Energy provider Centrica has slashed its net pension liability from £886m at the end of 2017 to £29m at the end of H1 2018, its half-year results have revealed.

The group confirmed that in the six months to June 2018, its defined benefit pension scheme's deficit was cut by £857m due to a higher discount rate of 2.9 per cent at the end of H1 18, compared to a rate of 2.6 per cent at the end of 2017.

As a result, its DB obligation dropped from £9.34bn to £8.56bn over the period, while its assets grew from £8.45bn to £8.53bn over the same period on an IAS 19 accounting basis.

The group said it paid £76m in deficit payments during the first half of the year.

Overall, Centrica runs five UK DB schemes; one UK defined contribution scheme; a DB and a DC scheme in Ireland and a DB and post-retirement benefit scheme in Canada.

All of the group’s schemes are closed to new members, except for the pension scheme which remains open to service engineers.

Despite this, Centrica’s adjusted operating profit was down 4 per cent in H1 18, due to higher commodity prices and extreme weather patterns.

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