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This line jumped off the page: "A majority of shareholders spoken to expressed their priority of meeting the 7p dividend target for the 2024/25 financial

year." A position that resonates with the majority of comments on here over the past year. It's extraordinary that the Board are so utterly tone deaf that they have included this in the Final Report and then ignored it! Instead they have emphasised the intent to pay a 'special dividend' whilst simultaneously burying the normal dividend.

Whilst the BoD eat cake the shareholders have been put on a diet of bread and water with the promise of jam tomorrow.... perhaps!

Disingenuous clap trap from the company. They have used smoke and mirrors to disguise a 46% dividend cut, from 7.5p in 2023/24 to 4p in 2024/25. Is the FY 2025/26 dividend now annualised at 4p topped up with 'special dividends' to make it look like 7p - in other words a return to what was previously considered normal? This despite the much announced increased capacity and back slapping...

I agree with you both, TheTrotsky and Therosyl1. I think the ITCs have become a huge distraction that have diverted everyone's gaze from performance. I expect performance to be poor but it is very hard to interpret and understand the different regulatory frameworks, the constant change that seems to be happening and the implications.

The Factsheets are very good at detailing the shifting regulatory sands but useless for offering an interpretation of what they actually mean. I long for "An Idiots Guide to BESS & Market Frameworks" - It's OK to tell me that Ireland is moving from DS3 to FASS but my immediate response is "so what does that mean for GSF - is it good, bad or indifferent". I don't expect Factsheets to include market moving information but they could assist me to understand the market in which I am investing, to GSFs advantage. The saying 'don't invest in what you don't understand' is increasingly coming into my thoughts as I lose track of exactly how GSF are able to create revenue.

I too have become frustrated by the underhand way that the dividend has been downgraded. The EOY Report 2024 is unequivocal in its commitment to maintaining the annual 7p dividend. Shareholders took the short term pain of reduced quarterly payments with the full understanding the rest was to follow. The suspicion that it might not be paid, supported by the ambiguity of company communication, is a major reason for the SP being held back.

My expectations for the EOY25 Report are huge. Clarity over the dividend policy - current and future; Insight into the strategic use of the ITC funds; performance reports for each of the areas of activity with analysis of the shifting regulatory frameworks. There will be a lot to unpack but it is also very complex and I can absolutely understand why folk might be nervous of buying into GSF.

Musk is commenting favourably because he sells them! https://www.tesla.com/megapack

It's a bit like Rolls Royce talking favourably about the future grid being supported by Small Modular Reactors...

Sorry... my error. The EOY Report & Results are not delayed. Ignore my comment on that. However there is no Factsheet for May and my observation for that stands.

Factsheet are normally released toward the end of the month and have been since January 2024 - irrespective of RNS releases or Annual/Interim reports. Nothing so far for May, though it could arrive in the inbox tomorrow or Monday. So we have a delayed final report and, potentially, a missed Factsheet. I assume this is because the company wants to ensure the ITCs are fully in the bag. However they have never been shy of using the Factsheet to keep folk informed, so why is now any different?

I find the RNS very irritating in both content and for the way ordinary shareholders are being treated. 3 immediate observations:

First: "Comprehensive Roadshow in May and June to consult shareholders" - Seriously? I have re read the monthly newsletter released by the company and there is zero mention of a roadshow or how anyone might attend such an event.. Similarly there was nothing advertised on the company website. This wasn't a 'comprehensive' event, it was a cosy get together with the major institutional shareholders to agree how they can be kept on side and on board.

Second: The ITC from Dogfish was £18-19m agreed in June. We were informed that a final 4p dividend would be paid and it would be fair to assume 1p of that might come from existing systems income and 3p from the sale of the ITCs. 505.1m shares x 3p = £15,153,000 or £15.15m. So Dogfish delivered £18m and the 'special' dividend is £15.15m - so why the delay and prevarication? Also, it isn't a 'special' dividend it's the dividend payment that was held back and promised last year.

Third: That the 'Special' Dividend will be paid in 'H2 25' - What on earth does that mean - I presume after June but can we assume it will be paid with the usual dividend in August or will it be deferred into the next business financial year. Why not offer more certainty?

I note the changes in the management fees and the 'comprehensive roadshow' with their mates. I agree this is increasingly looking like a target - we know it, they know it and as far as I am concerned the sooner the better. I have steadily lost confidence and certainly feel that shareholders are being taken for granted.

NomadCane: Ouch! I will be positively apoplectic if the BoD bail out on the final dividend. It was always the elephant in the room, but surely there has to be a modicum of trust between the Board and shareholders. The deferred payment was presented as a way of overcoming short term cash flow problems and I don't ever recall a relationship between the final dividend and receipt of the ITCs. On the contrary, the ITC income was always described as a lump sum, the use of which had yet to be decided.

