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Power utility SSE reported a rise in annual profit at the midpoint of its guidance range and upped its dividend in line with a five-year payout plan.
Pre-tax profit for the year through March jumped to £2.52 billion, up from £587.6 million year-on-year and included proceeds from asset sales.
Revenue from continuing operations rose modestly to £6.83 billion, up from £6.80 billion and adjusted pre-tax profit rose 4% to £1.06 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 5% to 87.5p, within the 85p-to-90p guidance range.
SSE declared a final dividend of 56.6p per share, making a full-year dividend of 81.0p.
Looking forward, the company said it was not providing full-guidance for the 2022 financial year.
It added, however, that it expected the ongoing impact from the pandemic to be mainly restricted to the performance of its enterprise and business energy units.
'We have also made significant progress on our non-core disposals programme, creating value for shareholders while continuing to sharpen the group's strategic focus on its low-carbon electricity core in networks and renewables, where our capital investment programme is progressing well,' chairman John Manzoni said.
"Looking ahead, a strong balance sheet, underpinned by world-class assets, gives us a firm footing from which to capitalise on the considerable future growth opportunities we are creating in the transition to net zero.'