By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- U.K. energy firm SSE PLC (LON:SSE) has flagged that its total renewable output for the year up to September 22 is about 13% below expectations due to adverse weather conditions.
The group also warned of risks stemming from a "highly changeable" trading environment, particularly from recent volatility in commodity prices linked to concerns over Russian gas supplies to Europe.
However, the performance of SSE's gas storage facilities and flexible thermal power sites - both key alternatives for grids to weather-dependent energy sources like solar and wind - has been "good" despite these market challenges.
Weighing these factors together, SSE predicted adjusted earnings per share, which the company has described as an "important and meaningful" measure of underlying financial health, of at least 40 pence in the first half and 120 pence annually. It added that it will provide an update on the full-year outlook "as the winter period progresses."
Shares in SSE fell on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Perth, Scotland-based business pledged to re-invest any "additional" income it may generate this year into projects that will reduce the U.K's exposure to gas market volatility.
“As an infrastructure company SSE’s over-riding response to the European energy crisis is to address the root cause of the problem and we are committed to reinvesting any additional profits derived from market variability directly back into energy infrastructure that will prevent a repeat of the crisis in the long-term,” said SSE Finance Director Gregor Alexander in a statement.
In the previous year to the end of March 2022, SSE reported adjusted earnings per share of 95.4 pence, up from the prior annual mark of 78.4 pence.