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(Alliance News) - Aquila European Renewables PLC on Wednesday said its net asset value fell across the first half of 2023 and it swung to a loss, although it opted to raise its dividend payment to shareholders.
The London-based closed-ended investment company focused on energy efficiency projects said NAV per share at June 30 stood at 104.1 euro cents, down from 110.6 cents on December 31.
Shares in Aquila European Renewables were down 2.1% to 70.98 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
In the first half of 2023, Aquila European Renewables swung to a pretax loss of EUR17.6 million from a profit of EUR22.4 million a year earlier.
This was due to swinging to an unrealised loss on investments of EUR24.1 million from a gain of EUR16.4 million a year earlier.
Despite the downbeat performance, Aquila European Renewables declared an interim dividend of 2.8 cents each, up from 2.6 cents a year earlier.
"The board recognises and accepts this current signal from the market - returns at what were previously our target level are not, for the moment, sufficiently attractive for investors to wish to entrust us with incremental capital," the company said.
"We continue to believe that the company's portfolio has been well constructed and that the individual assets are sound and will deliver a reliable and attractive future annual flow of income.
Aquila European Renewables noted that EU inflation has been "steadily decreasing from its peak" in October 2022, and that it is "already significantly lower than in the UK and expected to fall further by 2025, as supply bottlenecks ease and food and commodity prices normalise".
It said it remains optimistic on the long-term outlook for the listed renewable energy sector, "bolstered by the ever-more urgent need" to decarbonise the world's energy supply, which it expects to continue to ensure a "favourable" regulatory backdrop.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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