REG - Asian Energy Impact Asian Energy - AEIT Asian Energy - AEIP - 31 March 2024 Unaudited NAV

Asian Energy Impact TrustAnnouncement

14/05/2024 07:15

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RNS Number : 2552O  Asian Energy Impact Trust PLC  14 May 2024

LEI: 254900V23329JCBR9G82

 

14 May 2024

Asian Energy Impact Trust plc

(the "Company" or "AEIT")

31 MARCH 2024 unaudited Net Asset Value

Asian Energy Impact Trust plc, the renewable energy investment trust providing
direct access to sustainable energy infrastructure in fast-growing and
emerging economies in Asia, announces its unaudited net asset value ("NAV") at
31 March 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS

                                                           31 March      31 December 2023

                                                            2024         (audited)

                                                           (unaudited)
     Net assets - US$ million                              80.2          81.5
     NAV per share - cents                                  45.6         46.4
     NAV total return per share since IPO 1  (#_ftn1)       -52.4%       -51.5%

·        NAV as at 31 March 2024 (relative to the audited 31 December
2023 NAV) reduced by US$1.3 million.  This reflects a US$0.2 million decrease
in the underlying portfolio valuations and costs of US$1.6 million incurred in
the quarter, slightly offset by US$0.5 million of other movements including
bank deposit interest receivable and foreign exchange gains.

·        Construction of the 200MW solar project that forms part of the
Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park (the "RUMS project") within the SolarArise India
Projects Private Limited ("SolarArise") portfolio commenced in November 2023.
As previously announced, the expected commissioning date is now late June 2024
and additional funding of US$4.5 million is required for project completion.
The additional contingency of US$3.5 million provisioned in the audited 31
December 2023 NAV has been reversed and replaced with updated assumptions and
rolling forward the valuation date. In aggregate, this had an overall positive
impact on the RUMS project valuation of US$0.9 million.

·         At 31 March 2024, the Company had cash balances of US$37.5
million and held US$1.8 million cash in its UK subsidiary, AEIT Holdings
Limited, which is included within the fair value of the Company's investment
portfolio. Since 31 March 2024, the Company has received a cash return from
its investment in NISPI of US$5.6 million and will shortly be investing
US$4.5m into SolarArise to fund the RUMS project (as announced on 13 March
2024).

·         As at 31 March 2024, gearing in AEIT's investment portfolio
represented 64.3% of the Group's adjusted gross asset value 2  (#_ftn2)
("GAV"). Gearing is not used at the Company level.

NET ASSETS

Net assets as at 31 March 2024 were US$80.2 million, with a NAV total return
per share since IPO of -52.4%. The NAV per share decreased to 45.6 cents as at
31 March 2024. The following table reconciles the movements from the audited
NAV as at 31 December 2023.

 Net assets bridge - US$'000s                                            31 December 2023

to 31 March 2024
 Net assets at 31 December 2023                                          81,549
 Change in fair value of investment portfolio                            (156)
 Dividends paid to shareholders                                           -
 Investment management fees                                               (675)
 Exceptional costs from temporary share suspension and strategic review  (500)
 Other PLC costs (net)                                                   (503)
 Other movements                                                          447
 Net assets at 31 December 2023                                          80,162

Fair Value of Investment Portfolio

The most significant movements in the fair value from 31 December 2023 to 31
March 2024 are summarised in the table below.

 Fair value of investments bridge - US$'000s       31 December 2023

to 31 March 2024
 Fair value of investments at 31 December 2023     42,057
 RUMS project                                      934
 Inflation, FX and roll forward of valuation date  759
 Generation                                        12
 Other adjustments                                 (1,852)
 Fair value at 31 March 2024                       41,909

RUMS project: Changes in the underlying project economics amounted to a US$0.9
million increase in value. This includes the reversal of the US$3.5 million
contingency included in the audited 31 December 2023 valuation, as the
incremental delays and costs based on commissioning now occurring in June 2024
have since been reflected in the underlying assumptions. This commissioning
date is dependent on the landowner of the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Park
("RUMSL 3  (#_ftn3) ") constructing the transmission line and other
infrastructure required for commissioning. The previous "haircut" provision to
generation assumptions was removed in the quarter based on ratification of the
assumptions through an additional third-party P50 yield assessment coupled
with build quality risks being mitigated through employment of an Owner's
Engineer and ongoing monitoring of design and build quality, which is
currently reported to be of good quality. Operating cost assumptions increased
based on an updated budget. Delays to commissioning as well as capital
expenditure overruns were also incorporated. Other minor changes include the
roll forward of the valuation date including updating for macroeconomic
assumptions and other updates.

