National Grid PLC (LSE:NG.) said it has delivered cost savings ahead of schedule and confirmed full-year guidance, although it reported a sharp drop in profitability in the first half.
Statutory pre-tax profit in the six months to 30 September 2023 fell 18% to £1.37 billion from £1.67 billion, while EPS declined 14% to 28.8p from 33.4p.
The firm said this performance was in line with expectations, with non-recurring items reported in 2022/23 explaining why profit was down versus the prior period.
For the full year, National Grid continues to expect underlying EPS to be modestly below 2022/23 levels following the UK government change to the capital allowances legislation from 1 April 2023.
It expects this change to have a 6-7p per share impact on EPS, albeit no economic impact over the long term.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said it had achieved a further £53 million of efficiency savings during the half year, taking cumulative savings to £426 million, exceeding the £400 million target ahead of schedule.
Looking ahead, the company updated its five-year financial framework for the period 2020/21 to 2025/26.
It forecast total cumulative capital investment of around £42 billion and asset growth at a compound annual growth rate of 8-10% driving underlying EPS CAGR of 6-8% from the 2020/21 EPS baseline of 54.2p.
The dividend was increased 9% to 19.40p from 17.84p.