Centrica, the UK oil and gas producer which owns British Gas, reported record 2022 profits, adding its name to the list of energy giants which have profited mightily off soaring energy costs.

On Thursday the company reported operating profits soared to £3.3 billion ($4 billion) from £948 million ($1.1 billion) one year prior, beating the firm’s previous highest annual profit of £2.7 billion ($3.2 billion), recorded in 2012.

Centrica announced £750 million ($900 million) of its profits would be returned to shareholders. The yearly dividend will be worth over £200 million ($240 million), while the company will go on to spend £300 million ($360 million) lifting its share price by buying back its own stock. That will be in addition to a previously announced  £250 million ($300 million) share buyback, which will leave Centrica owning 10% more of all shares currently issued.

Centrica’s record-breaking profits renewed calls  for windfall taxes on the massive profits energy companies are making charging customers exorbitant prices during the energy crisis. Trades Union Congress (TUC) General Secretary Paul Nowak called for public ownership of energy companies, noting, “While millions of families struggle to heat their homes, firms like Centrica are raking in monster profits.”

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of the Unite union, said essentially the same thing, calling the profits obscene, and saying, “These energy companies are showing us everything that is wrong with the UK’s broken economy.”

Centrica noted, it had paid £1 billion ($1.2 billion) in taxes for the 2022 financial year.

International Energy Agency (IEA) data shows globally, oil and gas profits have risen from their recent average of $1.5 trillion to $4 trillion just in the last year.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres criticized oil companies last week for making “monster profits” as they focused on increasing the production of fossil fuels, rather than pouring their profits into renewable energy projects.