Hardman & Co Insight: 2023 was an annus horribilis for Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy

The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust – Storm damage reparable

Ecofin US Renewables (RNEW) has been impacted by tornado damage to a substation in Texas, which is going to act as a constraint on cash flows generated by its local windfarm investment. As discussed on page 3, the manager expects insurance to cover much of the loss. Nevertheless, the board has reduced the company’s dividend for the third and fourth quarter of 2023. This appears to have impacted on the company’s efforts to narrow its excessive discount. However, solutions have already been ident

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust – Storm damage reparable

Ecofin US Renewables (RNEW) has been impacted by tornado damage to a substation in Texas, which is going to act as a temporary constraint on cash flows generated by its local windfarm investment. As we explain on page 3, insurance will cover much of the loss. Nevertheless, the board has prudently reduced the company’s dividend for the third and fourth quarter of 2023. Unsurprisingly, this has impacted on the company’s efforts to narrow its excessive discount. However, solutions have already bee

Hardman & Co Insight: UK interest rates and “risk-free” gilts at their peak? Infrastructure stocks struggle

The share price performances of the nine Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and of the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs) have been dire over the past year. Undoubtedly, the sharp rise in interest rates has presented the sector with serious challenges, especially since the yield on “risk-free” 10-year gilts has risen appreciably. Furthermore, the ongoing war in Ukraine and high inflation rates, from which many IICs and REIFs are partially ‒ if not wholly ‒ protected, contin

The Hardman & Co Monthly: August 2023

Feature article: UK interest rates and “risk-free” gilts at their peak? Infrastructure stocks struggle Executive summary Infrastructure/Renewable Energy Funds ► The share price performances of the nine Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and of the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs) have been dire over the past year. Undoubtedly, the sharp rise in interest rates has presented the sector with serious challenges, especially since the yield on “risk-free” 10-year gilts has r

Hardman & Co Insight: Higher interest rates overshadow IIC/REIF prospects

Hardman & Co Research’s focus is on the nine quoted infrastructure investment companies (IICs) and on the 22 renewable energy infrastructure funds (REIFs), most of which saw their share prices fall during 2022, while the FTSE 100 rose by just 0.9%. In our Quoted UK Infrastructure and Renewable Energy – Prospects for 2023 publication, we have addressed the three key issues of recent months: higher inflation, extremely volatile power prices and rising interest rates.

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust – Back on track

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust (RNEW) moved from a premium to a discount in July 2022 as the original fund management team resigned. The portfolio assembled is solid, performing well and delivering on expectations. A new fund management team, led by Eileen Fargis, is now in place and the opportunity available to RNEW is considerable. We believe that the trust’s predictable US dollar-denominated cash flows (which are also uncorrelated with equity markets) and high yield are attractive

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust – Back on track

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust (RNEW) moved from a premium to a discount in July 2022 coincident with the resignation of the original fund management team. A new fund management team, led by Eileen Fargis, is now in place and says that the portfolio assembled is solid, performing well and delivering on expectations, and believes that the opportunity available to RNEW is considerable. Ecofin adds that the trust’s predictable US dollar-denominated cash flows (which are also uncorrelate

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust - Clear path to growth

Having just had its first birthday in December, Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure (RNEW) has had plenty of reasons to celebrate. It successfully deployed all its IPO proceeds ahead of target and managed to increase its dividend each quarter, bringing its aggregate total dividends for 2021 to 3.2 cents per ordinary share, a 3.2% dividend yield – again ahead of its 2-3% target for its first financial year (the target is an annual dividend yield of 5.25% to 5.75% for 2022 onwards). The politic

Sunny outlook

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust (RNEW) is just a few months old, but has already deployed well over half of its IPO proceeds and declared its maiden dividend two months ahead of target, putting it well on the way to achieving its 7.0-7.5% total return and 5.25%-5.75% yield target (based on the $1 IPO price). RNEW’s US focus comes with much longer-term power purchase agreements than are typically available in the UK. This much reduces RNEW’s sensitivity to spot power prices relative to

Sunny outlook

Ecofin US Renewables Infrastructure Trust (RNEW) is just a few months old, but has already deployed well over half of its IPO proceeds and declared its maiden dividend two months ahead of target, putting it well on the way to achieving its 7.0-7.5% total return and 5.25%-5.75% dividend yield target (based on the $1 IPO price). As we explain on page 6, RNEW’s US focus comes with much longerterm contracts for sales of the power it generates (power purchase agreements) than are typically available

