NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd (LSE:NESF) said it has approved an 11% increase to its dividend target for the year to 31 March 2024.
The specialist solar fund will now target a dividend of 8.35p per ordinary share, up from 7.52p last year.
Since listing in 2014, the company has returned £305.8mln, or 55.72p per share, to investors by way of dividends.
“The company has an exciting future ahead of it and offers excellent value to shareholders, evidenced by the board's decision to increase the dividend target by 11%, one of the largest increases in the sector,” said chairman Kevin Lyon.
According to a statement, its total portfolio outperformed its budget in the year to 31 March 2023 by 3.8%, adding an additional £4.8mln in revenues.
In the first quarter to end-March, NextEnergy said it had 99 operating solar assets with a total installed capacity of 865MW.
NextEnergy noted a discrepancy in how it reported Net Asset Value, resulting in an overstatement of £15.9mln on 31 December 2022.
This has since been corrected and has had no impact on cash flow or its dividend cover, it said.
Out of the total £205mln immediate revolving credit facilities available to the company, roughly £39mln remains undrawn and available for deployment as of 31 March 2023, with approximately £14mln immediate cash balance available at fund level.