 SCOTTISH and Southern Energy (SSE) has upped its dividend by 7.3% after overcoming rising wholesale prices and tough winter weather to deliver a 1.6% rise in pre-tax profit.  The board of Perth-based SSE is recommending a final dividend of 52.6p per share to be paid on September 23. This is up from 49p last year.  This takes the full-year pay-out to 75p, 7.1% higher than 2010 and a real terms rise of 2.2% over retail prices index inflation.  The owner of Scottish Hydro Electric made an adjusted pre-tax profit of ?1.3 billion for the year to March 31, in part because a new pricing deal meant SSE could charge other power companies more for the electricity it generated.  This helped to offset falling hydro-electric and wind generation due to still, dry conditions over the winter.  SSE chief executive Ian Marchant said:  Despite  lower-than-expected output of renewable energy and higher-than-forecast wholesale gas prices, SSE also achieved another increase in adjusted profit before tax.  He warned that if wholesale prices for gas and electricity remain high, consumers face bill increases.  One of the most disappointing things about last year was having to put retail prices up.  However, wholesale prices are high. They are significantly above the level they were in the autumn when we last adjusted our prices.  The more that continues the more we come under pressure to put retail prices up.  Mr Marchant said criticism by regulator Ofgem that energy companies were quick to put prices up whe 