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23 Nov 2021 07:00
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23 November 2021
US SOLAR FUND PLC ("USF" or the "Company")
DIVIDEND, QUARTERLY TRADING AND NAV UPDATE
US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) is pleased to announce that its unaudited NAV at 30 September 2021 was $314.7 million or $0.947 per ordinary share, a 0.4% increase from the 30 June 2021 NAV of $313.3 million or $0.943 per ordinary share.
USF is also pleased to announce its Interim Dividend for the three month period ended 30 September 2021 (Third 2021 Interim Dividend) of 1.5 cents per Ordinary Share. The Third 2021 Interim Dividend will be paid on 7 January 2022 to shareholders on the register as at the close of business on 17 December 2021. The ex-dividend date is 16 December 2021.
Of this dividend, 1.5 cents are declared as dividend income with no portion treated as qualifying interest income.
This Third 2021 Interim Dividend is in line with the Company's target full year dividend of 5.5 cents per Ordinary Share. The Company expects to declare modestly lower quarterly dividends in the first and second quarters and slightly higher quarterly dividends in the third and fourth quarters due to the cash flow profile of the assets. USF expects to continue covering dividends paid in 2021 with operating cashflows.
Highlights for the quarter to 30 September 2021:
• Consistent with the Company's policy, USF's assets were internally valued this quarter. An uplift in long-term electricity prices from one of USF's two electricity price forecasters increased asset valuations which, combined with working capital movements and dividends paid and accrued, resulted in the small NAV uplift. USF's other electricity price forecaster expected to release an updated forecast in November which will be incorporated in the 31 December 2021 valuations. Discount rates remained unchanged this period and will be reviewed in the 31 December 2021 valuations.
• Portfolio production was 7.9% below budgeted expectations for the quarter. Production over the period had a smaller impact on revenue generated for the quarter, with revenue 5.9% below budget. Approximately half of the losses were due to below-average irradiation with the remaining losses largely attributable to an equipment outage at Milford in Utah and some other equipment and grid-related issues across the portfolio. The equipment issue at Milford was repaired in October 2021 and the project has resumed normal operations. The other equipment and grid issues have been resolved and were determined to be transitory.
• Despite below budget performance, the dividend was comfortably covered, at 2.57x for the nine months ended 30 September 2021.
• USF's dividend for the quarter ended 30 June 2021 of 1.25 cents per ordinary share was paid on 29 October 2021. Including the Third 2021 Interim Dividend, dividends paid and declared for the 2021 financial year thus far total 4.0 cents per ordinary share.
• All assets in the portfolio have power purchase agreements (PPAs) with contracted prices for 100% of electricity generated. The portfolio weighted average PPA term is 14.6 years as at 30 September 2021, and all PPA counterparties are investment-grade (S&P rated A to BBB).
• As of 30 September 2021, the Investment Manager's pipeline included 4,300MWDC of high-quality assets, with an aggregate value of approximately $4.2 billion in cash equity value and a weighted-average PPA term of 16.9 years.
The NAV update and the Company's factsheet for Q3 2021 are available on the Company's website at: www.ussolarfund.co.uk/investor-centre. A separate Solar Market Update can be found on the website at: www.ussolarfund.co.uk/media-and-insights.
For further information, please contact:
US Solar Fund Whitney Voute
| +1 718 230 4329 |
Cenkos Securities plc James King Tunga Chigovanyika Will Talkington
| +44 20 7397 8900 |
Jefferies International Limited Stuart Klein Gaudi le Roux Neil Winward
| +44 20 7029 8000
|
KL Communications | +44 20 3995 6673 |
Charles Gorman Will Sanderson Millie Steyn |
About US Solar Fund plc
US Solar Fund plc listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange in April 2019, following its successful US$200m IPO, and raised a further $132m in May 2021 taking cumulative proceeds to $332 million. The Company's investment objective is to provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of solar power assets in North America and other OECD countries in the Americas.
US Solar Fund acquires or constructs, owns and operates solar power assets that are expected to have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term power purchase agreements (or PPAs).
Further information on the Company can be found on its website at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.
About the Investment Manager
USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange ASX-listed fund (ASX:NEW) which has committed over US$900m to US and Australian solar plants since late 2015.
NESM is owned by E&P Funds, the funds management division of E&P Financial Group, an ASX-listed company (ASX: EP1) with over A$20 billion of funds under advice.