National Grid plc — Form 6-K summary
Filing date: 5 October 2026. The filing furnishes a London Stock Exchange pre-close update for the six months ended 30 September 2026, ahead of the half-year results due 5 November 2026.
Business context and outlook
National Grid says its regulated businesses continue to perform in line with expectations. Strong first-half performance in National Grid Ventures & Other leads the company to expect FY27 EPS growth to be slightly above its 13–15% guidance. Underlying EPS is expected to be weighted to the second half.
Financial performance and changes
- Group operating profit for the half year is expected to have a profile broadly consistent with the prior year.
- UK Electricity Transmission and Distribution operating profit is expected to be broadly evenly split across the year, consistent with FY26.
- US regulated operating profit is expected to be weighted to the second half, reflecting usual seasonality. New England is expected to return to a more typical seasonal profile after a one-off FERC return-on-equity judgment affected the second half of FY26.
- National Grid Ventures & Other is expected to contribute approximately £130 million of first-half performance above expectations. The company attributes this to significant one-off fair-value gains following two NG Partners portfolio capital-market transactions and stronger interconnector performance.
- Closing half-year net debt is expected to be broadly in line with full-year guidance, updated for the Joulent investment and the expected second-half weighting of operating cash flows.
The update does not provide clear values for revenue, reported or underlying profit, cash flow, margins, or actual closing net debt.
Risks and contingencies
The update contains forward-looking statements that are subject to assumptions and uncertainties, not guarantees of future performance. Cited risks include regulatory and government decisions, project delivery and construction timing, extreme weather and network disruption, cybersecurity and IT reliability, energy-supply disruptions, financing and market-rate fluctuations, delayed regulatory recoveries, pension obligations, workforce and counterparty risks, and delivery of strategic and energy-transition commitments. The company refers investors to the risk factors in its 2026 Annual Report.
Key facts for investors to verify
- Whether FY27 EPS growth is confirmed above the 13–15% guidance range and how the expected second-half weighting affects delivery.
- The amount, composition, and recurrence of the approximately £130 million above-expectation performance, particularly the one-off fair-value gains.
- Actual half-year operating profit, revenue, cash flow, and net debt, including the effects of the Joulent investment and seasonal cash flows.
- Any changes to full-year debt or financial guidance in the half-year results on 5 November 2026.