Inflation, FX and roll forward: For inflation, the approach is to blend two
inflation forecasts from reputable third-party sources and apply this
consistently to assumptions. For FX, valuations are converted from local
currency at the relevant spot rate at the balance sheet date. The discount
rate unwind includes the net present value of future cashflows being brought
forward from the last valuation date to 31 March 2024.

Generation: A technical advisor was appointed in September 2023 to provide
updated P50 4  (#_ftn4) yield assessments. Reports were received in March for
NISPI 5  (#_ftn5) and VSS 6  (#_ftn6) and have been updated in the model. For
NISPI, the resulting generation from incorporating these yield assessments is
slightly below the estimated reduction applied to the P50 yield assessments at
the time of acquisition utilised in the 31 December 2023 valuation. For VSS,
the resulting generation from incorporating these yield assessments is
slightly above the estimated reduction applied to the P50 yield assessments at
the time of acquisition utilised in the 31 December 2023 valuation. These have
largely offset each other.

Other adjustments: The most material element, which decreased the fair value
at 31 March 2024 by US$1.3 million, was revising assumptions for operational
and holding company costs based on updated budgets received from the asset
managers of NISPI and SolarArise. The balance of the other adjustments largely
related to the underperformance of assets. No changes were made to the
discount rates applied which are in the range of 10.0% - 12.5%. Further, the
Company's policy is to blend at least two wholesale electricity spot market
price curves based on semi-annual reports prepared by market advisors that are
reputable in the relevant markets. Accordingly, no updated reports were
received in the quarter, and power price forecasts have only been updated to
reflect revised inflation and foreign exchange assumptions in the quarter.

Dividends

No dividend has been declared in respect of either the quarter ended 31
December 2023, or the quarter ended 31 March 2024.

Expenses

In the three-month period ended 31 March 2024, investment management fees
totalled US$0.7 million, exceptional costs in respect of the temporary share
suspension and strategic review totalled US$0.5 million and other PLC costs
for the quarter totalled $0.5 million. There is also an amount of US$0.4
million relating to interest received on cash deposits.

GEARING

Gearing is not used at the Company level.  As at 31 March 2024, US$41.2
million had been drawn under the US$54.9 million project finance facility for
construction of the RUMS project. As at 31 March 2024, SolarArise's SPVs had
aggregate external borrowings of US$142.0 million (31 December 2023: US$108.6
million) and the Vietnamese assets had external borrowings of US$1.1 million
(31 December 2023: US$1.3 million), whilst the Philippine assets were
ungeared. As at 31 March 2024, gearing in the investment portfolio represented
64.3% (31 December 2023: 56.9%) of the Group's adjusted GAV. On a pro forma
basis, gearing would increase to 66.3% once the full project finance facility
of the RUMS project is drawn down based on the NAV as at 31 March 2024.

Q1 2024 FACTSHEET

The Company's factsheet for the quarter ended 31 March 2024 will be available
shortly on its website, www.asianenergyimpact.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.asianenergyimpact.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86Mjc3YWRiNjllOGU4MmM0MzgwMDBmYzRkOTRjMTYzMjc6NjpkYjBjOjc3Y2IwN2Y2Yjc1OWRmZjJkMmIyMGZmZjVmOTE3ZjJiMjQ3YWNmYzc4MjQ1ZWVkNTRjZTNiYmU0N2JlMWIwMzY6cDpU)
.

