Power company SSE PLC has set out profit guidance for the year to March after a surge in renewables output so far despite stormy weather hampering production in recent months.
Adjusted per-share earnings were on course to sit between 154p and 163p for the year to March, the generator said in a third-quarter update, against 158.5p in fiscal 2024.
Capacity additions and broadly favourable weather over the first nine months of the year had led to a 26% increase in renewable energy generation to 9,253 gigawatt hours.
This was in spite of variable weather recently, after reports from the industry that Storm Eowyn and other winter storms had seen thousands of turbines across the country switched off to avoid being damaged.
SSE chief financial officer Barry O'Regan noted the company had provided “a swift and effective response to the storm” after it caused widespread network disruption.
The FTSE 100-listed group also flagged the first production at its Yellow River onshore wind farm over the third quarter, as development continued at its Dogger Bank offshore project.
Final investment decisions had been made for the Tarbert Next Generation biopower station in Co Kerry in Ireland and the Strathy South onshore wind farm in northern Scotland too, it said.
“We are pleased to report good operational performance during the quarter,” O'Regan added.
“As we look to the opportunities presented by decarbonisation, our focus remains on capital discipline, strategic delivery and the efficient operation of our value-creating assets.”