HICL Infrastructure NAV rises 3.2p per share

20th Nov 2013 07:08

- NAV rises by 3.2p per share- Promising pipeline of investment opportunities- Interim dividend of 3.5p compared to 3.425p previouslyInfrastructure investor HICL Infrastructure said net asset value (NAV) rose 3.2p per share during the first half of its financial year and revealed the pipeline of potential new investment opportunities remains promising.NAV per share, post-interim dividend, rose to 119.6p from 116.4p at March 31st while pre-tax profit, on an investment basis, rose to £71.4m from £42.2m in 2012, driven by a strong portfolio performance and acquisitions made.On a consolidated IFRS basis, pre-tax profit fell to £18.9m during the six-month period from £87.4m the year before. Chairman Graham Picken said: "With a market capitalisation now exceeding £1.5bn, a net yield to investors of 5.3% and good share liquidity, the company is attractive to a wide range of investors."Tony Roper, Director of InfraRed Capital Partners, the group's investment adviser added: "Despite keen competition when sourcing new infrastructure investments, there has been a steady flow of new opportunities and the team has succeeded in securing accretive acquisitions from a broad spectrum of vendors."The pipeline of new investment opportunities which fit the group's investment strategy remains promising and currently encompasses opportunities in the UK, Ireland, France and Australia."HICL has declared an interim dividend of 3.5p, up from 3.425p the same time a year earlier. It expects to achieve the target total distribution of 7.1p per share for the year ending March 31st 2014. CJ