20th May 2015 06:40
LONDON (Alliance News) - SSE PLC Wednesday reported annual results that were in line with analyst expectations, with profit experiencing a lift, as all of the power company's divisions remained profitable despite its wholesale division experiencing a fall in profit.
The FTSE 100 company reported an adjusted pretax profit, or before exceptional items and remeasurements, of GBP1.56 billion for the year ended March 31, up 0.9% year on year from GBP1.55 billion a year. SSE's wholesale, networks and retail segments were all profitable, whilst its total operating profit came in at GBP1.881 billion, experiencing a tiny lift from GBP1.880 billion.
Both adjusted pretax profit and operating profit were in line with analyst consensus, whilst pretax profit after exceptional items and remeasurements came in at GBP735.2 million, up from GBP592.5 million in the last financial year.
Revenue for the period totalled GBP31.65 billion, also up from GBP30.58 billion the year before.
The wholesale division reported an operating profit of GBP473.8 million, down from GBP634.6 million as it experienced a lower output of electricity from renewable and thermal energy sources and lower gas prices. SSE also said "very difficult market conditions" affecting thermal plants have continued to "persist for several years".
The networks division reported a rise in operating profit to GBP936.8 million from GBP920.3 million, reflecting investment in the asset base of electricity transmission, resulting in higher income.
The retail division reported a GBP456.8 million operating profit, up from GBP327.1 million a year earlier, which SSE said restored the division to a "similar level to that achieved in 2012/2013".
SSE raised its dividend for the full year by 2% to 88.4 pence per share, and said it "believes that the quality of its operations, assets and investment opportunities means it can continue to deliver a full-year dividend that at least keeps pace with RPI inflation in 2015/16 and in the subsequent years."
In the year, investment and capital expenditure fell by 6.8% to GBP1.47 billion compared to GBP1.58 billion a year earlier.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
SSE