REG - Octopus Renewables - Q4 2024 Factsheet and Net Asset Value

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure TrustAnnouncement

31/01/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 3616V  Octopus Renewables Infra Trust PLC  31 January 2025

31 January 2025

 

LEI: 213800B81BFJKWM2JV13

 

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc

("ORIT" or the "Company")

 

Q4 2024 Factsheet and Net Asset Value

 

The Board of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc announces that the
unaudited Net Asset Value ("NAV") of the Company as at 31 December 2024 on a
cum-income basis was £570.4 million or 102.65 pence per Ordinary Share (30
September 2024: £582.7 million or 103.77 pence per Ordinary Share).

 

                                                                             Pence per Ordinary Share*  £m
 Unaudited NAV as at 30 September 2024                                       103.77                     582.7
 Power Prices and Green Certificates                                         (0.46)                     (2.6)
 Inflation and Foreign Exchange ("FX")                                       0.05                       0.3
 Share Buybacks                                                              0.31                       (4.3)
 Development Stage Assets                                                    (0.43)                     (2.4)
 Other movements
 Expected return on the portfolio of assets                                  1.93                       10.8
 Q3 2024 interim dividend                                                    (1.50)                     (8.4)
 Plc and Holdco Operating Costs including RCF Interest                       (0.95)                     (5.3)
 Net adjustments                                                             (0.06)                     (0.4)
 Unaudited NAV as at 31 December 2024                                        102.65                     570.4

 

*Totals may not sum exactly due to rounding

 

Power Prices and Green Certificates

 

In Q4 2024, power prices across the markets where ORIT's assets are located
remained broadly stable and Green Certificate and Capacity Market prices saw a
slight decrease. In total, the updates to Power Price and Green Certificate
forecasts led to a valuation decrease of £2.6 million, equivalent to -0.5
pence per Ordinary Share.

 

ORIT's portfolio is well-shielded from short-term power price fluctuations,
with a significant proportion of the Company's revenue having already been
being secured through fixed or contracted agreements. As at 31 December 2024,
this figure stood at 84% of ORIT's revenue over the next 24 months, compared
with 85% as at 30 September 2024. Similarly, the portfolio benefits from a
high proportion of fixed Green Certificate revenue, mitigating the impact of
short-term volatility.

 

Inflation and FX

 

Inflation forecasts across ORIT's jurisdictions were stable or slightly higher
during the quarter, resulting in a valuation increase of £1.1 million.

 

Sterling strengthened 0.8% against the Euro during Q4 2024, resulting in a
gross valuation decrease (before currency hedges) of £2.5 million. Accounting
for currency hedges at the Company level, the negative impact was reduced by
£1.7 million to £0.8 million.

 

The combined effects of inflation and foreign exchange movements resulted in a
net valuation increase of £0.3 million or 0.05 pence per Ordinary Share.

 

Development Stage Assets

 

ORIT conducts regular reviews of the valuations of its development stage
assets, making adjustments based on performance against milestones set at the
time of investment.

 

As part of the Q4 2024 review, the value of ORIT's investment in Nordic
Generation was increased by £2.0 million, in order to reflect its significant
progress ahead of its business plan. Notably, Nordic Generation has secured
planning permission for its first Solar + co-located battery project, with
building permits expected to follow shortly. The expected timetable for
reaching Ready-to-Build status has been brought forward to 2025. Offsetting
this, the valuations of Simply Blue and Hyro were reduced by £4.5 million in
aggregate to account for a higher than anticipated rate of attrition in the
underlying pipeline projects. These adjustments resulted in a net valuation
decrease of £2.4 million or 0.4 pence per Ordinary Share.

 

Share Buybacks

( )

In June 2024, the Company launched a share buyback programme with an initial
tranche of up to £10 million.  During Q4 2024, ORIT repurchased 5,856,260
shares for approximately £4.3 million at an average price of 73.06 pence per
Ordinary Share. Following these transactions, the total number of voting
rights in the Company stood at 555,658,774. This figure has been used as the
denominator in the final NAV per Ordinary Share figure as at 31 December,
resulting in a NAV per share uplift.

 

The purchase of shares at a discount to NAV has contributed to a net increase
in NAV per Ordinary Share of 0.31 pence during Q4, with a total increase of
0.49 pence since the start of the programme.

 

Other movements

 

Included within other movements is a £10.8 million uplift related to the
expected return on the assets, reflecting the net present value of future
cashflows being brought forward from 30 September 2024 to 31 December 2024.
Offsetting this uplift was the payment of the Q3 2024 interim dividend (£8.4
million or 1.50 pence per Ordinary Share) and costs of £5.3 million, which
included operating expenses, transaction costs and RCF interest. The remaining
net adjustment of -£0.4 million arose from a combination of asset performance
and the annual update of budgets for operating sites.

 

Gearing

 

As at 31 December 2024, ORIT had total gearing (total debt drawn as a % of
Gross Asset Value ("GAV"(1))) of 44.6% (43.2% as at 30 September 2024). The
increase in leverage during the quarter reflects the completion of the
acquisition of the fifth Irish solar site from Statkraft Ireland.

 

Notes

 

1              "Gross Asset Value" means the aggregate of (i) the
fair value of the Company's underlying investments (whether or not
subsidiaries), valued on an unlevered basis, (ii) the relevant assets and
liabilities of the Company (including cash) valued at fair value (other than
third party borrowings) to the extent not included in (i) or (ii) above.

 

 

 

 

 

Factsheet

 

The Company's Q4 2024 factsheet has been published today and is available to
download at:

https://www.octopusrenewablesinfrastructure.com/all-reports-publications
(https://www.octopusrenewablesinfrastructure.com/all-reports-publications)

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Octopus Energy Generation (Investment Manager)                                  Via Burson Buchanan or

 Chris Gaydon, David Bird                                                        orit@octopusenergygeneration.com

 Peel Hunt (Broker)                                                              020 7418 8900

 Liz Yong, Luke Simpson, Huw Jeremy (Investment Banking)

 Alex Howe, Chris Bunstead, Ed Welsby, Richard Harris, Michael Bateman (Sales)

 Burson Buchanan (Financial PR)                                                  020 7466 5000

 Charles Ryland, Verity Parker, Samuel Adams

 Apex Listed Companies Services (UK) Limited (Company Secretary)                 020 3327 9720

 

 

Notes to editors

 

About Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust

 

Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust ("ORIT") is a London-listed,
closed-ended investment company incorporated in England and Wales focused
on providing investors with an attractive and sustainable level of income
returns, with an element of capital growth, by investing in a diversified
portfolio of renewable energy assets in Europe and Australia. As an impact
fund, ORIT is helping accelerate the transition to net zero by investing in
green energy, whilst also contributing to a broader set of UN Sustainable
Development Goals through its impact initiatives. ORIT's investment manager is
Octopus Energy Generation.

 

Further details can be found at www.octopusrenewablesinfrastructure.com
(http://www.octopusrenewablesinfrastructure.com/)

 

About Octopus Energy Generation

 

Octopus Energy Generation is driving the renewable energy agenda by building
green power for the future. Its 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 14-year track record with approximately £6.7 billion of assets under
management (AUM) (as of 30 September 2024) across 19 countries and total
4.5GW. These renewable projects generate enough green energy to power 2.6
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
(http://www.octopusenergygeneration.com/)

 

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