SSE plc

q1 trading statement

20 july 2023

á    Reaffirming FY24 adjusted earnings per share guidance of more than 150p

á    Dry and still weather conditions in Q1 led to a shortfall over the period equivalent to 5% of annual planned renewables output

á    Key milestones achieved on major projects, supporting delivery of the Group's growth-focused NZAP Plus investment plan

This Trading Statement updates the market on SSE's financial outlook since publication of the Group's Preliminary Full-year Results statement on 24 May 2023 and provides operational performance data ahead of today's SSE plc Annual General Meeting.

TRADING UPDATE

Renewables performance in Q1 was lower than planned, reflecting dry and still weather patterns well below the long-term average, equating to a 5% shortfall on planned renewables output for the year.  However, the key months in SSE's financial year are still to come and the first few weeks of Q2 have so far seen a return to more normal weather.

SSE therefore continues to expect to report full-year 2023/24 adjusted earnings per share of more than 150p, on the basis of a return to more normalised weather, and plant performance and market conditions continuing in line with expectations.

PROGRESS AGAINST STRATEGY

Good progress has been made in delivery of SSE's £18bn Net Zero Acceleration Programme (NZAP) Plus investment plans, with the following key milestones achieved on major projects:

á    The 114^th and final Vestas turbine was installed at Seagreen offshore wind farm in June, and around 90 of the turbines are now commissioned.

á    Construction at Viking onshore wind farm remains on track, with more than half of the Vestas turbines now installed.

á    First power from Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm is expected in the coming weeks, following connection of the first of the GE Renewables Haliade-X turbines.

á    A Joint Venture was signed with National Grid to deliver the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project, a 2GW HVDC subsea transmission cable from Peterhead to Drax.

á    The Shetland HVDC project is currently on schedule ahead of energisation over the summer 2024, and Ofgem has provided Final Needs Case approval for the subsea transmission link to Orkney.

Gregor Alexander, Finance Director, said:

"SSE is a long-term business with a clear strategy, and we remain focused on delivering the ambitious NZAP Plus growth plan that we announced in May.

"We are making good progress on the critical national infrastructure projects that underpin our growth plans out to 2027, and we continue to develop options that could see us invest up to £40bn over the next decade.

"We are seizing the long-term opportunities presented by net zero while in the near term, subject to normal weather and plant availability, our outlook for the full-year remains unchanged."

operational PERFORMANCE

SSE Renewables  

Output of electricity from renewable sources in which SSE has an ownership interest was 624GWh - or around 29% behind plan for the period to 30 June 2023 - mainly due to adverse still and dry weather conditions. This represents a 5% shortfall on planned output for the full year.

Note: Output based on equity share and in the three months to 30 June 2023 includes 76GWh of onshore and 4GWh of offshore compensated constrained off generation. The same period in 2022 includes 98GWh of onshore, and 27GWh offshore, compensated constrained off generation.

SSE Thermal
Output of electricity from SSE's gas-fired generation plant for the three months to 30 June 2023 was down on the same period last year, reflecting more planned outages which were only partially offset by additional capacity from Keadby 2 and the Triton Power acquisition.

Notes:

1. Output is based on equity share except Marchwood where 100% of volumes are included due to the contractual arrangement.

2. Output includes 30GWh of oil-fired generation in the three months to 30 June 2023 and 143GWh of oil-fired generation in the same period in 2022, primarily from older Irish plant.

3. Output in Ireland in the three months to 30 June 2022 was impacted by unavailability at Great Island CCGT.

4. Output in GB excludes 459GWh of pre-commissioning output in the prior period from Keadby 2 CCGT which was commissioned in March 2023.

sse plc annual general meeting 2023

SSE's Annual General Meeting 2023 takes place today, 20 July, at 12.30pm in Perth.

SSE will issue a further business update with its Notification of Close Period statement on 4 October 2023.