Relief for savers as SSE keeps dividend lights on
INCOME-STARVED investors were today reassured by power giant SSE that it won’t be turning down the dial on its prized dividend anytime soon.
SSE’s payouts are vital for pension funds and savers after the Covid-19 crisis forced the likes of Royal Dutch Shell, ITV or BT to cut or scrap dividends.
The UK’s biggest generator of renewable energy used a brief quarterly trading update to reiterate its five-year dividend plan up to 2022/23, including 80p plus RPI inflation for 2020/21.
It intends to declare a 24.4p interim dividend in November for payment next March. The company said: “SSE’s dividend provides income for people’s pensions and savings and is particularly vital given the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.”
SSE’s pledge came despite the pandemic’s “adverse, albeit temporary” effects on several of its businesses during 2020/21. Its recent annual results included £51.9 million of coronavirus impacts relating to reduced electricity demand and rising bad debts.
Shares were more than 1% higher at 1379p, despite the FTSE 100 index falling sharply in its first downbeat session of the week. The top flight dropped 48.47 points to 6,244.18, having rallied 113 points yesterday on reports of progress with a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca, whose share price wasdown 86.46p at 8909.54p after yesterday’s 5% surge.
Mining giant Anglo American was among the blue-chip fallers after disclosing an 18% drop in second-quarter output. The miner has since restored operations to 90% of capacity from 60% at the height of global lockdowns, prompting it to stick by its full-year guidance for all its products apart from coal. Shares were 47p lower at 1906p.
Purplebricks investors welcomed a £35 million deal that will let the online estate agent focus on the UK housing market. The disposal of the Canadian arm follows last year’s exit from the US and Australia. Shares gained 3p to 58p.
AIM-listed remote meetings business LoopUp surged 12% on the back of another earnings upgrade as it continues to benefit from working-from-home trends. The Shoreditch-based company’s shares stood at 180.5p, having been at 40p in March.
Games developer and publisher Team17, whose shares have also benefited from lockdown trends, rose another 6% to 600p after striking a publishing agreement with China’s Tencent Games’ NExT Studios.