Highlights
For the year ended 31 March 2022
· 12.8% Total Shareholder Return1 for the year (2021: 5.5%) reflecting strong financial and operating performance, and 9.0% for the 16 years since IPO, which demonstrates the resilient and defensive nature of HICL's investment proposition in a range of market conditions.
· 10.8p / 7.1% increase in NAV per share to 163.1p (31 March 2021: 152.3p) driven by the portfolio's strong correlation to inflation, the sale of the Queen Alexandra Hospital ("QAH") and the continued competitive pricing of infrastructure assets.
· 9.9% increase in the Directors' valuation2 of the portfolio at 31 March 2022 to £3,311.0m (31 March 2021: £3,011.9m).
· Optimising HICL's portfolio composition to deliver shareholder value:
o Investments in the year of £110.4m with an additional investment agreed post year end in ADTIM SAS.
o Three divestments agreed in the year, generating proceeds of £126.3m.
· FY2022 dividend of 8.25p per share was cash covered at 1.05 times3. HICL's dividend remains the highest cash dividend within the listed core infrastructure peer group.
· FY2023 dividend guidance re-confirmed at 8.25p per share4. The Board has announced guidance for the FY2024 dividend guidance of 8.25p per share4.
· HICL ended the year with a robust balance sheet, supported by a new £400m GBP multi-currency facility announced in April 2022 and the divestment proceeds from QAH. The Company has significant available cash resources to pursue investment opportunities as they arise .
· InfraRed continues to build a strong pipeline of attractive investments for HICL, underpinned by its differentiated capability to source new investments across traditional and modern economy infrastructure sectors. This pipeline includes both incremental acquisitions and greenfield opportunities.
· HICL has also published its Sustainability Report today, which can be found here:
https://www.hicl.com/SustainabilityReport2022