GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd on Thursday said net asset value fell during the first three months of 2024, which it blamed on changes to its UK inflation forecast.
The Jersey-based investment company focused on infrastructure said NAV per share on March 31 stood at 107.62 pence, down 2.0% from 109.84p on December 31.
It said the primary driver of the fall in NAV was changes to the inflation forecast to reflect the UK Office for Budget Responsibility’s spring budget 2024 figures. It said this contributed around 1.6p of the 2.22p fall in NAV.
GCP Infrastructure also pointed to further reductions in forecast electricity prices, primarily in decreases in short-term power prices, led to decreasing forecast cash distributions to the company from ‘certain renewable energy investments’.
This power price volatility is partially offset by the positive performance of GCP Infrastructure’s hedging arrangements, it added.
Despite the fall in NAV, GCP Infrastructure announced a quarterly dividend of 1.75p per share, unchanged from a year earlier.
‘Notwithstanding the lower inflation and electricity price forecasts, the portfolio continues to perform materially in line with the company’s expectations. The company’s mature, diverse and operational portfolio provides defensive access to income against a backdrop of market volatility and uncertainty,’ the company said.
‘It is the view of the company that the long-term and structural demand for infrastructure, and particularly infrastructure debt, offers investors an attractive exposure to an asset class whose performance is non-correlated to wider markets and benefits from long-term and partially inflation protected income.’
Shares in GCP Infrastructure were up 0.2% to 72.93 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
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