SSE profits rise as wet and windy weather boosts green power output

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's second-biggest energy supplier SSE reported a 48 percent rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to 548.8 million pounds for the first-half of the year, receiving a boost from strong renewable energy output in wet and windy weather.

SSE said it would pay an interim dividend to shareholders of 26.9 pence per share, up 1.1 percent from a year ago.

Profits in its wholesale energy unit, which includes electricity generation, rose nearly sixfold to 159.6 million pounds thanks to a 38 percent increase in output from its wind farms and hydroelectric power stations to 3.9 terawatt-hours.

(Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by Jason Neely)