Enlarge imageBy Sudip Kar-Gupta
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s main power network operator, National Grid Transco has said it is trading in line with forecasts and that annual earnings would rise despite the impact of a weak U.S. dollar.
"The group continues to trade in line with expectations, with both underlying profit before tax and underlying earnings
expected to be ahead of last year," National Grid
"This is despite the year-on-year impact of the weaker dollar, which is expected to amount to around 20 million pounds at the earnings level," it added.
A National Grid spokeswoman said on Thursday a consensus analyst forecast for 2005 underlying pretax profit was 1.454 billion pounds, up from 1.391 billion in 2004.
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The consensus forecast for underlying earnings per share (EPS) was 35.3 pence, up from 35.0 pence a year ago.
National Grid shares rose as much as 1.1 percent to 493 pence in morning trading. Analysts at ING and Williams de Broe both reiterated "buy" ratings on the stock.
Last year, National Grid agreed to sell half its gas distribution assets for 5.8 billion pounds, raising money to return to shareholders and invest in U.S. markets.
The company said it would return 2 billion pounds to shareholders and also set a more generous dividend policy.
Finance Director Steve Lucas said the company’s U.S. division, which counts for around a third of group earnings, had performed well.
"The U.S. has continued to be strong and has met its target of cutting costs by 20 percent," he told Reuters.
National Grid shares have performed broadly in line with the benchmark FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> over the last year.