REIFs revisited – a compendium

In this publication, Hardman & Co’s focus is on the 17 quoted Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs), as we update our publication of February 2020 – the stocks analysed are members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). As a group, their combined market capitalisation is now ca.£10.6bn. The most valuable quoted funds are Greencoat UK Wind (£2.5bn) and TRIG (£2.4bn). Comparisons with the seven Infrastructure Investment Companies – a sector worth ca.£12.8bn – are also undertaken

LIBERUM: Plus500: Strategic progress pays dividends

Tatton Asset Management (TAM LN) - Record net inflows

Tatton, the leading on-platform discretionary fund manager (DFM) and IFA support services Group has released a trading update ahead of its results to 31 March 2024, due on 18 June 2024.

Ondo InsurTech FY24 Trading Update

Ondo InsurTech has released a brief post-YE update revealing its good progress continued through 2H24 and consequently FY24 will be in line with market expectations.

Foxtons Group (FOXT LN) - 1Q24 IMS shows real momentum

Foxtons Group plc first quarter revenue rose 9% to £35.7m (1Q23: £32.9m) with growth delivered across all business segments. Trading is in line with management's expectations.

BlackRock World Mining

BRWM’s managers: we see all the classic signs of high commodity prices...

Morning Note – 18 April 2024

NextEnergy Solar Fund - Attractive Refinancing

The refinancing of a £135m revolving credit facility and the extension of a similar £70m facility gives NESF firepower as development opportunities for new solar are especially attractive thanks to lower module prices in Europe. They give the fund key financial flexibility at a critical time as it pursues its capital recycling programme.

Foxtons Group - FY24 underpinned by market share gains

Foxtons Group’s Q1 revenue grew by 9%, supported by growth in all three divisions as the strategic initiatives continue to gain significant momentum, driven by investment in staff, best-in-class bespoke IT and data platforms. This implies that Foxtons’ medium-term targets are now coming into focus. Market share is being gained in all divisions, which puts Foxtons in a good position as the sales market stabilises. We maintain our valuation of 132p/share and believe that if interest rates stabilis

NextEnergy Solar Fund – High- and growing-income opportunity?

NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) is almost 10 years old. Since launch, it has built a £1.2bn, 933MW portfolio of 100 operating solar assets, powering the equivalent of over 330,000 homes, declared dividends totalling £333m, and avoided the emission of about 2.2 Mt CO2e. NESF is on track to pay 8.35p in dividends, with forecast dividend cover of about 1.3x. Share price weakness that has afflicted the whole sector means that dividend translates to a yield of 11.1%, one of the highest in its sector, a

The Hardman & Co Monthly: April 2024

Feature article: Steady as she goes, but could be better: A review of investment company liquidity since 2016 Liquidity is the lifeblood of equity markets. The measurement of liquid asset availability to a market or company is a way of gauging a market’s health. This article builds on our previous work, which analysed the liquidity data for non-financial trading companies, by applying the same analytical techniques to the investment companies (IC) space. We analyse liquidity for ICs as a whol

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 19 February 2024

M Winkworth+ (WINK, House Stock at 163p) - Solid FY23A results, well placed to grow

Hybridan Research: Sector Review: Artificial intelligence in UK cybersecurity: the human uplift 17/04/2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a double-edged sword in cybersecurity. Whilst new AI models, architectures, and innovations are emerging to protect the security posture of organisations, attackers are also benefiting from deepfakes, sophisticated phishing, and automation of malicious codes. To ensure the impact of AI on cybersecurity to be a net-positive, we need to pit good AI against bad AI. Point solutions enhanced with machine learning: Global cybersecurity has been built with point soluti

Resilient FY24, confident long-term outlook

Vp’s full year update highlights sector-leading results, once again benefiting from the diversity of its end markets and the quality of its specialist businesses. With results expected to be broadly in line with expectations, we trim our FY24 PBT forecast by c.5% to £39.0m, a shade below the FY23 outturn (£40.2m). We consider this an impressively resilient performance set against a mixed market backdrop. Under new leadership, a strategic refresh is underway and management is confident in long

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 16/04/2024

16th April 2024 * A corporate client of Hybridan LLP ** Arranged by type of listing and date of announcement *** Alphabetically arranged **** Potential means Intention to Float (ITF) has been announced Dish of the day Admissions: Delistings: What’s baking in the oven? ** Potential**** Initial Public Offerings: Reverse Takeovers: Electric Guitar (ELEG.L) Concurrent with its Admission to trading on AIM, Electric Guitar is proposing to acquire the entire issued share capital of 3radical Limited for