National Grid runs the electricity wires across Great Britain and Northern Ireland while National Grid Gas, previously known Transco and formerly part of British Gas, runs the UK's gas pipe network. The company also owns generator Niagara Mohawk in the US.
Please note that the special dividend of 2nd June 2017 comes with a share consolidation.
Steve Holliday, Chief Executive, said: "Our business has delivered a strong performance in the first half of the year while maintaining high standards of safety and reliability for our customers and increasing our level of investment. Headline profits have benefited from an excellent performance from our interconnectors and property activities, which are strongly weighted towards the first half."
Steve Holliday, Chief Executive, said: "National Grid delivered another successful year. Overall, our businesses achieved a strong operating performance and we developed new strategic growth opportunities in transmission and interconnection. We invested around £3.5bn in essential infrastructure during another year of strong network reliability, safety and resilience. Effective regulation continues to drive efficient investment. In the UK, for example, savings generated in the first two years of the RIIO price controls will reduce future customer bills by around £200m."
Steve Holliday, Chief Executive, said:"I am pleased with the solid start we have made to the year, in line with our expectations overall both operationally and financially. We continue to invest efficiently in essential regulated assets on both sides of the Atlantic, providing our customers with reliable networks while generating value and driving growth. The new eight-year price controls, covering our principal UK regulated activities, and the recent rate case settlements in the US provide us with the long-term framework and clarity to continue to invest for the future."
Recent falls in the market make it easier to choose a dividend of the week as yields have risen across the board. However markets have a habit of pushing beyond what you think is reasonable so once again, as has been the case with most of our recent dividends of the week, we will err on the side of caution. This week we are looking at National Grid. The shares have been hit very hard in the recent market falls, which is unusual for a safe haven stock. Having said that they also recently went ex-dividend on June 5th, which would account for 26p of the fall. The shares have fallen sharply from 847p to 712p and are not that far above their 52 week low.
Steve Holliday, Chief Executive, said:"I am pleased with the progress we made in the first half of the year: operating our networks safely and reliably and delivering a record level of investment. More recently, our teams in the US responded in a timely, safe and effective way to restore service to our customers andlimit disruption caused by 'Superstorm' Sandy. "
This article which appeared in the Saturday edition of the FT on 27th October talks about investors chasing dividends. It is a good read and vindicates our stance that the only reason to invest in equities at the present time is for Dividends.
10.0%
(5.5%)
