SSE on course to up profits

Energy firm SSE said it was on course to deliver an increase in the dividend per share and an increase in pre-tax profits for the financial year to 31 March 2012.

This came despite its nine month update showing the number of electricity and gas customer accounts it has Great Britain and Ireland fell by 50,000 to 9.60 million.

Their consumption also fell with SSE's household customers in Great Britain using 8.3% less electricity and 26.6% less gas.

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Its figures show that an average household customer paid £710 for electricity and gas in the nine months to 31 December 2011, compared with £760 in the nine months to the end of 2010.

In January SSE announced a cut of 4.5% in its unit price for household gas with effect from 26 March 2012 and said it would not to implement any increase in household electricity and gas prices until October 2012 at the earliest.

The company also said it continued to expect total capital and investment expenditure to be around £1.7bn for 2011/12 as a whole.

"This financial year has been characterised by continuing economic uncertainty and ongoing challenges in global energy markets," Chief Executive Ian Marchant.

That uncertainty and these challenges are likely to continue in the new financial year," he added." Nevertheless, SSE remains on course to deliver further growth in the dividend and in adjusted profit before tax and I am particularly pleased with the continuing good progress in large capital projects."