London-based energy titan SSE reported a significant surge in pretax profit, with CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies announcing his departure next year after over 11 years of leadership.
SSE's adjusted pretax profit for the six months to September saw a 26 per cent increase, rising to £714.5m from £565.2m during the same timeframe last year, as reported by .
The company attributed its resilience to its business mix, with "return to favourable weather conditions" compensating for lower thermal revenue.
It highlighted that average wind speeds in Scotland were approximately 14 per cent higher than the previous period, contributing to an estimated 45 per cent boost in output.
Following its successful results, SSE declared an interim dividend of 21.2p per share, marking a six per cent increase from last year. The firm remains on course to achieve its 2026/27 target of an adjusted earnings per share between 175-200p.
Phillips-Davies described the interim results as strong, including the delivery of higher-quality earnings and mission-critical infrastructure, demonstrating SSE's central role in the clean energy transition.
He affirmed that the company, specialising in electricity transmission and generation, is well-aligned with the º£½ÇÊÓƵ government's new mission to attain clean power by 2030.
"SSE will be a key delivery partner with our ~£20bn investment programme and the scale and quality of our project pipeline that spans renewables, electricity networks and flexible power plants which will all be required to make clean power a reality," he stated.
Philips-Davies also confirmed his intention to step down during 2025, but he will stay on board until a new leader is appointed. Sir John Manzoni, SSE's chair, has been tasked with overseeing the search for Philips-Davies' replacement.
"There will be a smooth and orderly transition with Alistair continuing to lead the Company until a successor is appointed and of course our net zero aligned strategy remains unchanged," he assured.