 

Enquiries

 Asian Energy Impact Trust plc                                Tel: +44 (0)20 3757 1892

Sue Inglis, Chair
 Octopus Energy Generation (Transitional Investment Manager)  Tel: +44 (0)20 4530 8369
 Press Office                                                 aeit@octopusenergygeneration.com
 Shore Capital (Joint Corporate Broker)                       Tel: +44 (0)20 7408 4050

Mark Percy / Gillian Martin / Rose Ramsden (Corporate)
 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Corporate Broker)                       Tel: +44 (0)20 7418 8900

Luke Simpson / Huw Jeremy (Investment Banking Division)
 Smith Square Partners LLP (Financial Advisor)                Tel: +44 (0)20 3696 7260
 John Craven / Douglas Gilmour
 Camarco (PR Advisor)                                         Tel: +44 (0)20 3757 4982
 Louise Dolan / Eddie Livingstone-Learmonth / Phoebe Pugh     asianenergyimpacttrust@camarco.co.uk
                                                              (mailto:asianenergyimpacttrust@camarco.co.uk)

About Asian Energy Impact Trust plc

Asian Energy Impact Trust plc listed on the premium segment of the main market
of the London Stock Exchange in December 2021 and was awarded the Green
Economy Mark upon admission. The Company is an Article 9 fund under the EU
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

With effect from 1 November 2023, the Company appointed Octopus Energy
Generation as its transitional investment manager.

Further information on the Company can be found on its website at
www.asianenergyimpact.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.asianenergyimpact.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86Mjc3YWRiNjllOGU4MmM0MzgwMDBmYzRkOTRjMTYzMjc6NjpkYjBjOjc3Y2IwN2Y2Yjc1OWRmZjJkMmIyMGZmZjVmOTE3ZjJiMjQ3YWNmYzc4MjQ1ZWVkNTRjZTNiYmU0N2JlMWIwMzY6cDpU)
.

About Octopus Energy Generation

Octopus Energy Generation ("OEGEN") is driving the renewable energy agenda by
building green power for the future. Its London-based, leading specialist
renewable energy fund management team invests in renewable energy assets and
broader projects helping the energy transition, across operational,
construction and development stages. The team was set up in 2010 based on the
belief that investors can play a vital role in accelerating the shift to a
future powered by renewable energy. It has a 13-year track record with
approximately £6.7 billion of assets under management (AUM) (as of
December 2023) across 19 countries and total 3.7GW. These renewable projects
generate enough green energy to power 2.4 million homes every year, the
equivalent of taking over 1.4 million petrol cars off the road. Octopus Energy
Generation is the trading name of Octopus Renewables Limited. 

Further details can be found at  www.octopusenergygeneration.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.octopusenergygeneration.com/___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86YWU5MjAzMTY0ODg2OGJjYzQ1NDUwNTU1OGVmZTc0ZmY6NjoyOTI1OmQyNWZmZDNlNzk1MmRhMGYxNTFmYzFkZjgyMmE2OWRiODBjZGQ5MmZmYTg2YTBjNzBjY2JmZGExZDhiNDM1N2M6cDpU)
.

 1  (#_ftnref1) NAV total return per share represents the total return to
shareholders, being the combined effect of the rise or fall in the NAV per
share over the relevant period and assumes dividends paid in the relevant
period are reinvested immediately in the Company at the prevailing NAV per
share, in comparison to the NAV per share at the IPO.

 2  (#_ftnref2) The Group's adjusted GAV is the Company's GAV plus its
proportionate share of asset level debt.

 3  (#_ftnref3) RUMSL is a joint venture between Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas
Nigam Limited and Solar Energy Corporation of India. Solar Energy Corporation
of India Ltd is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,
Government of India.

 4  (#_ftnref4) The term 'P50' refers to the median probability scenario for
the energy output of a solar asset. It means that there is a 50% chance that
the actual energy production will exceed the P50 estimate and a 50% chance
that it will fall below.

 5  (#_ftnref5) NISPI is an investee company with three operating solar plants
with a total capacity of 80MW situated on the island of Negros, Philippines.

 6  (#_ftnref6) VSS refers to the Company's 99.8% stake in VSS and its four
subsidiaries, incorporating 6.12 MW of rooftop solar assets.

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