SSE announces plans to invest billions as operating profit rises

SSE’s operating profit has climbed to £2.53 billion, as the energy company laid out plans to spend billions upgrading its infrastructure.

The FTSE 100 firm, which is based in Perth, reported on Wednesday its adjusted operating profit had increased from 2021/22 as it announced plans that could see it invest up to £40 billion over the next decade, with more than half of that set for Scotland.

Chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said the figures were “profits with a purpose” and enabled SSE to “deliver record investment, far in excess of our earnings, in vital low-carbon energy infrastructure”.

In the company’s annual results for 2022/23 it announced adjusted profits of £1.8 billion after tax and that in the same year it had invested £2.8 billion.

SSE is behind the world’s largest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank, which is off the Yorkshire coast.

The company said the investment programme will see SSE ramp up its deployment of renewable energy, the network infrastructure needed to connect and transport it around the country, and the power sources needed when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining.

As part of its investment programme, the firm said, more than £21 billion could be spent in Scotland.

And across the UK, SSE said, it would create more than 1,000 green jobs every year.

Mr Phillips-Davies said: “As a Scottish-headquartered business, we are incredibly proud to be one of the biggest investors in Scotland, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and helping the country accelerate progress towards net zero.”

The company on Wednesday reported its adjusted earnings per share increased 75% year-on-year to 166p, which it said was supported by a strong performance from the group’s flexible generation and gas storage assets.