UK energy firm pushes profits to £1.29bn

British energy supplier Scottish & Southern Energy today boosted annual profits to £1.29bn (€1.5bn) despite falling power use among its 9.16 million customers.

The 2.9% increase in adjusted pre-tax profits came as the company also announced plans to hike dividends to shareholders by at least 2% above inflation for the next three years.

The UK’s second biggest energy firm said average energy use by its household customers had fallen in each of the previous three years, despite progressively colder winters.