TIDMJLEN
RNS Number : 3618G
John Laing Environmental Assets Grp
19 November 2015
19 November 2015
John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited
Announcement of half-year results to 30 September 2015
The Directors of John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited
(the "Company" or "JLEN") are pleased to announce the Company's
half-year results to 30 September 2015.
JLEN is an environmental infrastructure fund which aims to
provide investors with an annual dividend income, initially of 6.0
pence per share, increasing progressively in line with inflation.
The Company has a stated aim of generating a net IRR of 7.5% to
8.5% on the original issue price of its ordinary shares issued at
its IPO in March 2014, while seeking to preserve the capital value
of its portfolio of assets over the long-term.
Financial Highlights
-- Portfolio valuation as at 30 September 2015 of GBP217.6m (31 March 2015: GBP197.7m)
-- Profit before tax for the six month period of GBP6.2m
-- NAV per ordinary share of 101.2 pence as at 30 September
2015, unchanged from 31 March 2015 after adjusting for dividends
paid during the period
-- Interim dividend of 3.027 pence per ordinary share for the
six months to 30 September 2015 declared, in line with our stated
dividend policy, and reflecting inflation uplift from 1 April
2015
Portfolio Highlights
-- Two acquisitions in July 2015 totalling GBP20.4m, bringing
the total number of operational sites to 14 and the capacity of the
renewable energy assets in the JLEN portfolio to 103.1MW
-- Overall satisfactory operational and financial performance
for the period to 30 September 2015, with variable wind conditions
and continued lower wholesale UK electricity prices impacting wind
assets
-- Strong pipeline of assets for further growth both under the
First Offer Agreement with John Laing Group and from third
parties
Financing Activity
-- Successful issue of shares in July 2015 raising gross
proceeds of GBP65m in an oversubscribed placing and offer for
subscription
-- Net proceeds used to pay down GBP43.7m drawn on Revolving
Credit facility and to fund the two acquisitions in July 2015
-- Revolving credit facility utilised again post period end for
the acquisition of two solar PV roof top portfolios for a total of
GBP28.5m
Richard Morse, Chairman of JLEN, said:
"The Board is encouraged by the progress JLEN has continued to
make during the first half of the year. The operational performance
and underlying strength of our diversified portfolio, coupled with
a strong pipeline of available opportunities, helped us to attract
new investors to our oversubscribed equity fund raise. We were able
to use the funds raised to pay down debt and maintain a healthy
level of acquisitions. We continue to deliver on our commitments
made at the time of our IPO and to that end we have declared an
interim dividend that has increased in line with inflation".
Dividend Timetable
Ex-dividend date 26 November 2015
Record date 27 November 2015
Payment date 18 December 2015
Half-year report
A copy of the half-year report has been submitted to the
National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available at
www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM. The half-year report will also be
available on the Company's website at www.jlen.com where further
information on JLEN can be found.
Details of the conference call for analysts and investors
There will be a call at 9.30am on Friday 20 November for
analysts and investors. To register for the call please contact
Redleaf PR on +44 (0)20 7382 4769, or by email on
JLEN@RedleafPR.com.
Presentation materials will be posted on the Company's website,
www.jlen.com, from 9.00am.
For further information please contact:
John Laing Capital Management
Limited
David Hardy
Chris Tanner +44(0)20 7901 3559
Readleaf PR
Charlie Geller
Harriet Lynch +44(0)20 7382 4769
Chairman's statement
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to present the half-year
report of John Laing Environmental Assets Group Limited for the six
months ended 30 September 2015.
Results
Progress has continued to be made in the performance and
enlargement of JLEN's portfolio of environmental infrastructure
assets during the period.
The Net Asset Value ("NAV") per share at 30 September 2015 was
101.2 pence, unchanged from 31 March 2015 after allowing for the
dividend per share of 3.0 pence paid in the period.
