Greencoat UK Wind PLC today announces the final results for the year to 31 December 2021 as below. These results were approved by the Board of Directors on 23 February 2022.
Greencoat UK Wind PLC is the leading listed renewable infrastructure fund, invested in UK wind farms. The Company's aim is to provide investors with an annual dividend that increases in line with RPI inflation while preserving the capital value of its investment portfolio in the long term on a real basis through reinvestment of excess cashflow.
The Company provides investors with the opportunity to participate directly in the ownership of UK wind farms, so increasing the resources and capital dedicated to the deployment of renewable energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
2020 Highlights
Generation
- The Group's investments generated 2,933GWh of sustainable electricity.
- Net cash generation (Group and wind farm SPVs) was £256.8 million.
High quality acquisitions and oversubscribed equity raises
- Acquisition of the remaining 50 per cent interest in Braes of Doune, investments in Andershaw, Burbo Bank Extension, Windy Rig and Glen Kyllachy, and the commissioning of Douglas West increased the portfolio to 43 operating wind farm investments and net generating capacity to 1,422MW as at 31 December 2021.
- Issuance of further shares raising £648 million through oversubscribed equity raisings in February 2021 and November 2021.
Dividends and balance sheet
- The Company has declared total dividends of 7.18 pence per share with respect to the year and is targeting a dividend of 7.72 pence per share for 2022 (increased in line with December 2021 RPI).
- £950 million outstanding borrowings as at 31 December 2021, equivalent to 23 per cent of GAV.
Commenting on today's results, Shonaid Jemmett-Page, Chairman of Greencoat UK Wind, said:
2021 represented another year of robust performance and sustained strong cash generation, building on our well-established track record. Our simple, low risk, and proven strategy has enabled us to increase our dividend in line with RPI once more, and to target a dividend of 7.72p per share for 2022.
The year represented another significant period of growth, with £570 million invested in high quality assets and £648 million of new equity raised. In the year we grew our portfolio to surpass 1.4GW of installed capacity, which underlines the size and scale the Group has attained since listing. We commissioned our first three subsidy free wind farms, complementing our two CFD investments, and these sit alongside our 38 ROC investments as part of a balanced portfolio.
We continue to see an attractive pipeline of projects, both onshore and offshore, and remain strongly positioned to deliver more value-accretive acquisitions to further enhance returns for our shareholders.