SSE plc reports interim results and unveils £33bn five-year investment plan

SSE plc office

SSE plc (LON:SSE) has announced its Interim Results for the six months ended 30 September 2025.

Highlights

A transformational £33bn five-year investment plan announced separately today will see a significant increase in the Group’s exposure to UK electricity networks, driving long-term value creation with attractive regulatory asset value and earnings growth.

Interim results in line with expectations, reflecting typical seasonal averages and with full year performance expectations remaining unchanged.

Adjusted capital investment increased by 22% to £1.6bn, predominantly in SSEN Transmission where four of the eleven major projects are now under construction.

Martin Pibworth, Chief Executive, said:

“Today’s transformational investment plan will help build a cleaner, more secure and more affordable energy system. Upgrading the UK electricity network offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity for accelerated investment that is underpinned by secure UK Government regulatory frameworks. It will unlock much-needed growth across the wider economy and support thousands of jobs over the course of the plan. Our focused, disciplined and comprehensively funded investment plan will improve lives, whilst creating sustainable value for our shareholders and society for decades to come.”

Financial summaryAdjustedReported 
 Sep 2025Sep 20241% mvmtSep 2025Sep 2024% mvmt
Operating profit (£m)655.0860.2(24)%634.2902.8(30)%
Profit before tax (£m)521.5724.7(28)%586.3845.9(31)%
Earnings per share (p)36.150.7(29)%26.447.7(45)%
Investment & capital expenditure (£m)1,570.11,292.122%2,009.41,573.328%
Net debt and hybrid capital (£bn)2(11.4)(9.8)(16)%(10.0)(8.7)(15)%

1 Comparative financial information has been restated, please see note 2.5 to the Interim Financial Statements

2 Reported net debt excludes equity classified hybrid capital, see Alternative Performance Measures section

Financial performance

·      Adjusted Earnings Per Share of 36.1 pence, in line with our expectations and consistent with typical seasonality in half year results.

·      Regulated Networks contributed around two thirds of adjusted operating profits, including:

§ Increasing investment and associated allowed revenues in SSEN Transmission, where adjusted operating profit almost doubled.

§ Distribution operating profits lower than comparative period as guided given the non-recurring inflation adjustment in the prior period, with the business continuing to deliver strong operational performance.

·      Capacity additions delivered by SSE Renewables were offset by less favourable weather and lower hedged prices as expected, with adjusted operating profits (18)% lower than the prior period.

·      Lower operating profits in Energy Customer Solutions as expected, with a bad debt provision release in the comparative period combined with less seasonal fluctuation in wholesale prices meaning a greater proportion of profits are expected to be generated in the second half of the year.

·      Reported operating profit of £634.2m also reflects lower re-measurement gains on forward energy derivatives and exceptional items including £(56.8)m relating to the Group Operating Model and Efficiency Review.

·      Adjusted taxation rate decreased to 9.4%, reflecting tax relief on increasing investment programme.

·      Adjusted capital investment increased by 22% to £1.6bn, predominantly in SSEN Transmission which increased 87% to £702.5m whilst SSEN Distribution increased 29% to £381.1m.

·      Adjusted net debt and hybrid capital at £11.4bn, in line with expectations given increasing investment.

·      Declared an interim dividend of 21.4 pence, being one third of the 2024/25 full year dividend.

Strategic delivery

Networks

·      All major consent applications now submitted across the eleven ASTI and LOTI Transmission projects1.

·      Four of these eleven major projects now consented and under construction.

·      Supply chain fully in place for ASTI and LOTI projects following signing of EGL3 agreements.

·      Distribution delivery accelerating as business prepares for proactive strategic investment in ED3.

Renewables                                                            

·      Full completion of 101MW Yellow River onshore wind farm in Ireland.

·      Construction progressing well at Dogger Bank with turbine installation at Phase A remaining on track for completion by the end of 2025.

·      Consent received for the 4.1GW Berwick Bank offshore windfarm, clearing way for entry into upcoming auction rounds.

