ORIT has 123MW of solar capacity in the UK, along with 50MW of wind. Image: Octopus Renewables.
High power prices in the UK and Europe have pushed up the net asset value (NAV) of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust’s (ORIT) portfolio, hitting £577.7 million or 102.26 pence per ordinary share at the end of 2021.
It saw an uplift of +£22.3 million due to power prices in Sweden, Poland and the UK in the final quarter of last year, as a gas shortage caused wholesale power prices to surge.
A number of other factors contributed to the uplift, which saw the company’s unaudited NAV increase by £86.9 million or 3.10 pence per ordinary share from September to December 2021. This included an increase in short term UK inflation assumptions, which added +£5.4 million of value, and the company raising net proceeds of £72.4 million in its most recent funding round.
This growth was partially offset by paying £6.2 million in dividends, ORIT said, or 1.25p per ordinary share for Q4. This was the fourth of four equal dividend payments in 2021, hitting the target of 5p for the full year. ORIT is planning to increase its target to 5.24p per ordinary share for the financial year to 31 December 2022.
Additionally, NAV growth was offset by hedging of -£3.2 million, as well as -£3.8 million of other net movements such as a transaction costs relating to previous acquisitions.
“We are pleased to deliver on our dividend target for FY 2021 and to increase our annual dividend target for FY 2022 by 4.8%, alongside the increase in unaudited NAV also announced today,” said Phil Austin, Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc.
“This reflects the Company’s positive performance driven by our diverse portfolio of renewable energy assets across the UK and wider Europe, including operational and in construction assets.”
In September, the company announced plans to further diversify its portfolio following its strong H1 financial results. It has 123MW of UK solar assets across eight sites, and expanded into Ireland with the acquisition of a portfolio of five solar PV sites in July 2021 from Statkraft Ireland.