LONDON (Reuters) - The country’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.
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 growing U.S. markets.
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The company said it would return 2 billion pounds to shareholders and also set a more generous dividend policy.
National Grid shares closed down 1.4 percent at 487-1/2 pence on Wednesday. The stock has performed broadly in line with the benchmark FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> over the last year.
