Last checked at 
19 Jan 2017 07:00
19 January 2017
JOHN LAING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS GROUP LIMITED
("JLEN" or the "Company")
Net Asset Value and Dividend announcement
JLEN, the listed environmental infrastructure fund, announces its unaudited Net Asset Value ("NAV") as at 31 December 2016 and interim dividend for the quarter ended on that date.
The Company's unaudited NAV as at 31 December 2016 was £284.6 million or 100.0 pence per share, compared to £271.6 million or 98.3 pence per share as at 30 September 2016.The portfolio valuation at 31 December 2016 was £325.4 million.
Short term electricity prices and forecasts for longer term prices from an established market consultant increased over the December quarter leading to an improvement in the portfolio valuation of the renewable energy assets. Discount rates remain unchanged from the half year portfolio valuation as at 30 September 2016 for all assets.
The operational and financial performance of the Company's waste management and waste water treatment facilities were broadly in-line with budget and the solar portfolio also generated returns in-line with budget.
The quarter to 31 December 2016 saw particularly low and unseasonal wind speeds across the UK leading to generation at the Company's wind assets being some 25% below expectations, following the on-budget performance in the half year to 30 September 2016. The net impact on projected distributions from the wind portfolio has been fully reflected in the NAV at 31 December 2016 and represents a reduction in NAV of 0.4 pence per share at that date. However, despite this variability in wind generation, the Company delivered solid NAV growth over the period reflecting an improvement in electricity price forecasts. The Board believes that this demonstrates the benefits of JLEN's diversified approach with waste and solar providing a balance of returns despite the challenging period for wind.
The Company also announces a quarterly interim dividend of 1.535 pence per share for the period from 1 October 2016 to 31 December 2016, in line with the dividend target set out in the 2016 Annual Report.
Dividend Timetable
Ex-dividend date 26 January 2017
Record date 27 January 2017
Payment date 23 February 2017
This announcement contains information that is inside information for the purposes of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
For further details contact:
John Laing Capital Management Limited 020 7901 3559
David Hardy
Chris Tanner
Winterflood Investment Trusts 020 3100 0000
Neil Langford
Chris Mills
About JLEN
JLEN's investment policy is to invest in environmental infrastructure projects that have the benefit of long-term, predictable, wholly or partially inflation-linked cash flows supported by long-term contracts or stable regulatory frameworks.
Environmental Infrastructure is defined by the Company as infrastructure projects that utilise natural or waste resources or support more environmentally-friendly approaches to economic activity. This could involve the generation of renewable energy (including solar, wind, hydropower and biomass technologies), the supply and treatment of water, the treatment and processing of waste, and projects that promote energy efficiency.
JLEN aims to provide investors with an annual dividend per share, initially of 6.0 pence, that increases progressively in line with inflation from 1 April 2015. The target dividend for the year to 31 March 2017 is 6.14 pence per share being the initial target of 6.0 pence per share adjusted for inflation.
Further details of the Company can be found on its website www.jlen.com