One of Northern Ireland’s biggest energy providers has reported rising turnover for its electricity and gas companies as volatility eased in the market.
SSE Airtricity, based at Millennium House in Belfast and part of UK-wide SSE plc, is NI’s biggest supplier of natural gas and its second-biggest electricity supplier.
At its gas company, turnover for the year to March 31 2024 rose by £36m, while it had increased by £38m at its electricity arm.
In a strategic report filed with accounts for electricity company SSE Airtricity Energy Supply (NI), it describes its core purpose as “providing energy in a reliable and sustainable way”. It has 360,000 customers in NI.
Over the year to March 2024, turnover excluding derivative fair value movements reached £402.6m, up 11% from £363.6m. The cost of sales dropped by nearly £10m to just over £356.4m.
It reported pre-tax profits excluding derivative fair value movements of £27.6m, turning round a pre-tax loss the year before of £22.3m.
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Staff costs rose from £5m to £6.2m, and directors’ remuneration went up from £977,000 to £1.2m. There were 146 employees, an increase from 127.
The cost of living crisis exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine had brought rocketing energy prices the year before.
The strategic report said the 12 months to the end of March 2023 “saw Airtricity respond to the challenging circumstances faced by its domestic energy customers during the year by committing not to make a profit through tariff delays, price freezes for vulnerable customers and a £21m customer fund across the island of Ireland, including a £2m donation to Bryson Charitable Group for local community supports”.
However, market volatility reduced in the financial year ending March 31 2024, enabling Airtricity to announce two price reductions for customers, while returning to profitability. A 6.3% cut for domestic customers was implemented in March last year.
There was was no dividend paid to parent company SSE Energy Supply during the year.
The company said it continued to monitor global geopolitical events which could affect fuel availability and costs. Its biggest risks were customer numbers, sales price and cost and availability of power.
It had a sales programme in place to keep customer numbers up, while directors had also signed contracts for power and have a power hedging arrangement with another group company.
SSE Airtricity’s Klair Neenan
Accounts were also filed by SSE Airtricity Gas Supply (NI) Ltd, described as the market leader in gas supply in NI. It has 200,000 customers.
It buys gas from other group companies and third parties and pays the gas network companies Phoenix Natural Gas, GMO Northern Ireland, SGN Natural Gas and firmus for the distribution and transmission costs. It also supplies natural gas to customers in Gas to the West Network.
It said that in response to falling market prices during the financial year, a tariff reduction of 12.2% was implemented in July 2023. A price reduction of 22.8% was then announced in April 2024.
Turnover excluding derivative fair value movements rose 17.5% from £209.2m to £245.9m.
There was a pre-tax loss of £3.8m excluding derivative fair value movements, compared to a pre-tax profit of £2.3m the year before.
There were 34 employees, up from 25, and staff costs ross from £3.6m to £4.2m. But the accounts noted that auditors’ and directors’ remuneration had been borne by another group company over the last two years.
In October 2024, Irish energy company Yuno Group announced its acquisition of firmus energy, the second-biggest gas supplier here with 110,000 domestic customers.