National Grid Expects Flat Fiscal Year 2023 Earnings After Fiscal Year 2022's Strong Growth -- Update
May 19 2022 - 2:27AM
Dow Jones News
By Jaime Llinares Taboada
National Grid PLC on Thursday forecast flat earnings for fiscal
2023 and reported an improved profit for fiscal 2022.
The FTSE 100 company expects broadly flat earnings for the 12
months ending March 31, 2023, following strong growth in the
previous year.
The company also reiterated its financial outlook for the
five-year period through to fiscal 2026, which includes cumulative
capital expenditure of 30 billion pounds-35 billion pounds ($37.03
billion-$43.20 billion), with a compound annual asset growth rate
of 6%-8% and underlying earnings-per-share growth of 5%-7%.
The U.K. energy infrastructure group made a pretax profit from
continuing operations--excluding UK Gas Transmission--of GBP3.44
billion in fiscal 2022, more than doubling from GBP1.66 billion a
year earlier.
Underlying operating profit rose 49% to GBP3.99 billion, beating
the market consensus of GBP3.85 billion, which was provided by the
company and was the average of 11 analysts' estimates. This was
largely driven by the acquisition of Western Power Distribution,
which contributed GBP887 million since the deal was completed in
June.
"Our purchase of WPD has pivoted our business to a much greater
focus on electricity infrastructure, putting us at the heart of
delivering the energy transition," Chief Executive John Pettigrew
said.
Adjusting for the acquisition of WPD, pro-forma underlying
operating profit grew 11% on year, the company said. This reflected
higher revenue from UK Electricity Transmission and Massachusetts
Gas, the first year of operation of the IFA2 and North Sea Link
power interconnectors, gains on investments in National Grid
Partners, and the impact from the coronavirus in fiscal 2021.
Capital investments rose to a record of GBP6.7 billion as
pandemic restrictions eased, with higher investments in UK ET and
in the New York offshore wind joint venture, and also on the back
of the acquisition of WPD, the company said.
National Grid declared a final dividend of 33.76 pence a share,
bringing the full-year payment to 50.97 pence, up from 49.16 pence
a year earlier. The group's dividends are linked to a U.K.
inflation index.
Write to Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com;
@JaimeLlinaresT
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 19, 2022 03:12 ET (07:12 GMT)
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