LONDON (Alliance News) - International Public Partnerships Ltd on Wednesday raised its dividend for 2017, reporting net asset value growth but a fall in profit.
The FTSE 250-listed infrastructure investment company raised its dividend for the year to 6.82 pence per share, up from 6.65p in 2016, and is targeting a dividend in 2018 of 7.00 pence and of 7.18p in 2019.
International Public Partnerships' net asset value as at the end of 2017 stood at GBP2.03 billion, up 27% from GBP1.60 billion from the end of 2016. On a per share basis, NAV rose 2.0% to 145.0 pence from 142.2p.
However total investment income for 2017 dropped to GBP139.8 million from GBP206.8 million the year before, due to a fall in the fair value of investments to GBP49.8 million from GBP131.4 million. This led to a total income of GBP140.4 million, down from GBP200.0 million in 2016.
Pretax profit before finance costs dropped to GBP110.9 million in 2017 from GBP179.1 million in 2016, due to the lack of one-off foreign exchange gains that had followed the UK's Brexit vote in June 2016.
The company said it conducted considerable investment activity totalling GBP464.0 million during the year, including a GBP272.5 million investment in FTSE 100-listed National Grid PLC's gas distribution networks Cadent, and a final GBP78.2 million investment in the new London sewer, the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
"I am pleased to report another successful year for all our stakeholders where we continued to exceed our dividend return targets and prove our commitment to delivering sustainable, long-term, inflation-linked returns to our shareholders. We continue to believe in the strong risk mitigation that exists across our portfolio and as facilitators of public services through the long-term private investment we provide, we continue to have a responsibility to demonstrate the public benefit of all our activities, to all our stakeholders," said Chairman Rupert Dorey.
Shares in International Public Partnerships were up 0.2% at 146.30 pence on Wednesday.
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