LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - National Grid reported a dip in underlying half-year pre-tax profit on Thursday as it took a hit from US tax reforms and a number of storms.
In the six months to 30 September, underlying pre-tax profit slipped 4% to £816m - 5% below consensus of £856m - while underlying operating profit was down 6% to £1.29bn.

The company said it incurred costs of £56m from a number of storms in the US. However, the majority of the costs are recoverable under existing regulatory mechanisms.

National Grid also pointed to the return of UK Gas Transmissions allowances it had received for the abandoned Avonmouth pipeline project.

Chief executive John Pettigrew said: "We have continued to make strong operational progress in the first six months whilst maintaining excellent levels of safety and reliability. Investment in our networks increased to £2.1bn, including further progress on our three major interconnector projects. In the UK, we are implementing a cost efficiency and restructuring programme to ensure that we continue to drive outperformance for customers and shareholders.

"In the US, we have completed a full refresh of our rate plans so that all our distribution businesses are now operating under new rates, a major milestone which will support our continued growth. We continue to seek a fair settlement on union negotiations in Massachusetts."

At 1000 GMT, the shares were up 0.7% to 844.20p.

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