National Grid H1 operating profits up 50%

Utilities firm National Grid said on Thursday that interim operating profits from continuing profits had shot up 50% on an underlying basis to £2.11bn, reflecting the "strength and resilience" of the business.

National Grid said underlying pre-tax profits had risen 47% to £1.44bn, while earnings per share surged 193% on a statutory basis to 30.8p. Interim dividends were hiked 4% to 17.84p.

The London-listed group noted that its investment in clean energy infrastructure had "continued at pace", with a record £3.9bn in the half year.

"This investment will continue into the future, and today, given changes to the macro-economic outlook, we are updating our five-year financial framework that we set out 18 months ago. Between 2022 and 2026, we now expect to invest up to £40.0bn in critical infrastructure, of which £29.0bn will be directly in the decarbonisation of energy networks," said chief executive John Pettigrew.

National Grid also raised full-year underlying earnings per share growth guidance for the 2022/23 year to be in the middle of its new 6-8% compound annual growth rate range.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com