Greencoat UK Wind PLC (LSE:UKW) blew in strong growth last year as the renewable infrastructure fund expanded its wind portfolio and grew assets.
Net asset value (NAV) rose more than 38% to £3.09bn in 2021, resulting in NAV per share of 133.5p, up from 122.2p the previous year.
Greencoat generated net cash of £256.8mln, providing good cover against the £138.8mln in dividends paid out through the year.
“2021 represented another year of robust performance and sustained strong cash generation, building on our well-established track record, said Shonaid Jemmett-Page, chairman of Greencoat.
“Wind continues to be the most mature and widely deployed renewable energy technology in the UK.
“In November 2021, the UK hosted the COP26 conference in Glasgow, with the Prime Minister playing a clear role in encouraging the delivery of 2050 net zero emissions targets. A key part of that plan for the UK is a 40GW offshore wind target for 2030.”
The investment fund declared dividends of 7.18p per share for 2021 and is targeting a dividend of 7.72p per share in 2022.
The company embarked on aggressive portfolio expansion through 2021, including the acquisition of the remaining 50% of its stake in Braes of Doune, and a mix of investments and wind farm commissions that increased its net generating capacity to 1.4GW.
The group’s investments generated 2.9GWh of sustainable electricity last year.
Wind generation took centre stage this month with the onset of storms Eunice Franklin recording wind speeds up to 122mph, seeing wind take up 35.3% of UK power generation last month, compared to an average of 19.4% for the last year.
Greencoat’s share price fell 1.28% in initial deals to trade at 138.6p.