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30 November 2023
US SOLAR FUND PLC (USF, the "Company")
Dividend and NAV Update
US Solar Fund plc (LON: USF (USD)/USFP (GBP)) announces that its unaudited NAV at 30 September 2023 was $286.3 million or $0.862 per share.
Highlights for the quarter to 30 September 2023:
§ USF's NAV at 30 June 2023 was $284.2 million or $0.855 per Ordinary Share. Adjusting for cash flows during the period, the unaudited NAV at 30 September 2023 is $286.3 million or $0.862 per Ordinary Share, 0.7% higher than the 30 June 2023 NAV.
§ The Company announces its Q3 2023 dividend of 1.54 cents per Ordinary Share, in line with its annual dividend target of 5.66 cents per Ordinary Share. The dividend will be paid as timetabled below:
o Ex-Dividend Date: 7 December 2023
o Record Date: 8 December 2023
o Payment Date: 29 December 2023
§ Of this dividend declared of 1.54 cents per Ordinary Share, none of the dividend has been designated as an interest distribution.
§ The Company paid its Q2 2023 dividend of 1.29 cents per Ordinary Share on 27 October 2023.
§ Dividend cover for the twelve months to 30 September 2023 was 1.25x, inclusive of cash flow reserve carried forward and the gain on the sale of MS2. The forecast coverage for the full 2023 year is 1.09x.
Highlights post period end:
§ USF announced in August that Amber Infrastructure Investment Advisor, LLC, a member of the Amber Infrastructure Group (Amber) had been selected to replace New Energy Solar Manager (NESM) as the Company's Investment Manager. Amber is a specialist international infrastructure investment manager with approximately £5 billion of funds under management, including a leading track record built over the past 15 years in UK investment company management. On 17 November, a General Meeting was held and a resolution was passed approving changes to the Investment Policy. The Board also confirmed that the approval satisfied conditions to appoint Amber as the new Investment Manager. Amber and NESM are working together to ensure a smooth transition of the investment manager role, with a target transition date of 1 December 2023.
§ Prior to the publication of this update, six of USF's Oregon projects (Chiloquin, Turkey Hill, Merrill, Lakeview, Dairy and Tumbleweed) signed new long-term contracts to sell Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). The cashflows resulting from the new REC contracts will be included in the calculation of USF's NAV as at 31 December 2023 and will be announced to the market following consultation with the Company's independent valuation consultant.
The NAV update and the Company's factsheet for Q3 2023 are available on the Company's website at: www.ussolarfund.co.uk/investor-centre.
For further information, please contact:
| | |
| Cavendish Securities James King Tunga Chigovanyika Will Talkington
| +44 20 7397 8900 |
| Jefferies International Limited Stuart Klein Gaudi Le Roux
| +44 20 7029 8000
|
| KL Communications | +44 20 3995 6673 |
| Charles Gorman Charlotte Francis
| |
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 Americas.
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 consists of 41 operational solar projects with a total capacity of 443MWDC, all located in the United States.
Further information on the Company can be found on its website at http://www.ussolarfund.co.uk.
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