehicles, hydrogen and smart grid technology

London, 29th January 2022 - Green energy tech pioneer Octopus Energy Group, which now comprises nine businesses and serves more than 3.3 million customers globally, today announces its results for the financial year 2020 to 2021, which ended on 30 April 2021.

The Group’s strength in technology is now delivering tangible economic value, attracting high sums of investment - allowing global growth and continued investment in the technologies which will drive a cheap green energy system.

Octopus’s financial robustness and outstanding operational capabilities have allowed its UK energy retail business to grow dramatically whilst maintaining service standards at close to breakeven. While the UK retail business posted a headline loss of £85 million, after stripping out customer acquisition costs and exceptionals, the business delivered a loss of £1 million on a revenue of £1.9 billion (-0.05% margin).

Welcoming the results, Greg Jackson, CEO and founder of Octopus Energy Group, said:

“Octopus continues to put customers first. Our UK energy business charged loyal and new customers well below the price cap, whilst delivering close to breakeven operations and undented service throughout the pandemic. Our technology is now delivering strong financial returns, attracting huge investment which allows us to maintain the pace of growth across the energy value chain, globally.

“2022 will be tough in energy, but we will fight for customer interests and work with government and industry to find solutions which may mitigate the issues for customers whilst doubling down on the investments in technology, growth and renewables which will help avoid such crises in future.

“We’re today also announcing the acquisition of Plüm énergie, a French green energy company with almost 100,000 energy accounts. It delivers outstanding service and has a real strength in technology. The move will help bolster our global buying power and enhance our tech, improving our ability to look after customers in the current market and beyond.

Octopus Energy Group to date:

Since launching to the market in 2016, Octopus Energy Group has grown at unprecedented speed. It has raised more than $1.5bn in investment from energy firms, pensions giants and investment funds in three large investment rounds and become the fifth largest energy retailer in the UK, supplying 3.1m customers across the country with cheaper, greener power. It is also the only energy retailer in the UK to have been awarded Which? Recommended Energy Provider status for five years in a row.

Over the past years, Octopus Energy Group has been expanding rapidly across the globe. The Group now has operations in 12 more countries, which are growing at a similar rate as the business in the UK. Last year alone, the Group’s international retail arm saw a 14-fold increase, growing from 15,000 customers in January 2021 to 220,000 by January 2022.

Today, Octopus announces its move into the French market with the acquisition of Plüm énergie. Plüm is a French entech startup that currently looks after almost 100,000 energy accounts, from retail customers and large companies to local authorities such as Ville de Paris. Like Octopus Energy, Plüm énergie is relentlessly focused on customer satisfaction. The company has the highest score among French energy providers on Google Reviews (4.8-5 stars). It will join as Octopus Energy France, becoming the eighth international retail operation in the Group.

Octopus Energy Generation, the Group’s generation arm which already manages a 3GW renewable generation portfolio across 7 countries in Europe, is planning to invest a further £25 billion by 2030 in new solar and wind farms in the UK and around the world. It will be increasingly generating the green electricity we sell to consumers.

Octopus’s proprietary technology platform Kraken, which unlocks the benefits of the green smart grid and achieves the lowest operating costs in the sector, now contracted to serve nearly 25 million energy accounts globally through licensing agreements with companies like EDF, E.ON UK, Origin Energy and Good Energy. Around 45% of UK households are expected to run on Kraken once customer migrations are completed.

At the same time, the Group’s KrakenFlex business is leading the way in smart grid technology, connecting with a whole host of clean energy tech to match real-time energy demand and supply to balance a cleaner grid. KrakenFlex is currently contracted to manage over 1.2 GW of controllable energy, enough energy to power 1.2m homes for over an hour, with a further 2GWs of renewable energy to come online in early 2022.

Current energy crisis:

The UK and other countries currently face a massive hike in bills as a result of the global fossil fuel crisis. Octopus Energy has been working hard to help customers through this, working 24/7 to answer customers queries and setting aside £2.5m in additional funding to help customers struggling to pay their bills. The company expects to incur around £100m of losses as it absorbs the impact of the energy crisis on behalf of customers.

FY 2020/2021 Financial Highlights:

• Octopus Energy Limited: In FY20/21, Octopus Energy surged to 2.1 million household customers from 1.4 million at the end of April 2020 (+46%).
• Octopus Energy Limited: Revenue of Octopus Energy Limited increased by 57%, from £1.2 billion to £1.9 billion.
• Octopus Energy Limited: Investment in growth and customer support delivers £84.7m operating loss (£1m operating loss prior to customer acquisition costs and exceptional accounting charges, on a revenue of £1.9 billion (reflecting a -0.05% margin))
• Kraken Technologies: Revenue of Octopus Energy Group’s software licensing business grew from £10.2m to £69.4m (+584%) and operating profit of £46m (£60m EBITDA excluding tech amortisation charges)
• Octopus Energy Group: Revenue for Octopus Energy Group in the same period saw an increase of 62%, from £1.24b to £2.01b (revenue growth is expected to follow the same trajectory during the new financial year, doubling to nearly £4 billion by April 2022)
• Octopus Energy Group: During the accounting period, Octopus Energy Group made significant investments in technology and scale, leading to a £37 million net loss (decrease of -40% compared to the financial year before)
• It expanded its global footprint to Texas, USA and via a Joint Venture with Tokyo Gas to Japan.
• It acquired Octopus Renewables in March 2021, adding a £3.4bn portfolio of renewable energy assets (300 projects across 7 countries) to the Group’s generation arm (the transaction completed officially in July 2021)
• Key technology investments included acquisitions of Configurable, Upside Energy (now KrakenFlex) and Smart Pear