SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust plc announces its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2024.
There will be a virtual presentation for analysts and investors at 9.30am today. To register, please follow this link:
https://www.lsegissuerservices.com/spark/SDCLEnergyEfficiencyIncomeTrust/events/a77985b7-8564-410f-84cd-c852b0a128d1.
The Company's full Annual Report and Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 can be found on the Company's website: https://www.seeitplc.com/. This has also been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available shortly at: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
Highlights
· Net Asset Value ("NAV") per share(APM) of 90.5p as at 31 March 2024 (31 March 2023: 101.5p), which includes a reduction of 11p from 90bps increase in weighted average unlevered discount rate in the year. NAV fell by just 0.1p in second half of the period (30 September 2023: 90.6p)
· Investment cash inflow from the portfolio(APM) of £92 million as at 31 March 2024, up 8% on a portfolio basis(APM) (2023: £85 million)
· Aggregate dividends(APM) of 6.24p per share declared for the year ended 31 March 2024, in line with target (March 2023: 6.0p) and fully cash covered 1.1x
· Target dividend of 6.32p per share for the year to March 2025
· Portfolio valuation(APM) of £1,117 million as at 31 March 2024, up from £1,100 million at 31 March 2023
· Loss before tax of £56 million for year to 31 March 2024 (31 March 2023: loss of £18.6 million) includes unrealised loss of £118 million from discount rate increases
· Investment of c.£161 million mainly into existing investments during the financial year and a further c.£23 million invested since the year end
· Post-year end sale of its entire investment in UU Solar for approximately £90 million and at a 4.5% premium to the 30 September 2023 valuation, using the proceeds to reduce short-term gearing (APM)
· Scope 4 emissions (savings) of 971,828 tCO2 from Company's portfolio
Alternative Performance Measure (APM): See Annual Report Glossary of Financial Alternative Performance Measures for further details on APMs used throughout this report.
Tony Roper, Chair of SEEIT, said:
"The macro-economic backdrop has created market uncertainty for a second consecutive year and, in this context, SEEIT's performance has remained resilient relative to the wider market.
As the world seeks to address the practical challenges of the energy transition and efforts to decarbonise, energy markets and their supply chains face scarcities and price volatility. Subsequently, investing in more efficient supply, demand and distribution of energy, which is SEEIT's focus, becomes increasingly important and valuable. As such, we believe that SEEIT remains well positioned to benefit from this opportunity."
Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of SDCL, the Investment Manager said:
"SEEIT delivers essential energy services to commercial industrial, public sector and retail clients that are low cost, low carbon and reliable. In a world where energy prices remain high and volatile, where carbon emissions continue to grow and where energy security is an imperative, the need for business and government to slash energy consumption by being more efficient is as pressing as ever.
Particularly where interest rates remain relatively high, we remain cautious with regards to portfolio construction and effective management of our balance sheet. The sale of UU Solar supported our asset valuations and reduced our short-term borrowing facilities. While we consider further selective disposals, we are also ensuring that returns on any new investments compare favourably with the alternatives of reducing gearing and buying back shares. As such, we remain focussed on adding value to our existing investments, and to providing sustainable returns for our investors".
