LONDON (Alliance News) - Infinis Energy PLC on Thursday posted a slight fall in pretax profit on the back of a fall in revenue in the first half as the company said it suffered from lower-than-expected wind speeds in the UK during the period.
The FTSE 250-listed wind power company said its pretax profit in the six months to the end of September was GBP2.0 million, down on the GBP2.4 million reported a year ago.
Revenue fell to GBP105.3 million from GBP107.1 million, propped up by a strong performance in its landfill gas business and increase in its average selling price across the group as lower wind speeds took their toll.
The company is paying an interim dividend of 6.1 pence per share, its first interim dividend. It said it expects to maintain its full-year dividend policy of increasing its payout at least in line with inflation. It said the full-year dividend is expected to match its policy of paying GBP55 million per annum. The interim dividend represented GBP18.3 million of that.
Post the period end, Infinis said wind speeds are starting to return to normal levels in the UK, having trended below forecasts in the first half.
It said it maintains its bullish outlook on the medium-term outlook for the business, noting the recent plant shutdowns in the UK serve to highlight the risk of tightening reserve margins and the impact this could have in supporting power prices in the future.
Infinis shares were up 0.2% to 217.15 pence at the open on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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