Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
(Alliance News) JLEN Environmental Assets Group Ltd on Thursday said its net asset value rose by 25% in its recent financial year, and it expects to lift its dividend by 5% in the year ahead.
The FTSE 250-listed environmental infrastructure investment fund said that in the financial year that ended March 31, portfolio valuation stood at £795.4 million, up 39% from £571.4 million a year before. JLEN completed three acquisitions this year, creating a portfolio consisting of 37 assets.
NAV per share rose by 25% to 115.3 pence per share as at March 31 from 92.2p a year ago. This is primarily due to an upward revision to electricity and gas price forecasts, the company explained.
JLEN delivered a share price total return of 7.4%.
Pretax profit multiplied to £185.0 million from £8.1 million.
Chair Richard Morse said: ‘JLEN has had an outstanding year, with NAV appreciation per share of 25%, £118 million raised through two oversubscribed equity issues, investments into new sectors.’
JLEN declared a total dividend of 6.80 pence per share for financial 2022 in line with the target set out in the 2021 annual report, up 0.6% to 6.76p a year ago. However, it said its target dividend for the next financial year is 7.14p per share, representing a much-larger 5.0% increase.
JLEN launched in March 2014 with a portfolio of eight seed assets, raising £160 million in its initial public offering.
Looking ahead, JLEN said it is well-placed to capture investment opportunities.
JLEN shares were down 0.2% at 121.20 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.