ITS promotional campaigns of dancing bears, shrieking in ducements of 50/50 cash back and elastic ever extendable special offers that have all the creditability of a Power City sale, may be an irritant to many but there is no denying that Bord Gais is prospering.

The board this week reported on an excellent year's trading in which turnover rose 10 per cent to £238 million and pre tax profits increased 48 per cent to over £67 million.

The main contributors ere the 15 per cent increase in sales to the ESB, along with a general expansion in business volumes and a £7 million reduction in operating costs due to lower rationalisation charges. Last year Bord Gais cut borrowings by £27 million to £207 million.

Chairman Michael Conlon says that minimising debt was necessary to prepare the company for competition from British Gas, which is pumping North Sea gas to the Irish market through the interconnector pipeline.