British power company SSE has today reported a 23% jump in annual profit and said it was investing significantly more than it was making in profit to help reduce dependency on imported gas.
The group's adjusted pretax profit came in at £1.16 billion for the year ended March 31, compared with £948.9m a year earlier.
The company owns SSE Airtricity here.
The results were buoyed by strong performance from thermal power plants after wholesale energy prices soared.
The results come as Britain is reported to be considering a windfall tax on companies that have benefited from high energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to help raise cash to support households facing much higher energy bills.
The UK's finance minister Rishi Sunak has said no option is off the table if companies are not seen to be re-investing their large profits in British projects and jobs.
SSE said it plans to invest up to £24 billion in British energy infrastructure this decade including in new wind and hydro electric power projects.
"We are investing far more than we are making in profit to deliver clean homegrown energy that will bolster security, cut emissions and make energy more affordable over the long term," CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies said.
