TIDMUSF TIDMUSFP
RNS Number : 9030N
US Solar Fund PLC
28 September 2023
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INVESTMENTS IN ANY JURISDICTION.
28 September 2023
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
Interim Results to 30 June 2023 , NAV Update and Quarterly
Dividend
US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) is pleased to
announce its interim results for the period to 30 June 2023, along
with a dividend of 1.29 cents per share for the quarter ended 30
June 2023, and its NAV at 30 June 2023 of $284.2 million or $0.855
per share.
Highlights for the quarter to 30 June 2023:
-- NAV at 30 June 2023 of $284.2 million ($0.855 per Ordinary
Share), 11.2% lower than 31 December 2022 NAV of $320.0 million
($0.963 per Ordinary Share).
-- Macroeconomic headwinds impacted the infrastructure sector as
US inflation increased operating costs and discount rates also
rose; combined, these factors more than offset improved merchant
curves for the Company's operating portfolio.
-- Given the current market conditions and feedback from the
Strategic Review, the Board determined the figure at the bottom of
the consultant's valuation range was appropriate to include in the
Company's NAV (as compared to around the mid-point valuations in
all prior periods).
-- The Company announces its Q2 2023 dividend of 1.29 cents per
Ordinary Share, in line with its annual dividend target of 5.66
cents per Ordinary Share. The dividend will be paid as timetabled
below:
-- Ex-Dividend Date: 5 October 2023
-- Record Date: 6 October 2023
-- Payment Date: 27 October 2023
-- Of this dividend 0.30 cents per Ordinary Share has been
designated as an interest distribution while the remaining 0.99
cents per Ordinary Share will be paid as a dividend.
-- The Company paid its Q1 2023 dividend of 1.29 cents per
Ordinary Share on 7 July 2023. Including the gain on the sale of
MS2, the Company expects to cash cover the 2023 dividend.
-- Dividend cover for the twelve months to 30 June 2023 was
1.19x, which also reflects:
-- non-weather losses such as outages and asset unavailability
improving by approximately 20% in the first half of 2023 compared
with 2022
-- lower than expected portfolio generation in the first half
largely due to poor weather, unscheduled maintenance, and
non-reimbursed grid outages
-- 40% of underperformance accounted for by MS2, which is no
longer in the portfolio
Commenting on the Company's results, Gill Nott, Chair of US
Solar Fund, said:
" The Company has faced challenging market conditions over the
first six-months of this year as the macroeconomic environment has
become more volatile. We are pleased that the portfolio has
performed well, confirming the attributes commonly associated with
long term, contracted real assets. However, a variety of market
related factors has impacted the valuation of the assets and the
Board's ability to respond to some of our Shareholder's wishes
during the period. The most significant changes to the market
relate to the current interest rate environment, inflation and
legislative changes affecting the solar industry in the US. As a
result, and as previously announced, the Strategic Review was
unsuccessful in attracting binding offers for the assets or
Company.
We have worked with our advisors and Shareholders throughout the
first six-months of this year to adapt our strategy to the current
and unexpected market conditions and are now laying the groundwork
necessary to move on from the Strategic Review and build confidence
around the future of the Company and the portfolio.
In July, USF announced that it had mutually agreed with NESM
that USF's existing investment management agreement would not
extend beyond the expiry of the initial five year term. We had
already included the possibility of a change of investment manager
in the Strategic Review and were pleased to have several credible
candidates to choose from. After a careful selection process, and
suitable due diligence, we chose Amber as our preferred candidate
to take over the management of the Company from NESM. We have
entered a period of exclusivity with Amber who have now met many of
our shareholders (over 70% by value of shares) to understand their
concerns and opinions on the way forward for the Company. The
Board, NESM, and Amber will be working closely together in the
coming weeks to finalise arrangements for the transfer. Further
details of the buyback/return of capital and other balance sheet
management initiatives will be provided in due course. "
Half-year report
A copy of the half-year report has been submitted to the
National Storage Mechanism and is available at
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism . The
half-year report is also available on US Solar's website, where you
can find all information about the Company:
https://www.ussolarfund.co.uk/investor-centre/key-documents-and-disclosure
.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund
Whitney Voute +1 718 230 4329
Cavendish Securities Plc
James King
Tunga Chigovanyika
Will Talkington +44 20 7397 8900
Jefferies International Limited
Stuart Klein
Gaudi Le Roux +44 20 7029 8000
KL Communications +44 20 3995 6673
Charles Gorman
Charlotte Francis
About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc, established in 2019, listed on the premium
segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019. The Company's
investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and
sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by owning
and operating solar power assets in North America and other OECD
countries in the America.
The solar power assets that the Company acquires or constructs
are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and
generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity
to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements
(or PPAs). The Company's portfolio currently (excluding the
Company's 50% interest in MS2) consists of 41 operational solar
projects with a total capacity of 443MW(DC) , all located in the
United States.
Further information on the Company can be found on its website
at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk .
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also
manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange
(ASX)-listed fund. Combined, US Solar Fund and New Energy Solar
have committed approximately US$1.3 billion to 57 projects
totalling 1.2GW(DC) . NESM is owned by E&P Funds, the funds
management division of E&P Financial Group, an ASX listed
company (ASX: EP1) with over A$20 billion of funds under
advice.
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END
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