Cash received from the portfolio by way of distributions, which
includes interest, loan repayments and dividends, was GBP9.1
million. Net cash inflows from the investment portfolio (after
operating and finance costs) of GBP7.1 million cover the declared
interim dividend of 3.027 pence per share by approximately 1.05
times.
Dividend policy
For the year to 31 March 2015, the Company met the target set
out in its dividend policy by the payment of two interim dividends
of 3.0 pence per share in December 2014 and June 2015. I am pleased
to announce that the Board has declared an inflation adjusted
interim dividend of 3.027 pence per share for the six months to 30
September 2015, payable on 18 December 2015 to shareholders on the
register as at 27 November 2015, again in line with our dividend
policy. The ex--dividend date will be 26 November 2015. As noted in
our 2015 Annual Report, the Company will commence paying quarterly
dividends from January 2016 with the first being in respect of the
three-month period to 31 December 2015. Based on current
performance of the portfolio, the Board is targeting interim
dividends for the six months ending 31 March 2016 totalling 3.027
pence per share.
Portfolio performance
In general, during the period under review the performance of
the portfolio has been in line with expectations with the exception
of wind speeds during the summer, which were significantly lower
than the long--term average for that time of year. In terms of
operational availability, the assets have performed at or above
expectations and operational efficiencies are beginning to be
realised as the portfolio expands.
The results from the renewable energy assets within the
portfolio are dependent in part on the weather, which can be
predicted with some degree of confidence over the long term but may
vary over the short term. The Company's exposure to both solar and
wind assets provides a degree of protection against variability and
seasonality in resource as solar tends to be more productive at
times when wind is less productive and vice versa.
The results from our renewable energy assets are also dependent
in part on the level of electricity prices, which have trended
noticeably lower since the IPO. The impact on the Company continues
to be mitigated by the fact that the Company has a relatively low
exposure to electricity prices in its ROC and FiT operating
projects compared to other portfolios held by peer funds and the
waste and wastewater processing assets are not affected by the
level of electricity prices. The announcements contained in the
July 2015 Budget had a small net negative impact on the Company's
NAV of approximately 0.4 pence per share, with the loss of revenue
from Levy Exemption Certificates being partially offset by a
reduction in the corporation tax rate. The limited impact on JLEN
from the Budget reflected the benefits of diversification in the
Company's portfolio with a number of assets being net beneficiaries
of the corporation tax changes announced in the Budget.
For the waste and wastewater processing assets, financial
performance has been broadly in line with expectations and volumes
have been at or above expected levels. Despite a fire at the Frog
Island facility (part of the ELWA project) in August 2014, which
affected a significant portion of the operating capacity for
several months, the contract with East London Waste Authority
continued to be fulfilled and the facility is on track for return
to full operations in February 2016.
The Net Asset Value of the Company has moved forward during the
reporting period after allowing for dividends paid, which
demonstrates the benefits of the Company's portfolio
diversification across a range of environmental infrastructure
projects and its operational robustness.
Investment performance
Over the 12 month period to 30 September 2015 shareholders have
seen a share price total return of 8.6%, against an average of 4.5%
for the market peer group.
Acquisitions
During the period under review, the Company announced the
following acquisitions:
Monksham Solar
Monksham Solar is a 10.7MW solar park located near Frome in
Somerset. JLEN acquired a significant economic interest in
Monksham, which represented our first third party acquisition.
Branden Solar
In March 2015, JLEN acquired a 64% stake in Branden Solar. The
Company acquired the remaining 36% stake during the period. This
was purchased from John Laing under the First Offer Agreement,
underlining its continuing importance to the Company's acquisition
pipeline.
These acquisitions brought the total capacity of the renewable
energy assets in the JLEN portfolio to 103.1MW.
Post the period end JLEN acquired a fully operational 6.4MW
portfolio of residential rooftop, commercial rooftop and commercial
ground mounted solar PV installations, distributed across England,
Wales and Scotland from a consortium of investors and developers
for a total consideration of GBP28.5 million, including working
capital.
Capital raising
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