SSE to spend £7.5bn on decarbonising from now until 2025
SSE (LON:SSE), the energy company based in Scotland, announced on Wednesday that its profits rose during the year, as the company moved forward with its plan to reach net zero carbon emissions.
The FTSE 100 company made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £1.06bn for the year to March, an increase of 4% compared to the year before.
SSE believes the total cost of the pandemic will be £170m, below its initial expectations.
SSE also pledged to move forward with its transition to using renewable sources of energy. The group said it plans to spend £7.5bn on decarbonising from now until 2025.
The transmission arm is set for expenditure of £2.8bn for its next regulatory period, while the distribution arm’s plans are set for submission in July.
James Magness, director of Energy and Resources at Edison Group, commented on SSE’s government partnership for this year’s COP26 climate summit, among other things.
“SSE PLC today reported a sturdy set of results for the past year as it managed to deliver an increase in operating profit of 1% up to £1,506.5m. The fallout of the pandemic was felt by the company, with the impact on its operating profit estimated at £170m, which was towards the lower end of its guided range. The adjusted earnings-per-share came in within its guidance of 85-90p, as it reported an increase of 5% to 87.5p, with reported earnings per share at 215.7p per share. The company continued to fundraise during the period, as it reaffirmed its status as the largest issuer of green bonds in the FTSE 100, with the issuance of £500m in March 2021, SSE’s fourth green bond in five years,” Magness said.
“The past year saw continued development for SSE across its £7.5bn Capex plan of investing in low-carbon projects, highlighted with construction well-underway on its new wind farms, including the world’s largest offshore farm at Dogger Bank. The development of these projects chimes with the government’s ambitious net-zero push, with SSE being established as a Principal Partner to the UK Government for the COP26 UN climate summit in November 2021.”
