Foresight: Green infrastructure investor sees progress despite ‘persistent headwinds’
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure, an investment firm with multiple assets across Yorkshire, has announced a period of progress despite what it described as “persistent sector headwinds”.
Founded in 1984, the FTSE 250 firm invests in environmental infrastructure assets across the UK, including investments in onshore wind farms, hydro energy, and battery storage sites in Yorkshire.
Announcing its half-year results for the period ending 30 September, the company said its portfolio delivered net asset value total return for the period of two per cent, adding that it remains on track to deliver its full-year target dividend of 7.96 pence per share.
Foresight chair Ed Warner said that the results came as Infrastructure and renewables investment firms continue to face ongoing headwinds.
He said “stubborn inflation and elevated interest rates” had prolonged the wide discounts to net asset values experienced across the sector, including in Foresight’s own shares.
He added: “[Foresight] has delivered another period of solid progress despite persistent sector headwinds.
“While the market backdrop has been disappointing, our underlying performance during the period has been strong.
“Net asset value total return growth is positive, our dividend remains on target, and dividend cover is ahead of what was forecast at the beginning of the year.”
Foresight said that October’s announcement from the Government that it will potentially change the Renewables Obligation scheme had caused "heightened uncertainty” across the renewables infrastructure sector.
At the end of October, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a consultation exploring proposed changes to the Renewables Obligation scheme and Feed-in Tariffs that would see renewables generators earn less for the electricity they generate.
Foresight said it was “actively engaging” with the Government, as well as energy regulator Ofgem, to assess the implications of the move.