National Grid Full Year Results 2021/22.

[idpickering]

Successful portfolio repositioning

Highlights

Financial delivery

■ Underlying operating profit of £4.0 billion was up 11% on a pro forma basis. This reflects higher UK Electricity Transmission (UK ET) net revenue to fund higher investment agreed as part of RIIO-T2, higher revenues following our rate order in our Massachusetts Gas business, the first year of operation of IFA2 and North Sea Link interconnectors, gains on investments in National Grid Partners which invests in companies innovating to accelerate the energy transition, and a lower adverse impact from COVID-19 compared to 2020/21.

■ Reflecting changes to our portfolio, including the first time contribution from WPD, the sale of our 50% St William JV to The Berkeley Group, a first year of operation from the North Sea Link and IFA2 interconnectors, and mark-to-market movements on US derivatives, statutory operating profit was up 82% to £4.4 billion.

■ Recommended final dividend to bring full year dividend to 50.97p, up 3.7% and in line with policy.

Last year, National Grid announced a strategic repositioning of its portfolio. Since then, we have:

■ Completed the £7.9 billion acquisition of Western Power Distribution (WPD), the UK's largest distributor;

■ Obtained regulatory clearances and are awaiting the conclusion of the legal process for the sale of the Narragansett Electric Company (Rhode Island) which we expect to complete in Q1 2022/23;

■ Agreed the sale of a 60% stake in National Grid Gas to Macquarie Asset Management and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, expected to complete in the third quarter of 2022/23 (continued to be held as a discontinued operation); and

■ Increased the focus on our core business following the sale of our 50% stake in the St William Homes joint venture to The Berkeley Group plc, for a cash consideration of £413 million.

And later;

The Directors are proposing a final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2022 of 33.76p per share that will absorb approximately £1,231 million of shareholders' equity (assuming all amounts are settled in cash). It will be paid on 18 August 2022 to shareholders who are on the register of members at 4 June 2022 (subject to shareholders' approval at the AGM). A scrip dividend will be offered as an alternative.

https://www.investegate.co.uk/national- ... 00100283M/

Also posted on Company News here; viewtopic.php?p=501443#p501443

Ian.

[Dod101]

Thanks ian. Should have thought for income investors like me these results are very satisfactory, and the financial look good for this year. Seems a bit difficult to read too much into the outlook for next year; they say 'broadly flat' at one point.

Dod

[idpickering]

Thanks ian. Should have thought for income investors like me these results are very satisfactory, and the financial look good for this year. Seems a bit difficult to read too much into the outlook for next year; they say 'broadly flat' at one point.

Dod

You're welcome Dod. I've held NG. since the early days of my HYP journey, and I like the fact that there never seems to be any dramas with the company, but that's not a given of course. imho, boring, uneventful companies such as NG. make ideal HYP investments. Boring is good.

Ian.

[Arborbridge]

Thanks ian. Should have thought for income investors like me these results are very satisfactory, and the financial look good for this year. Seems a bit difficult to read too much into the outlook for next year; they say 'broadly flat' at one point.

Dod

You're welcome Dod. I've held NG. since the early days of my HYP journey, and I like the fact that there never seems to be any dramas with the company, but that's not a given of course. imho, boring, uneventful companies such as NG. make ideal HYP investments. Boring is good.

Ian.

I'm not sure how long we can regard them as "boring" or "uneventful" - though rather like a swan: from an investors POV gliding along, but loads of activity underneath!

With gas supply being very political particularly at the moment (gas transmission to Europe from UK not being able to keep up with demand), not to mention the need to expand electricity infrastructure to meet demand, I think our swan is very much not in an uneventful phase.

All good, though.

[Dod101]

Thanks ian. Should have thought for income investors like me these results are very satisfactory, and the financial look good for this year. Seems a bit difficult to read too much into the outlook for next year; they say 'broadly flat' at one point.

Dod

You're welcome Dod. I've held NG. since the early days of my HYP journey, and I like the fact that there never seems to be any dramas with the company, but that's not a given of course. imho, boring, uneventful companies such as NG. make ideal HYP investments. Boring is good.

Ian.

I'm not sure how long we can regard them as "boring" or "uneventful" - though rather like a swan: from an investors POV gliding along, but loads of activity underneath!

With gas supply being very political particularly at the moment (gas transmission to Europe from UK not being able to keep up with demand), not to mention the need to expand electricity infrastructure to meet demand, I think our swan is very much not in an uneventful phase.

All good, though.

I agree. There is quite a lot of repositioning going on but it does not seem to me to be quite as clear as with their counterpart, SSE who have gone down the renewables route in a much more transparent way. I find it difficult to get a grip on that. However, Nat Grid are getting the results for us investors.

Dod

[daveh]

I'm not sure how long we can regard them as "boring" or "uneventful" - though rather like a swan: from an investors POV gliding along, but loads of activity underneath!

With gas supply being very political particularly at the moment (gas transmission to Europe from UK not being able to keep up with demand), not to mention the need to expand electricity infrastructure to meet demand, I think our swan is very much not in an uneventful phase.

All good, though.

I saw an interesting news article today (on SKY website I think). The UK is awash with gas at the moment and you can buy it for pennies (well about 300) on the day ahead market. There is so much they don't know what to do with it, the price in Europe is much higher, but the pipeline infrastructure is working at full capacity shipping to Europe so they can't send any more there, the gas fired power stations are going full blast and electricity is being fed to Europe too via the array of interconnectors (that more usually ship electricity in the opposite direction). If only we had some decent gas storage we could be storing cheap gas ready for the winter (year ahead gas prices are not so cheap and similar here and in Europe), but we don't because the politicians weren't willing to support the work needed to keep our largest gas storage facility operating (Rough, a depleted gas field in the North sea, closed 2017).

[Arborbridge]

I'm not sure how long we can regard them as "boring" or "uneventful" - though rather like a swan: from an investors POV gliding along, but loads of activity underneath!

With gas supply being very political particularly at the moment (gas transmission to Europe from UK not being able to keep up with demand), not to mention the need to expand electricity infrastructure to meet demand, I think our swan is very much not in an uneventful phase.

All good, though.

I saw an interesting news article today (on SKY website I think). The UK is awash with gas at the moment and you can buy it for pennies (well about 300) on the day ahead market. There is so much they don't know what to do with it, the price in Europe is much higher, but the pipeline infrastructure is working at full capacity shipping to Europe so they can't send any more there, the gas fired power stations are going full blast and electricity is being fed to Europe too via the array of interconnectors (that more usually ship electricity in the opposite direction). If only we had some decent gas storage we could be storing cheap gas ready for the winter (year ahead gas prices are not so cheap and similar here and in Europe), but we don't because the politicians weren't willing to support the work needed to keep our largest gas storage facility operating (Rough, a depleted gas field in the North sea, closed 2017).

Yes, thanks. It was all that I was thinking of - mentioned on radio 4. We have ships hanging around our coast full of gas and we cannot process the stuff fast enough. The UK has more gas terminals than the EU, it turns out, so most of Europe's liquid gas comes through us. If these ships are not able to download in good time, they won't hang around indefinitely because gas prices in Asia are higher, so they will just up anchor and go East, we were told. NG has irons in this business as a transporter.

Arb.