International PPL delivers dividend target as NAV growth continues
International Public Partnerships reported 7.9% growth in its net asset value in its final results on Thursday, to £2.2bn, with its net asset value per share growing to 148.1p from 145p.
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The FTSE 250 company said its full-year dividend increased around 2.5% in the year ended 31 December to 7p.
Its IFRS profit before tax rose to £138.1m from £106.4m year-on-year, with the board targeting 2019 and 2020 full-year dividends of 7.18p and 7.36p per share, respectively.
International PPL said its 2018 cash dividend cover was 1.2x.
The board said current cash generation was “strong and consistent” with forecasts, with the company claiming a sustained track record of “stable and growing” shareholder returns.
It said its primary origination capability resulted in around £105m of new or follow-on investments and commitments in the year.
International PPL said its continued focus on portfolio asset and risk management facilitated the effective transition of the projects impacted by Carillion’s liquidation to new facilities management providers at “no material financial impact” on it or its public sector clients.
It added there was ongoing engagement with energy sector regulator Ofgem to achieve a satisfactory outcome to the current consultation on proposed price control measures.
It said that would govern, among other things, the revenue and incentives received by Cadent between 2021 and 2026, with International PPL saying it had adopted a precautionary approach to the assumed outcome while that continues.
Total shareholder return since initial public offering was now 171.8%, which the board said represented an annualised total shareholder return of 8.6% since IPO in 2006, in line with the long-term returns target of 8% or greater.
More than 3,000 hours of scheduled management meetings took place in 2018 with public sector clients, the board reported, with the portfolio achieving 99.9% asset availability, for those investments whose performance was measured by availability.
New capital totalling £116m was raised in October from new and existing investors at a price of 152.5p per share.
“The company has once again delivered its target level dividend through a year of strong portfolio performance,” said International PPL chairman Michael Gerrard.
“The visibility of underlying cash flows, the quality of our portfolio and the active approach to asset management undertaken by the company's investment adviser gives the board full confidence in delivering future returns for shareholders.”
Gerrard said International PPL’s focus would continue to be on a “wide range” of established and emerging asset classes, where the board believed private finance could deliver “outstanding” infrastructure and good value for money for clients and end-users.
“Our existing portfolio combined with a promising pipeline of global and diversified investment opportunities will support our ability to continue to deliver predictable, long-term, inflation linked returns to our shareholders with a consistently low correlation to the broader equity market.”