SSE upgrades annual earnings target

SSE upgraded its estimate for annual earnings as the energy company reported progress in delivery of operations and returns from long-term investments.

In a trading update, SSE said it expected to report adjusted earnings per share of 116p to 120p for the current financial year. In November it said earnings would be at least in line with analysts' consensus of 116p a share.

The FTSE 100 company also reiterated its intention to increase the annual dividend by at least the rate of RPI inflation and to aim for an increase in line with that measure the following year. The dividend is important for the Scottish company's hundreds of thousands of small investors, many of whom have held the shares since privatisation in the early 1990s.

SSE attributed its upbeat outlook to "effective delivery of day-to-day operations" and "returns from its long-term investment programme".

Capital spending will be about £1.6bn in the year to the end of March – slightly lower than SSE's previous estimate of £1.7bn. Investment in the first nine months of the year was £1.1bn and included £355m in onshore and offshore wind, £558m for electricity distribution and transmission and £140m for retail operations, including installing smart meters.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE's chief executive, said: "The energy sector continues to present a number of complex challenges to manage but, throughout this financial year, we have kept our focus on delivering the best possible service for our networks and retail customers and on delivering our programme of investment in the energy infrastructure on which all customers depend. All of this represents an encouraging year so far for SSE."

SSE is merging its household energy business with Npower to form a new company focused on supplying energy to UK homes. SSE said the combination was on course to complete in the last quarter of 2018 or the first quarter of 2019.

Philips-Davies said: "The SSE group will evolve significantly between now and the end of the next financial year. There will be a greater focus on creating value from owning, operating and developing assets and infrastructure; and we will contribute to the creation of a new energy supply market model that combines the resources and experience of two established players with the focus and agility of an independent supplier."