Last checked at 
16 Nov 2023 07:00
16 November 2023
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Limited
('Bluefield Solar' or the 'Company')
UNAUDITED NET ASSET VALUE AS OF 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
Bluefield Solar (LON: BSIF), the London listed UK income fund focused primarily on acquiring and managing solar energy assets, announces the Company's net asset value ('NAV') as at 30 September 2023. Unless otherwise noted herein, the information provided in this announcement is unaudited.
The Company's NAV as at 30 September 2023 was £834 million, or 136.4 pence per Ordinary Share, compared to the audited NAV of 139.7 pence per Ordinary Share ('pps') as at 30 June 2023. This equates to a movement of -3.3 pps and a NAV return for the quarter of -2.4%.
The 30 September 2023 NAV is stated after deducting the FY2022/23 fourth Interim dividend of 2.30 pps announced on 28 September 2023 and paid on 6 November 2023. Excluding the deduction of the fourth interim dividend would result in a NAV total return for the quarter of -0.7%.
The principal factors behind the movement in the NAV from 30 June 2023 are: additional value recognised in our development and construction projects following planning consent being achieved on a co-located 70MW solar and 40MW storage project; continued investment into solar PV construction sites Yelvertoft and Mauxhall; and the ongoing programme of repowering selected wind turbines in Northern Ireland. The ROC inflation assumption for April 2024 has also been updated from 7.0% to 9.8%, with all other inflation assumptions remaining as per 30 June 2023.
Offsetting these positive movements is a decrease from operational updates, which includes a slight underperformance in generation during the quarter, due to lower than expected irradiation, and advanced quarterly payments connected to corporation tax and the Electricity Generator Levy.
Whilst power curves from the Company's three independent forecasters reported lower price forecasts for the near term, there were slight increases in the curves further out, compared to those used in the 30 June 2023 valuation. As a result of over 81% of the Company's revenues being fixed until June 2024 there has been no overall impact from these updates on the valuation.
All other core valuation assumptions have remained consistent with the NAV issued in the Company's financial statements for the period ended 30 June 2023.
The breakdown of contributing factors is summarised in the table below:
Pence per Ordinary Share | |
Audited NAV as at 30 June 2023 | 139.7 |
Development and construction | 1.1 |
ROC Inflation | 1.9 |
Power prices | 0.0 |
Operational Updates | -4.0 |
FY23 fourth interim dividend | -2.3 |
Unaudited NAV as at 30 September 2023 | 136.4 |
Development update
In the period since 30 June 2023, the Company has achieved planning permission for 70MW of solar PV and 40MW of battery storage, and Bluefield Solar achieved allocations of Contracts for Difference ('CfD') on all four projects submitted to CfD Allocation Round 5.
Dividend target
The Board has set a target dividend for the 2023/24 financial year of not less than 8.80 pence per Ordinary Share. This is expected to be covered by earnings and to be post debt amortisation.
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For further information:
Bluefield Partners LLP (Company Investment Adviser)James Armstrong / Neil Wood / Giovanni Terranova |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7078 0020 www.bluefieldllp.com |
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Deutsche Numis (Company Broker)Tod Davis / David Benda / Matt Goss | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 www.dbnumis.com |
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Ocorian (Company Secretary & Administrator)Chezi Hanford | Tel: +44 (0) 1481 742 742 www.ocorian.com |
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Media enquiries:Buchanan (PR Adviser)Henry Harrison-Topham / Henry Wilson
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 www.buchanan.uk.comBSIF@buchanan.uk.com |
For further information:
About Bluefield Solar
Bluefield Solar is a London listed income fund focused primarily on acquiring and managing solar energy assets. Not less than 75% of the Company's gross assets will be invested into UK solar assets. The Company can also invest up to 25% of its gross assets into other technologies, such as wind and storage. Bluefield Solar owns and operates a UK portfolio of 812MW, comprising 754MW of solar and 58MW of onshore wind.
Further information can be viewed at www.bluefieldsif.com
About Bluefield Partners
Bluefield Partners LLP was established in 2009 and is an investment adviser to companies and funds investing in renewable energy infrastructure. It has a proven record in the selection, acquisition and supervision of large-scale energy assets in the UK and Europe. The team has been involved in over £6.5 billion renewable funds and/or transactions in both the UK and Europe, including over £1 billion in the UK since December 2011.
Bluefield Partners LLP has led the acquisitions of, and currently advises on, over 100 UK based solar PV assets that are agriculturally, commercially or industrially situated. Based in its London office, it is supported by a dedicated and experienced team of investment, legal and portfolio executives. Bluefield Partners LLP was appointed Investment Adviser to Bluefield Solar in June 2013.