Published: 12 May 2023, 17:23
Bluefield Solar’s unaudited Net Asset Value (NAV) fell slightly in the first quarter of the year, to £850.2 million, or 139.1 pence per share. The company posted a NAV of £870.7 million in Q4 2022.
The NAV fell by 3.3% from a price per share of 142.4 pence with the company’s three leading independent power forecasters giving lower price forecasts for the near-term power curve.
In February, Solar Power Portal reported that Bluefield Solar’s gains from fixed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices will be largely offset by the new windfall tax on low-carbon generation, it said in its report for the second half of 2022.
The company recently refinanced and extended a £130 million loan, with the additional £20 million used to provide financing for the construction of a new 48MWp solar project in Yelvertoft, Northamptonshire. Construction is due to be completed in Q4 2023.
In a statement about the financial report, Bluefield Solar said that their “proprietary development pipeline now stands at 1.40GW (955MW of solar and 444MW of storage) and gearing (based on the Gross Asset Value of the Company) is 40% as at 31 March 2023.”
The company also announced that a “second interim dividend of 2.10 pence per Ordinary Share (May 2022: 2.03 pps) will be payable to shareholders on the register as at 19 May 2023 with an associated ex-dividend date of 18 May 2023 and a payment date on or around 12 June 2023. Dividends declared to date for the current financial year now stand at 4.20 pps.”
“Furthermore, the Board is pleased to reconfirm its guidance of a full year dividend of not less than 8.40 pence per Ordinary Share for the financial year ending 30 June 2023. This is expected to be covered by earnings and is post debt amortisation,” Bluefield Solar said.
On 26-27 June Solar Power Portal’s publisher Solar Media will host its annual UK Solar Summit in London. This year, the Summit will explore solar’s role in the UK’s energy mix, analysing how this will change as we draw closer to the Government’s net zero target. For more information, please visit the UK Solar Summit website here.