British power generator SSE Plc will expand its green spending plan to £40 billion ($49.9 billion) over the next decade after earnings almost doubled last year.
(Bloomberg) — British power generator SSE Plc will expand its green spending plan to £40 billion ($49.9 billion) over the next decade after earnings almost doubled last year.
The company reported earnings per share of 166 pence, higher than its guidance of 160 pence and nearly double last year’s haul, the company said in a statement Wednesday. SSE plans to boost its dividend, to return to shareholders some of the bumper profits from its gas-fired power stations last year.
“The energy landscape is changing fast, and the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment has its challenges,” said Chief Executive Officer Alistair Phillips-Davies, adding that SSE’s investments exceeded its earnings. He announced a 40% increase in the company’s investment pipeline to 2027 and a total of £40 billion by 2032.
SSE is looking for ways to deploy the windfall it earned from high profit margins at its gas-fired power plants — exempt from the government’s generator levy — during the energy crisis. The bumper profits were also a result of a controversial trading strategy used by SSE and other firms, which is now facing a clampdown by regulator Ofgem.
Adjusted operating profits from its gas-fired power plants rose to £1 billion, from than tripled from last year.
The company, one of the UK’s largest power producers, has faced delays to some of its green energy projects. The Seagreen wind farm, off the coast of Scotland, will start commercial operations this summer, after some delays. SSE has pointed to an extra cost from having to buy back power it had pledged to deliver but couldn’t produce.
The company canceled the sale of a 25% stake in its power distribution business, saying it now wants to invest more in infrastructure. It plans to grow its annual dividend by between 5 and 10% to 2026/27.
(Updates with gas-fired generation profit in fifth paragraph)
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