logo-loader

SSE welcomes the lousy weather

Published: 08:05 11 Nov 2015 GMT

SeaEnergy-boat-(Resized)
The weather affects both consumption and production

Retailers may be complaining about the weather but utility company SSE (LON:SSE) said heavy rains and winds gave its renewable energy operations a boost.

Its hydro electric assets in Scotland generated a high level of output of electricity, while the wind farms in Scotland and Ireland saw output return to normal levels after a sub-par performance in the same period last year.

Adjusted profit before tax rose 48.2% in the six months to 30 September to £548.8mln, though reported profit before tax fell 27.1% to £230.8mln, thanks largely to a £284.5mln charge reflecting the movement of derivative financial instruments.

The company said that, while last year it earned around a quarter of its full-year adjusted profit before tax in the first half of the financial year, this time round it projects full-year adjusted profits will be about three times the level of the first half, i.e. around £1.65bn.

The all-important interim dividend was nudged up by 1.1% from a year earlier to 26.9p, underpinned by adjusted earnings per share (EPS) that rose by 47.6% to 45.9p.

SSE has indicated that it wants its dividend cover – EPS divided the dividend – to be around 1.2 – 1.4 over the three years to 2017/18, moving closer to 1.5 over the longer term.

“In the first half of this financial year SSE expected to deal with a number of challenging issues, such as the outcome of the UK Government's legislative programme and investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority. SSE has always acknowledged that there is uncertainty associated with these developments. The road ahead is becoming clearer, however, and there are grounds for cautious optimism that a stable long-term framework can be achieved,” said Richard Gillingwater, who took over as chairman in July.

"There should always be a degree of caution about half-year results, yet SSE has made a solid start to the 2015/16 financial year. ,” he added.

Shares were up 8p at 1,500p in early trading.

Oriole Resources outlines 2023 achievements and future exploration plans

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:ORR) CEO Tim Livesey and chief financial officer Bob Smeeton join Proactive's Stephen Gunnion with details of the company's 2023 financial and operational performance. Livesey highlighted successful exploration programs in Cameroon, at the Bibemi and Mbe projects,...

11 minutes ago