UK power generator SSE posts 23% jump in annual profit

Power company SSE reported a 23 per cent jump in annual profit on Wednesday and said it was investing significantly more than it was making in profit to help reduce dependency on imported gas.

The group’s adjusted pretax profit came in at £1.16 billion (€1.36 billion) for the year ended March 31st, compared with £948.9 million a year earlier.

The results were buoyed by strong performance from thermal power plants after wholesale energy prices soared.

The results come as Britain is reported to be considering a windfall tax on companies that have benefited from high energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to help raise cash to support households facing much higher energy bills. Britain’s finance minister Rishi Sunak has said no option is off the table if companies are not seen to be re-investing their large profits in British projects and jobs.

SSE said it plans to invest up to £24 billion in British energy infrastructure this decade, including in new wind and hydroelectric power projects.

“We are investing far more than we are making in profit to deliver clean homegrown energy that will bolster security, cut emissions and make energy more affordable over the long term,” chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said in a statement.