(Updates with comment on gas storage business in 5th para.)
UK utility SSE plans to dispose of some non-core assets put the money into low carbon activities, the Scotland-based company said May 26. It reported an 1% increase in adjusted operating profit to £1.506bn ($1.2bn) despite a coronavirus impact of an estimated £170mn,
The announced sale of its stake in Scotia Gas Networks would help SSE exceed the £2bn disposals target on completion, up from the £1.5bn so far. It is a financial investment for SSE, run largely independently and the synergies with the group’s low-carbon electricity businesses are less clear, it said.
British renewable power generator and network operator SSE Plc (SSE.L) said on Wednesday it was on track to invest 7.5 billion pounds ($10.6 billion) in low-carbon projects up to 2025.
Power generated during the year fell by 3% while sales to business tumbled 23%
SSE PLC (LON:SSE) said it will put its Scotia Gas Networks arm up for sale later this year as the final part of a £2bn disposal programme.
The company has refocused itself as a generator and distributor of renewable electricity and raised £1.5bn through disposals already.
Gains from these helped profits jump to £.2.52bn (£587mln) in the year to end March 2021, though on an underlying basis the gain was more modest at 4% to £1.07bn.
Power generated during the year fell by 3% while sales to business tumbled 23% as customers were closed during the pandemic lockdowns.
SSE profit rises as energy giant ramps up net zero push
SSE said it was committed to spending £7.5bn on decarbonisation efforts by 2025 (Getty Images)
SSE today posted a rise in profit for the full year as the energy giant pushes ahead with its strategy of reaching net zero carbon emissions.
The FTSE 100 firm posted adjusted profit before tax of £1.06bn in the year to the end of March, up four per cent on the previous 12 months.
This came after investment and capital expenditure costs of £912m, lower than last year thanks to project finance development expenditure refunds of £429m.