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SSE PLC on Thursday boosted its dividend as it reported earnings towards the higher end of guidance, and said £33 billion investment plans out to 2030 are ‘well under way’. The Perth, Scotland-based electricity generator reported pretax profit of £1.84 billion in the financial year to March, down 0.5% from £1.85 billion the year prior. Earnings per share declined 2.5% to 105.5 pence from 108.2p. On an adjusted basis, EPS fell 4.8% to 153.5p from 161.3p, but was at the top-end of the company guide of 149p to 154p, cited by Citigroup. The FTSE 100 listing declared a final dividend of 47.3 pence, resulting in a full year dividend of 68.7 pence, up 7.0% from 64.2p a year ago. SSE said financial results were towards the upper end of guidance, reflecting strong operational performance and that it had seen no immediate impact from ‘macro volatility’ on performance outlook. Adjusted operating profit fell 7.4% to £2.24 billion from £2.42 billion. Regulated Networks contributed around 40% of adjusted operating profit, with SSEN Transmission profit up 75% on-year, but Distribution profit around 54% lower, as expected, given the non-recurring inflation adjustment in the prior year. Capacity additions delivered by SSE Renewables were partially offset by less favourable weather conditions with adjusted operating profit around 4% higher than the prior year. Operating profits across the Flexibility businesses fell 15% on-year, SSE said, reflecting market conditions, outages and lower volumes. Capital investment totalled £3.6 billion in the financial year, with delivery of the firm’s £33 billion investment plan to 2030 ‘well under way’. Chief Executive Martin Pibworth said the investment is central to ‘longterm value creation’. ‘It is reducing the UK’s exposure to volatile global energy markets and providing more stable, predictable returns through the energy transition, while supporting economic growth,’ he said. Looking ahead, SSE reiterated adjusted EPS expectations for financial 2027 of between 168p to 193p and financial 2030 of between 225p to 250 pence. Full year 2027 capex is expected to significantly increase to over £5 billion, with net debt continuing to be ‘comfortably’ within the group’s recently reaffirmed strong investment grade credit ratings. In the financial year just ended, adjusted net debt was little changed at £10.10 billion compared to £10.07 billion a year ago. Shares in SSE were down 0.1% at 2,427.00p in London on Thursday morning with the wider FTSE 100 down 0.8%. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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