E.On has admitted it is "increasingly likely" to increase its prices for customers.

The energy firm is the only one of the 'big six' companies in the UK that has not yet announced it is to increase its tariffs.

The announcement comes as the firm announced a 17% increase in its profits for the first nine months in its UK supply business.

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However, it said that while its profits had increased from £194m to £227m over the period, it said it had lost money for the last three months. It blamed the cost of distribution, as well as government green energy schemes, for a loss of £37m.

E.On's UK Chief Executive, Tony Cocker, commented: "We are being put in a position where it is increasingly likely that we will need to pass on some of these increases in cost to our customers."

Earlier, the company's rival firm SSE announced a fall in its underlying profits for the six months to 30 September.

(JP/IT)