(Alliance News) - 3i Infrastructure PLC on Thursday expressed confidence for the future despite a sharp fall in profit in the first half of its current financial year.
The Jersey-headquartered infrastructure investment company said pretax profit for the six months to the end of September was GBP107 million, down 32% from GBP157 million reported a year earlier, as net gains on investments dropped by 41% to GBP85 million from GBP143 million.
More positively, net asset value per share rose to 243.6 pence as at September 30 from 234.7p reported at the end of March.This was reduced to 239.0p after the payment of the interim dividend of 4.6p. Last year, 3i Infrastructure paid a dividend of 4.325p. The company is targeting an annual payout of 9.2p.
"The company continues to outperform its objectives and is on track to deliver the full-year dividend target for financial 2020, up 6.4% from last year," said Chair Richard Laing.
The FTSE 250-listed investor said its portfolio continues to perform well overall, generating a "good" level of income. During the period, 3i Infrastructure invested a total of GBP389 million, including in two new investments which provide "further diversification" of its portfolio and broaden its sector and geographic exposure.
Looking ahead, the company said it is confident of delivering long-term "sustainable" returns to shareholders, through its "well-balanced" portfolio and through selective new investment from its platform.
3i Infrastructure shares were trading 0.9% higher in London on Thursday at 290.65 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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3i Infrastructure (3IN)