SSE profit drops 55% after retail business sale; cuts dividend as planned

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Energy utility SSE booked a 55% drop in annual profit owing to a loss on its recently-sold retail power business, while reducing its dividend as planned.

Pre-tax profit for the year through March slumped to £587.6m, down from £1.30bn on-year, and included a £478.6m loss from discontinued operations.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose 49% to £1.02bn.

SSE declared a final dividend of 56p per share, making a full-year dividend of 80p, which was down from 97.5p on-year, but in line with the company's five-year dividend plan.

SSE said it expected coronavirus impacts on operating profit for the current financial year to be between £150m and £250m before mitigation.

Guidance on adjusted earnings per share would be provided later in the financial year.

The company said it was continuing to target delivery of its five-year dividend plan, which runs from the 2019 to the 2023 financial years.

'2019/20 was a year of progress for SSE,' chief executive Richard Gillingwater said.'Financially, there was a solid recovery from the previous year.

'Strategically, we reshaped the group with the sale of energy services and increased our focus on our core businesses of regulated electricity networks and renewable energy.'

'Operationally, these businesses made significant progress towards our strategic priorities and ambition to be a leading energy company in a net zero world.'