Flexibility

·      Significant summer maintenance programme completed with all assets successfully returning to service.

·      Final investment decision taken at the 170MW Platin Power Station in Ireland, underpinned by an attractive capacity market contract.

Financial outlook

·      SSE’s balanced portfolio of assets and resilient business mix has an increasing exposure to a strong, predictable regulated asset base that continues to create sustainable long-term value.

·      Reflecting this, the Group reaffirms the individual performance expectations for each Business Unit for 2025/26 and 2026/27 as set out on page 8. Consistent with the approach taken in prior years, SSE will look to give specific adjusted Earnings Per Share guidance for 2025/26 later in the financial year.

·      Full year 2025/26 capex is expected to increase to over £3bn, with the net debt to EBITDA ratio expected to be within a 3.5 – 4.0x range, before adjusting for today’s proposed placing.

·      In line with SSE’s dividend plan, it is expected that the dividend per share will increase by between 5-10% this financial year.

The transformational £33bn five-year investment plan, also announced today, further outlines a significant increase in the Group’s exposure to UK electricity Networks which will drive long-term value creation with attractive regulatory asset value and earnings growth.

1ASTI: Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment, LOTI: Large Onshore Transmission Investment

Results presentation

SSE will present these interim results and its strategic update on Wednesday 12 November at 08:00am UK time. The presentation will be available to replay. You can join the webcast by visiting sse.com and following the links on the homepage or investor pages; or directly.

This will also be available as a teleconference, for which participants can register to receive a unique pin code and conference call number.

Key Performance Indicators

Financial PerformanceAdjustedReported
 Sep 2025Sep 20241Sep 2025Sep 2024
EBITDA £m1,152.21,323.01,058.61,290.7
Operating profit £m655.0860.2634.2902.8
Profit before tax £m521.5724.7586.3845.9
Earnings per share (EPS) pence36.150.726.447.7
Interim dividend per share (DPS) pence21.421.221.421.2
Investment and capital expenditure £m1,570.11,292.12,009.41,573.3
Net debt and hybrid capital £m11,437.69,843.810,034.68,688.8
SSEN Transmission RAV – £m (100% basis)8,1326,359
SSEN Distribution RAV – £m6,0935,528
SSE Total Electricity Networks RAV – £m (100% basis)14,22511,887

1 Comparative financial information has been restated, please see note 2.5 to the Interim Financial Statements

Performance against 2030 GoalsSep 2025Mar 2025Sep 2024
Cut carbon intensity by 80% to 61gCO2e/kWh 
 – Scope 1 GHG intensity (gCO2e/kWh)200218207
Increase renewable energy output fivefold to at least 50TWh
 – Renewable generation output (TWh)15.413.35.4
Enable low-carbon generation and demand with at least 20GW of renewables connected
 – Renewables connected in SSEN Transmission licence area (GW)210.710.610.3
Champion a fair and just energy transition
 – Contribution to GDP UK (£bn / €bn)37.88/0.95
 – Jobs supported in UK and Ireland362,000/5,190

1 Includes pumped storage, battery energy storage systems, biomass and constrained-off wind in GB

2 Prior period comparators restated to reflect data refinement. Transmission and distribution connected capacity within the SSEN Transmission Network area, includes pumped storage and battery storage.

3 Direct, indirect and induced Gross Value Added and jobs supported, from PwC analysis

Safety PerformanceSep 2025Mar 2025Sep 2024
Total Recordable Injury Rate per 100k hours (SSE & contract partners)0.160.160.16

Investor Timetable

Interim ex-dividend date4 December 2025
Record date5 December 2025
Scrip reference pricing days4 – 10 December 2025
Scrip reference price confirmed and released via RNS11 December 2025
Final date for receipt of scrip elections2 January 2026
Interim dividend payment date30 January 2026
Q3 Trading StatementEarly February 2026
Notification of Closed PeriodEarly April 2026
Preliminary results for the twelve months ended 31 March 202628 May 2026
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