UK's SSE says CEO Phillips-Davies to retire in 2025 as profits soar
Reiterates annual adjusted operating profit forecast
Jefferies analysts say management uncertainty could weigh
Outgoing CEO says reduced US wind activity could be an opportunity
Updates with CEO comments on U.S.
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
Nov 13 (Reuters) -British power generator and network operator SSE's SSE.L CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies will retire next year after more than a decade in the job, the company said on Wednesday, as it also posted a 26% jump in half-year profit.
Shares in SSE have gained about 14% since Phillips-Davies, 57, was promoted to the top role at SSE from his deputy CEO position in July 2013, peaking at an all-time high of 2,019 pence in September this year.
Shares were 0.6% lower at 1159 GMT, slightly weaker than a 0.1% fall in the FTSE 100 .FTSE.
Jefferies analysts said the first-half results were positive, but the management uncertainty was "an overhang".
The company has yet to name a successor.
Phillips-Davies oversaw the group's strategic shift towards its networks and renewables businesses and the company on Wednesday cited the strength in renewables as the reason for the latest profits jump.
News that Donald Trump has won the U.S. election prompted shares in several major European wind companies to fall last week as he has said he will scrap offshore wind projects through an executive order on his first day in office.
SSE does not have a presence in the United States and Phillips-Davies said reduced sector activity in the U.S. could ultimately mean factory investment and jobs would come to Europe and the UK.
"If America is not sucking up as much of the supply chain in a number of critical areas, it gives the rest of us a chance to get ahead of the game and deliver at a better price and cost what we need to (deliver)," he said in a call to journalists.
Britain aims to decarbonise its power sector by 2030, as part of wider climate goals, and meeting this target will require a large increase in renewable energy, such as wind and solar, as well as projects that store energy when there is insufficient wind or sun.
The company posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of 714.5 million pounds ($909.8 million) for the six months ended Sept. 30, and reiterated its annual adjusted operating profit forecast.
It also reiterated that its Dogger Bank A offshore wind project is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.
($1 = 0.7854 pounds)
COP29: UK's Starmer sets out new 2035 climate goal https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop-29-uks-starmer-sets-out-new-2035-climate-goal-2024-11-12/#:~:text=BAKU%2C%20Nov%2012%20%28Reuters%29%20-%20Prime%20Minister%20Keir,goal%20at%20the%20United%20Nations%20COP29%20climate%20summit.
Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru and Susanna Twidale in London; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Jan Harvey and Barbara Lewis
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