REG - US Solar Fund PLC US Solar Fund - USFP - Dividend, Quarterly Trading and NAV Update

Us Solar FundAnnouncement

30/05/2023 07:15

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RNS Number : 8742A  US Solar Fund PLC  30 May 2023

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ANY JURISDICTION.

 

30 May 2023

US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")

Dividend, Quarterly Trading and NAV Update

US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) announces that its unaudited NAV
at 31 March 2023 was $318.1 million or $0.958 per share.

Highlights for the quarter to 31 March 2023:

·    The Company announces its Q1 2023 dividend of 1.29 cents per
Ordinary Share, in line with its annual dividend target of 5.66 cents per
Ordinary Share, a 1.5% increase on the 2022 annual dividend of 5.58 cents per
Ordinary Share. The dividend will be paid as timetabled below:

 

o  Ex-Dividend Date: 15 June 2023

o  Record Date: 16 June 2023

o  Pay Date: 7 July 2023

 

·     Of this dividend declared of 1.29 cents per Ordinary Share, none
of the dividend has been designated as an interest distribution.

 

·     In line with previous years, the Company expects to declare
modestly lower quarterly dividends in the first and second quarters and
slightly higher quarterly dividends in the third and fourth quarters due to
the seasonal cash flow profiles of the assets.

 

·    USF's NAV at 31 December 2022 was $320.0 million or $0.963 per
Ordinary Share. Adjusting for cash flows during the period, the NAV at 31
March 2023 is $318.1 million or $0.958 per Ordinary Share. As described in the
Prospectus, every six months at 30 June and 31 December, the Company engages
an independent third-party appraiser to value operational Solar Assets
acquired by the Company and its subsidiaries. At 31 March and 30 September of
each year, the Investment Manager calculates the fair market value of the
investments made by the Company and its subsidiaries, by rolling forward the
cash flows from the period.

 

·     The Company paid its Q4 2022 dividend of 1.52 cents per Ordinary
Share on 28 April 2023. The dividend was consistent with the Company's target
full year dividend of 5.58 cents per Ordinary Share.

 

·     Dividend cover for the twelve months to 31 March 2023 was 0.90x
reflecting lower than expected portfolio generation in the first quarter, with
poor weather the largest driver of the underperformance. Including the gain on
the sale of MS2, the Company still expects to cash cover the 2023 dividend.

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 US Solar Fund                    +1 718 230 4329

 Whitney Voute

 Cenkos Securities plc            +44 20 7397 8900

 James King

 Tunga Chigovanyika

 Will Talkington

 Jefferies International Limited  +44 20 7029 8000

 Stuart Klein

 Gaudi Le Roux

 KL Communications                +44 20 3995 6673
 Charles Gorman

 Charlotte Francis

 Millie Steyn

 

About US Solar Fund plc

US Solar Fund plc, established in 2019, listed on the premium segment of the
London Stock Exchange in April 2019. The Company's investment objective is to
provide investors with attractive and sustainable dividends with an element of
capital growth by owning and operating solar power assets in North America and
other OECD countries in the America.

The solar power assets that the Company acquires or constructs are expected to
have an asset life of at least 30 years and generate stable and uncorrelated
cashflows by selling electricity to creditworthy offtakers under long-term
power purchase agreements (or PPAs). The Company's portfolio currently
(including the Company's 50% interest in MS2) consists of 42 operational solar
projects with a total capacity of 543MW(DC), all located in the United States.

 

Further information on the Company can be found on its website
at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk (http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk/) .

 

About the Investment Manager

USF is managed by New Energy Solar Manager (NESM). NESM also manages New
Energy Solar, an Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed fund. Combined,
US Solar Fund and New Energy Solar have committed approximately US$1.3 billion
to 57 projects totalling 1.2GW(DC).

 

NESM is owned by E&P Funds, the funds management division of E&P
Financial Group, an ASX listed company (ASX: EP1) with over A$20 billion of
funds under advice.

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