SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies is set to retire next year after more than 11 years in charge at the Perth-based energy giant.

The announcement came as the group posted a 26% increase in pre-tax profits, which came in at £714.5 million for the six months to end of September. The performance was driven by SSE's renewables division, with windier weather and a 1GW increase in capacity generating a near-fourfold rise in its operating profits across its array of windfarms.

Under the tenure of Mr Phillips-Davies, SSE exited the retail energy market in 2019, selling that part of its business to Ovo. He then launched a five-year, £20.5 billion investment programme that is now half way to completion.

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The group said yesterday that its business mix has "provided resilience" with a "return to favourable weather conditions" helping offset lower thermal revenue. It noted that average wind speeds in Scotland were around 14% higher than in the same period a year earlier, helping to drive an increase in output. 

Chairman Sir John Manzoni said Mr Phillips-Davies turned the company into a “genuine energy transition leader, sharpening its focus on networks, renewables and flexibility, whilst successfully entering new markets”.

"Over his 11 years as chief executive he has assembled a world-class team around him and created a legacy of critical clean electricity infrastructure," Sir John said. "Alistair has also grown SSE's UK and Irish core, whilst expanding into selected overseas markets, leaving the company extremely well-positioned to continue creating long-term, sustainable value for society and shareholders under his successor."

John Moore, senior investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said the leadership change will inevitably create a degree of uncertainty but SSE remains in a "sweet spot" in terms of its alignment with the Labour government's plans for a zero-carbon electricity system by 2030.

This will require a large increase in the renewable energy generation that SSE is focused on, including a doubling of onshore wind, tripling of solar power, and quadrupling offshore wind.

SSE reiterated that its Dogger Bank A offshore wind project is still expected to be completed in the second half of 2025, but added that the group anticipates a knock-on effect for turbine installations for both Dogger Bank B and C due to delays at Dogger Bank A. Once completed, Dogger Bank will be the world's largest offshore wind farm.

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Among the projects in its five-year investment programme are plans to connect Shetland to the UK's energy grid for the first time, as well as a 2GW subsea cable that will run from Peterhead to North Yorkshire.

The group generated 5.4 terawatt hours of renewable electricity in the six months to the end of September — enough to power more than 1.6 million homes for a year — mostly through onshore wind.

Commenting on his decision to retire, Mr Phillips-Davies said: "Being chief executive of SSE is an immense privilege and I am extremely proud of what we have achieved over the past decade - right across the Group - as we have steadily grown into becoming the UK and Ireland's clean energy champion.

"We have come a long, long way thanks to the hard work and talent of countless colleagues during that time, and it has been an amazing experience to be part of this great team in the UK, Ireland and now further afield. I remain fully committed to growing the business until my successor is found and continue to be fully focused on delivering our clean power strategy with the rest of our highly capable executive team."

Shares in SSE closed yesterday's trading 9.5p lower at 1,691.5p.