By Rory Gallivan
LONDON--U.K. gas and electricity provider SSE PLC (SSE.LN)
Tuesday reported a fall in interim adjusted pretax profit as its
retail business reported a loss, but raised its interim dividend
and said it remains on course to deliver a full-year dividend above
inflation.
Pretax profit excluding exceptional items fell 11.7% from the
same period a year ago to 354 million pounds ($564.3 million),
while the interim dividend increased 3.2% to 26.0 pence per share.
Excluding exceptional items, pretax profit totaled GBP336.4
million, compared with a loss of GBP40.9 million the previous
year.
Chairman Lord Kelvin said SSE is committed to helping retail
customers mitigate the impact of electricity and gas price hikes of
8.2% on average that it announced last month.
"We will work constructively with politicians of all the major
parties, and that is what we are doing," he said.
Shares closed Tuesday at 1,405 pence valuing the company at
GBP13.57 billion.
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter:
@RoryGallivan
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