Profits up at SSE as it winds down coal generation
ENERGY company SSE yesterday reported a 24.1 per cent jump in pre-tax profit in the 12 months to 31 March, and also announced that its loss-making coal-fired operations at Ferrybridge will close next year.
The group posted pre-tax profit of £735.2m, up from £592.5m, while operating profit stayed flat at £1.88bn. The dividend was increased by two per cent to 88.4 pence per share.
According to SSE, slightly higher than average temperatures in the UK during the 2015 financial year contributed to lower household consumption of gas.
And while rainfall in Scotland was 13 per cent above average during the 12 months, which contributed to a highlevel of output from hydro electric schemes, wind speeds in Scotland and Northern Ireland were slightly lower than in the previous year, leading to lower electricity output from wind farms.
Meanwhile, the company completed a review of its coal-fire generation assets and concluded that it should close all of the remaining capacity at Ferrybridge in West Yorkshire, by the end of March next year.
SSE said that, at almost 50 years old, the plant required “increasing levels” of capital expenditure to remain safe and competitive, and EU emissions requirements has also increased running costs.
Paul Smith, head of generation at SSE, said the decision to end coal-fired generation at Ferrybridge had not been taken lightly, but added: “While this was a difficult decision to take, it was the right one.”
Shares in SSE were down by 0.88 per cent yesterday.