Profit rise leads to boost for US shareholders

MORE than £460m in dividends has been paid to US shareholders of power supply company Northern Powergrid on the back of rising revenue and profits.

- TOM KEIGHLEY Business writer [e-mail]

New accounts for the North East operation of the network operator - which is responsible for the distribution of electricity to about 1.6m people in the region - show that a total of £460m was paid to shareholders over the past year and a half.

It comes as the owner of 42,000 kilometres of overhead and underground cables and more than 28,000 substations booked revenue of more than £536m in 2024, up from more than £435m the year before, thanks to higher tariffs charged of electricity suppliers using its network.

Operating profits at Northern Powergrid (Northeast) plc also grew, from a restated £166m up to more than £264m.

Pre-tax profits increased from £145.6m to £235.8m.