Energy firm SSE announces £2.5bn operating profit

Energy company SSE's operating profit has soared to £2.53bn, the company has announced.

The Perth-based firm credited renewable energy projects for a rise of £1.37bn on its figures for 2021/22.

It also set out ambitious plans for the next decade and said it was recruiting for more than 1,000 green jobs every year.

SSE boss Alistair Phillips-Davies said the company's results represented "profit with a purpose".

He added: "They enable us to deliver record investment - far in excess of our earnings - in vital low-carbon energy infrastructure."

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The company made a £1.8bn adjusted profit after tax in 2022/23, and reported a record investment of £2.8bn in the same period.

Its energy projects include the world's largest offshore farm at Dogger Bank, off the Yorkshire coast.

Once fully operational in 2026 it is expected to generate 3.6GW of power - enough for six million UK homes.

Seagreen is the deepest wind farm to be fixed to the seabed in the world

Scotland's biggest offshore wind farm began generating power last August. Seagreen, which is located about 27km (17 miles) off the Angus coast, has been in development for more than a decade.

When fully operational, it will have 114 turbines and generate 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of electricity - enough to power about one million homes.

Mr Phillips Davies said the company had a fully-funded £18bn investment plan covering the five years to 2027.

SSE hopes to invest up to £40bn across the decade to 2031/32.

He added: "This is a massive commitment to the UK and, at around £10m every single day, amounts to one of the largest clean energy investment programmes this country has ever seen - helping create and support thousands of new jobs and powering green growth from Shetland to the Isle of Wight."