Airtricity pays €115m dividend to parent SSE Renewables

Energy supplier Airtricity paid a €115 million dividend to its owner, part of London-listed SSE, last year, according to its latest accounts.

SSE Airtricity Ltd earned €10.76 million profit after tax from selling electricity and gas to homes, businesses and other organisations, in the 12 months to March 31st, 2021, the figures show.

According to the accounts, the company paid a €115 million dividend to its parent, SSE Renewables Holdings Ltd, an Irish-registered subsidiary of Scottish-based, London-listed energy group, SSE. A spokesman for SSE said on Friday that the dividend payment was a financial accounting exercise.

“The number represents earnings built up over many years due to no dividend having previously been paid back to SSE Airtricity’s parent company,” he explained.

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The accounts show that the company paid no dividend during its previous financial year.

Write down

Another group company, power plant owner SSE Generation Ireland, earned operating profits of €31.8 million in the 12 months to the end of March last year.

However, it wrote €69.4 million off the value of its electricity generator in Great Island, Co Wexford, leaving it with a loss after tax of €50.36 million.

The write-off was “non-cash”, meaning it was an accounting exercise designed to reflect the change in the value of Great Island as it was recorded on its books.

SSE’s spokesman confirmed that the change was a non-cash exercise. He pointed out that the group’s annual report last year recorded a once-off impairment charge for Great Island “following reductions in forward price curves and forecast electricity demand in Ireland”.

The generation business sells the electricity it produces to the wholesale market, where suppliers buy to sell on to homes and businesses.

Along with Great Island, it owns plants at Rhode, Co Offaly, Tarbert in Co Clare and Tawnaghmore in Co Mayo. Their combined capacity is 1,262 mega watts, enough electricity to power almost 13,000 homes, according to some industry calculations.

SSE is one of the biggest players in the Irish energy market. It owns the supply business, power plants and wind farms.

Part of the group, SSE Renewables, plans to spend up to €6 billion building offshore wind farms around the Irish coast that could produce enough electricity for two million homes.

SSE Renewables' director of development, Maria Ryan, recently called on the Government to increase its target for offshore wind generation beyond 5,000 mega watts.