British Gas owner Centrica’s chief executive Iain Conn is to step down from his post and retire from the company’s board next year.
He told the Today programme it was “a natural time for me to hand over”.
Centrica reported a pre-tax loss of £446m in the six months to June. It made a £704m profit this time in 2018.
The firm is also cutting its dividend and selling its investment in oil and gas exploration and production, but is launching a new partnership with Ford.
Price cap impact
Profit at the company’s consumer division, which includes British Gas, was down 44% to £240m.
It said the decline reflected the impact of the government’s price cap, which was brought in at the start of 2019.
Profit at Centrica’s business division fell 89% to £11m, which it blamed on warm weather and outages at its nuclear power stations.
Mr Conn said: “We are finishing the journey to becoming a customer-facing energy and solution company. Once we have done that, it is the right time for me to hand over to a successor – a natural moment.
“We have been shifting a company to one in tune with a lower carbon economy
Last year, Mr Conn was given a 44% rise in his pay to £2.4m.
Centrica also announced it was launching a partnership with Ford, as the carmaker seeks to expand its range of electric vehicles.
Under the deal, Centrica will deliver a dedicated home charging installation service for the next five years.
There will be special electric vehicle tariffs from British Gas and Bord Gáis Energy, which will allow Ford customers to benefit from lower energy prices for overnight charging.