THE BOSS of fast-growing challenger supplier Yu Group believes the Big Six "should be worried" by his company's success, with the energy firm posting another round of robust profits and revenues in its latest half-year results.

Bobby Kalar, chief executive of the business-to-business supplier, told City A.M. that his company was "agile" and "entrepreneurial" compared to its contenders, which were "slow to adapt" and "archaic".

"We don't have any legacy systems or issues in terms of growing organically like the Big Six have. They should be very worried," he said.

While the company currently has a 1.2 per cent market share, Kalar predicts Yu Group will continue to take customers from bigger suppliers as it scales its business. His confidence is based on the company's 'digital by default' approach, which has enabled the company to scoop up customers at a lower financial burden compared to rivals.

It has invested in bespoke software to manage services, with the company open to utilising artificial intelligence to improve its offering in the coming years.

Kalar considered this to be the next step for "disruptive" and "transformative" digital services, and hopes the company is one of the early adopters.

"I think energy is a product, and how it is sold, distributed, measured and scaled has technology and digitialisation written all over it," he said.

Yu Group, which is listed on the FTSE AIM All-Share, has seen its share price rise 462 per cent from 215p per share to 995p per share over the past 12 months of trading.

While other smaller suppliers collapsed in the domestic energy crisis, Yu Group flourished, taking on energy users from Ampower, Whoop Energy, and Xcel Power Limited.

The company posted a yearon-year 51 per cent rise in revenues, rising from £129.2m to £194.9m, while pretax earnings climbed 62 per cent from £5.5m to £8.9m. The group also announced a three pence per share dividend, which further boosted shares.

(c) 2023 City A.M., source Newspaper