The solar investment trust maintained its dividend at 8.10p per share for 2025 and has set the same target for 2026
Foresight Solar Fund Ltd (LSE:FSFL, FRA:1F5), the London-listed solar and battery storage investment trust, says its business model remains robust despite persistent share price discounts and regulatory challenges that have weighed on the renewable energy investment trust sector.
In comments accompanying the prelims, chair Tony Roper said the portfolio was operating at a high standard, steadily generating cash to support the dividend.
He also noted that the company entered 2026 with clear priorities, including closing the gap between its share price and net asset value (NAV), strengthening future dividend cover and developing its pipeline of new assets.
The fund paid a dividend of 8.10p per share for 2025, covered 1.3 times by earnings, and has set the same target for 2026, with the board choosing to hold rather than increase the payment in order to preserve flexibility to build cover in future periods.
At the share price on 23 March, the 8.10p target represents a dividend yield of 13.4%, a reflection of the wide discount at which the fund's shares trade relative to its underlying assets.
NAV per share fell to 99.2 pence at the end of 2025, from 112.3 pence a year earlier, as the UK portfolio valuation declined to £0.97 million per megawatt from £1.10 million per megawatt.
The fund generated 1,038 gigawatt hours of electricity during the year, broadly in line with budget, and its UK assets produced 3.4% above forecast, extending a track record of outperformance to nine of the past 12 years.
Foresight Solar returned £56.1 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks during the year and brought its first UK battery storage project, Sandridge BESS, into commercial operation in the fourth quarter.
The company is also progressing the sale of an additional 75 megawatts of operational solar capacity, with proceeds to be allocated between shareholder returns, debt reduction and reinvestment.
Roper said the board had evaluated consolidation opportunities during the year, including a formal proposal that ultimately did not progress to detailed discussions, and that it continued to investigate private market solutions and options to unlock cash within the portfolio.