National Grid Share Price Rose 2.9% Despite Its Weak H1 Results

The National Grid plc (LON: NG) share price rose 2.94% after announcing its half-year results for the period ended 30 September 2023. The company reported a solid underlying operating profit of £1.8 billion, which met its expectations. However, the figure represents a 15% decrease in actual exchange rates (14% at constant currency) compared to the previous year.

The decline was primarily due to non-recurring items reported in 2022/23, which included St William property land sales worth £201 million, a two-month contribution from the Narragansett Electric Company (NECO) of £53 million, and insurance proceeds from its IFA1 interconnector following a fire in September 2021 worth £70 million.

The underlying earnings per share (EPS) for continuing operations stood at 23.8p, down from 32.4p in the previous year. The figures align with the company’s expectations of underlying EPS having a greater weighting in the second half.

National Grid maintained its interim dividend payout at 19.40p per ordinary share*, in line with its policy, compared to 17.84p per ordinary share in the previous period. 

The company’s capital investment for continuing operations reached £3.9 billion, a £70 million increase at constant currency compared to the prior period and a £15 million decrease at actual exchange rates.

The electricity and gas utility company agreed to sell an additional 20% equity interest in National Gas Transmission to a consortium led by Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.

The Group achieved an additional £53 million in efficiency savings during the half year, bringing cumulative efficiency savings to £426 million, surpassing our £400 million target by the end of 2023/24.

John Pettigrew, Chief Executive, said: “Today we've announced solid results and reconfirmed our full-year guidance as we continue to enhance critical energy infrastructure across the communities we serve. This financial performance reflects our role at the heart of the energy transition and a new phase of capital delivery that is firmly underway. Capital investment in our regulated networks reached a record £3.5 billion in this half year as we step up our investment in 17 major onshore and offshore transmission projects in the UK. In the US, we're now progressing a number of major transmission projects to unlock renewable generation and upgrade infrastructure across our jurisdictions.” 

National Grid (NG) share price. 

The National Grid share price edged 2.94% higher to trade at 996.55p from Wednesday’s closing price of 968.10p.