REG - National Grid PLC - Pre-Close Update ahead of 2023/24 Full Yr Results

National GridAnnouncement

18/04/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0496L  National Grid PLC  18 April 2024

18 April 2024

 

National Grid plc

 

Pre-Close Update ahead of 2023/24 Full Year Results

 

 

National Grid today issues a pre-close update ahead of announcing results for
the year ended 31 March 2024 on 23 May 2024.

 

We now expect Underlying EPS for 2023/24 to be in line with the prior year, at
actual exchange rates and before the reporting change noted below.

In the 2023 Spring budget, the UK Government introduced 'full expensing' tax
relief for qualifying capital expenditure to encourage greater levels of
investment from businesses. This change became permanent in November 2023. To
represent underlying profitability more accurately, and to align with UK
peers, we will now report Underlying Earnings and Underlying EPS excluding the
impact of deferred tax in our UK Electricity Transmission and Distribution
businesses.

This reporting change will be reflected in our 2023/24 Full Year results,
which will lead to an expected increase to Underlying EPS of around 8 pence
per share.

Further details will be provided in our 2023/24 Full Year results, and a note
on the change to our definition of Underlying Earnings and Underlying EPS can
be found on the Investors section of our website here
(https://www.nationalgrid.com/investors/resources/analyst-modelling) ¹.

 

 

Enquiries and contacts

 

Investors and Analysts:

 

Nick Ashworth
                                    +44 (0)
7814 355 590

Angela Broad
                                     +44
(0) 7825 351 918

James Flanagan
+44 (0) 7970 778 952

 

Media:

 

Dan Roberts, Brunswick                      +44 (0) 207
404 5959

Lyndsey Evans                                    +44 (0)
7714 672 052

 

 

 

 1  https://www.nationalgrid.com/investors/resources/analyst-modelling
(https://www.nationalgrid.com/investors/resources/analyst-modelling)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This announcement contains certain statements that are neither reported
financial results nor other historical information. These statements are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended. These statements include information with respect to
National Grid's (the Company) financial condition, its results of operations
and businesses, strategy, plans and objectives. Words such as 'aims',
'anticipates', 'expects', 'should', 'intends', 'plans', 'believes', 'outlook',
'seeks', 'estimates', 'targets', 'may', 'will', 'continue', 'project' and
similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense, identify
forward-looking statements. This document also references climate-related
targets and climate-related risks which differ from conventional financial
risks in that they are complex, novel and tend to involve projection over long
term scenarios which are subject to significant uncertainty and change. These
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of National Grid's future
performance and are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in or
implied by such forward-looking statements or targets. Many of these
assumptions, risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond
National Grid's ability to control, predict or estimate precisely, such as
changes in laws or regulations, including any arising as a result of the
current energy crisis, announcements from and decisions by governmental bodies
or regulators, including those relating to the RIIO-T2 and RIIO-ED2 price
controls and the proposals for the future of system operation in the UK; the
timing of construction and delivery by third parties of new generation
projects requiring connection; breaches of, or changes in, environmental,
climate change and health and safety laws or regulations, including breaches
or other incidents arising from the potentially harmful nature of its
activities; network failure or interruption, the inability to carry out
critical non-network operations and damage to infrastructure, due to adverse
weather conditions including the impact of major storms as well as the results
of climate change, due to counterparties being unable to deliver physical
commodities, or due to the failure of or unauthorised access to or deliberate
breaches of National Grid's IT systems and supporting technology; failure to
adequately forecast and respond to disruptions in energy supply; performance
against regulatory targets and standards and against National Grid's peers
with the aim of delivering stakeholder expectations regarding costs and
efficiency savings, as well as against targets and standards designed to
deliver net zero; and customers and counterparties (including financial
institutions) failing to perform their obligations to the Company. Other
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described in this announcement include fluctuations in exchange rates,
interest rates and commodity price indices; restrictions and conditions
(including filing requirements) in National Grid's borrowing and debt
arrangements, funding costs and access to financing; regulatory requirements
for the Company to maintain financial resources in certain parts of its
business and restrictions on some subsidiaries' transactions such as paying
dividends, lending or levying charges; the delayed timing of recoveries and
payments in National Grid's regulated businesses, and whether aspects of its
activities are contestable; the funding requirements and performance of
National Grid's pension schemes and other post-retirement benefit schemes; the
failure to attract, develop and retain employees with the necessary
competencies, including leadership and business capabilities, and any
significant disputes arising with National Grid's employees or the breach of
laws or regulations by its employees; the failure to respond to market
developments, including competition for onshore transmission; the threats and
opportunities presented by emerging technology; the failure by the Company to
respond to, or meet its own commitments as a leader in relation to, climate
change development activities relating to energy transition, including the
integration of distributed energy resources; and the need to grow the
Company's business to deliver its strategy, as well as incorrect or unforeseen
assumptions or conclusions (including unanticipated costs and liabilities)
relating to business development activity, including the sale of the Company's
UK gas transmission and metering business, its strategic infrastructure
projects and joint ventures and the separation and transfer of the electricity
system operator to the public sector. For further details regarding these and
other assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may impact National Grid,
please read the Strategic Report section and the 'Risk factors' on pages 225
to 228 of National Grid's most recent Annual Report and Accounts, as updated
by National Grid's unaudited half-year financial information for the six
months ended 30 September 2023 published on 9 November 2023. In addition, new
factors emerge from time to time and National Grid cannot assess the potential
impact of any such factor on its activities or the extent to which any factor,
or combination of factors, may cause actual future results to differ
materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Except as
may be required by law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to
update any of its forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date
of this announcement.

 

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