SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies has announced his intention to retire next year, sparking a hunt for the next leader to guide the business through the energy transition.
He will remain in place until a successor is appointed to ensure "a smooth and orderly transition", and SSE chairman Sir John Manzoni will lead that process.
Mr Phillips-Davies' departure was announced alongside a strong set of half-year results for the business, which is playing a central role in decarbonising the UK's energy system.
The Perth-based firm reported a 26.4% jump in profit, banking £714million over the first six-months of the year.
In an update to investors this morning, the group said its revenues had been buoyed by strength in its electricity networks and renewables businesses.
SSE said it was making progress on a number of major renewables projects.
In the first half of the year it achieved full energisation of Shetland HVDC link - a 260km subsea transmission cable that connects the islands to the GB energy grid for the first time - and completion of the associated 443MW Viking wind farm, representing an investment of over £1billion.
Construction has also commenced on Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2), a 2GW subsea HVDC project between Peterhead and Drax being delivered in partnership with National Grid. It is the UK's single largest electricity transmission project, transporting enough electricity to power two million UK homes.
It continues to make progress on Dogger Bank, which will become the world's largest offshore wind farm when it becomes operational late next year.
Meanwhile, with the UK Government expected to unveil next steps for deployment of carbon capture technology in Scotland and the Humber in the Spring of 2025, following its £22bn commitment to CCS in October 2024. It is anticipated this will open opportunities for SSE Thermal's Peterhead Carbon Capture.
Commenting on the results, Mr Phillips-Davies said: "This is a strong set of interim results including delivery of higher-quality earnings and the mission-critical infrastructure that shows SSE is at the heart of the clean energy transition.
"We are encouraged by the increasing attractiveness of our main markets and our alignment with the new UK Government's mission to achieve Clean Power by 2030.
"SSE will be a key delivery partner with our £20bn investment programme and the scale and quality of our project pipeline that spans renewables, electricity networks and flexible power plants - which will all be required to make clean power a reality."
FTSE 100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was eight-points at 8,034 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were up 0.04%, trading at $71.92 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
Babcock International Group | Half Year Results |
Intermediate Capital Group | Half Year Results |
Smiths Group | Q1 Trading Statement |
SSE | Half Year Results |
Workspace Group | Half Year Results |