Infinis Energy (INFI) revealed net profits of £20.7m for its March year-end, against a loss of £11.8m for 2014, although the reversal reflected the reclassification of the company's hydro segment as a discontinued operation. A more meaningful gauge is provided by the group's cash profits, which at £140m, were up by nearly a third despite a fall-away in wholesale power prices - a pointer to the resilience provided by the group's existing contractual arrangements.
Infinis, which generates 'green' energy from landfill gas (LFG) and onshore wind turbines, reported a 4 per cent decline in power output over the period, though its LFG segment - which currently accounts for the lion's share of production - easily outstripped its target rate. Unfortunately, turbine output was stymied by unfavourable wind speeds in the early part of the year, although they picked up during the seasonally more unsettled second half.
Naturally, wind-power will always be subject to the vagaries of the weather, but the onshore industry is faced with government proposals that will transfer the responsibility for planning consents on wind turbines to local authorities. Infinis already has 117 megawatts of wind generating capacity under construction, together with projects in the pipeline, none of which will be affected by the changes, although funding the planned capacity expansion remains an issue.
Prior to these figures, Investec was predicting adjusted EPS of 15p for the March 2016 year-end, against 12.1p for 2015.
| INFINIS ENERGY (INFI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 184p | MARKET VALUE: | £551m | |
| TOUCH: | 183-184p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 248p | LOW: 176p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 10.0% | PE RATIO: | 27 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 95p* | NET DEBT: | 187% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 226 | 2.9 | 3.0 | nil |
| 2014 (restated) | 238 | -28.9 | -3.9 | 6.6 |
| 2015 | 236 | 28.1 | 6.9 | 18.3 |
| % change | -1 | - | - | +177 |
Ex-div: 9 Jul Payment: 7 Aug *Includes intangible assets of £456m, or 152p per share | ||||
