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SSE PLC on Friday said it is on track to deliver ‘record investment’ of over £2.5 billion in its current financial year, though growth in output from non-renewables outpaced renewables.
Meanwhile, the Perth, Scotland-based electricity utility increased its adjusted earnings per share expectations for financial year 2023 ending March 31 by 25% to 150 pence from previously anticipated 120p and 57% higher than the 95.4p recorded in financial year 2022. Back then, the year-on-year increase was 22%.
To allow for an increase in investment, SSE will reduce its dividend from financial year 2024 onward. For financial year 2023, SSE intends to pay a dividend of 85.7p per share plus retail price index, compared to 85.7p paid for financial year 2022. From financial year 2024, this is set to rebase to 60p per share, with anticipated dividend increase of 5% per year for financial years 2025 and 2026.
SSE said that, over the 9 months to December 31, its output from gas-fired generation rose by 27% to 14,250 gigawatt hours from 11,187 a year earlier.
Output from renewables increased by less, rising by 16% to 7,065 gigawatt hours from 6,076 a year ago. SSE said that the output was 10% below its plan due to ‘periods of unseasonably calm and dry weather with delays to the Seagreen project also contributing to the shortfall against plan’.
SSE noted that construction on Seagreen continues alongside Dogger Bank and Viking. It expects Seagreen to complete in the summer of 2023 ‘assuming normal weather and planned vessel availability.’
SSE shares were up 2.6% to 1,746.63p early Friday in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter
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