SSE PLC
FINAL DIVIDEND FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2019
SCRIP ALTERNATIVE
SSE plc was notified on 26 August 2019 that a total of 27,094 shareholders have elected to receive the final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2019 of 68.2 pence per ordinary share in respect of 306,737,887 ordinary shares in the form of Scrip dividend. This will result in a reduction in final dividend cash funding of £209,195,239.
A total of 19,086,291 new ordinary shares, fully paid, will be issued on 20 September 2019, representing an increase of 1.86% on the issued share capital (excluding treasury shares) on the dividend record date of 26 July 2019. The relevant Scrip Reference Share Price was 1,096 pence per ordinary share.
Taking account of subscription to Scrip over both interim and final dividends, take-up of the 2018/19 dividend will be 35%. In May 2018, SSE confirmed its intention to buy back shares where take-up of the full year dividend exceeds 20%, starting in financial year 2018/19. SSE therefore intends to initiate a share buy back, in the period following the final dividend payment for the year ended 31 March 2019, in accordance with the authority granted by shareholders at SSE's Annual General Meeting on 18 July 2019 and Chapter 12 of the Listing Rules. The number of ordinary shares to be purchased will not exceed 13,420,470 ordinary shares, and the maximum pecuniary amount allocated to the Scrip buy-back is £150,000,000. SSE intends to complete this share buy-back by 31 March 2020.