I accepted the risk by hanging on and buying more at the reduced SP but it will be a rum deal if they bail out on the final 4p. Blimey, the SP will tank as well. I just don't think they could possibly take the risk of not paying and incur the resulting damage to confidence and reputation it would cause. The 7p dividend is a KPI in the GSF EOY report so failure to pay it in full has serious implications.

We are all waiting for the end of year trading update and div announcement. I have looked back at 2024 & 2023 to look at the RNS dates:

2024: Tue 21 May - Full Year Trading Update followed by Thu 20 Jun - Full Year unaudited NAV (with dividend declaration)

2023: Thu 15 Jun - NAV, Operational and Dividend Update.

So it could happen tomorrow Thu 12 Jun or next week Thu 19 Jun.

The wish list should look like this:

a) Confirmation that all ITCs have been received and have been or are in the process of being traded.

b) Confirmation that the final div will be at least 4p bringing the net annual div to 7p.

c) An operational update on when the US assets will trade live.

d) A statement on what the ITC income will be used for - a share buy back; a battery upgrade strategy or new development programme.

e) A statement on future dividend strategy - a return to the balanced quarterly dividend of 2p would be optimum.

f) and finally I would really like to see a reward for shareholders who have watched the SP steadily drop to half its value by issuing a special dividend of at least 1p (bringing the net final dividend to 8p). I don't think it is realistic but it's a wish list ... right?

Starbright - Thanks for the correction. I should have looked at the RM website before I wrote my comment. I now see what they are about and can envisage GSF shares being nested into one of their fund portfolios, likely the 'Alternative Income' fund. I note the April monthly factsheet of the Alternative Income Fund states that meetings were held with GSF. I think this gives me even more confidence that RM have given GSF a good look and decided it is a suitable place for their money.

Rylidan - You make a good observation. RM Capital have built a 5% position since mid March. They now hold 25.3m shares and over the course of 2 months they have invested about £15.25m (taking 60p as an average). Thats a fair commitment and I take it as a vote of confidence because it will have been backed up with due diligence and in house research. The question now is whether that is the end or are they going deeper. If it is the latter is it for their own funds or is this a stalking horse for someone else?

I don't think the drop has anything to do with the financial aspects of the business - dividends or tax credits. I think the drop is directly associated with the news coming out of California - rioting, deployment of the National Guard and civil unrest.

GSF has been written up as a buy in this mornings Daily Telegraph. The financial pundit Questor gives a good summary of the BESS environment along with an analysis of GSF - pros and cons for investing. Described as a ‘marmite’ investment with upside but also lots of risk. It concludes the NAV discount is too wide to be ignored given the likely dividend and possibility of a predator in the wings. Rated as a buy at 64p.

Nala: Indeed... whats on offer is in $ and what we are interested in are the £. From a very simplistic perspective the California related ITC must be pretty significant. GSF are sticking to the $60-80m forecast ITC receipt. Texas has delivered £18-19m which roughly equates to $25m. So to be on target California needs to deliver $35m to $55m or £26 to 41m. From the bottom to the top thats a £15m difference. That's a big gap and could represent a substantial dividend top up if it comes in at the top end.

First ITC sale announced and a promise of more lo come. Still sticking to $60-80m overall with £18-19m already captured.

It is very odd that they declare receipts in £ and expectations in $ - why not stick to a common currency?

The decision to reduce dividends and defer payment into the final quarter was an expediency driven by cash flow constraints. Now that full capacity has been achieved the flow of income should be more balanced suggesting a return to the full quarterly dividend in the 25/26 FY. The company has a declared KPI of a minimum 7p dividend (annual report) but managed 7.5p last year (23/24 FY) - can we hope for a surprise final dividend of 4.5p or even 5p (not 4p as predicted|), and then 2p/quarter thereafter to get everything back in balance?

Sorry - Woodsmith - I was a victim of the auto spell!

@casopinos - thanks for your report back from Perth which I found quite interesting. Sadly 1 week too late for me as prior to your post I completely sold out of my AAL position. I fell into AAL with the rump of money left over from the Sirius debacle (I lost about £80,000) and whilst I have regained my losses I am utterly bemused by the way AAL is being managed. They are selling off the assets - doing BHPs work for them - whilst also reducing the value of the company as a whole. I thought the last report was a shocker. The few paragraphs about Wordsmith are deeply conflicted - 'It's a tier 1 asset and a critical element of the AAL triad of key resources but we are putting it into 'care & maintenance' at considerable short term cost (that we can't afford!) and although there is a huge market we will delay its production (at considerable cost) and want a strategic partner to take a chunk off us". Talking about mixed messages, it looked as though it had been written by a 6th former!

It was enough to see me off. I am sure BHP will step in at some point but if the last report is anything to go by I just don't have the patience to wait and see what more of a mess the CEO can possibly make of it.

@Allive - RR is up because its final report day tomorrow and it is expected that the dividend will be reinstated after a 5 year pause. The movement on RR has nothing to do with noise about defence spending.

Sorry, meant to add that the link was taken from a GSF presentation which suggests that GSF may be using Crux as intermediaries in the sale of the ITC.