The JLEN Environmental Assets Investment Trust invests in UK-based clean energy assets spanning solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy and anaerobic digestion.
The trust’s portfolio also includes sustainable infrastructure assets such as battery storage and refuelling stations.
The portfolio is comprised of 39 assets and generated 1,314 GWh in the year to 31st March. At the same time, rising electricity prices saw the trust’s NAV rise to 115.3p per share, compared to 92.2p in the year prior. JLEN’s NAV has since rose by 7.8p per share.
JLEN Dividend Yield
In addition to a sharp increase in the trust’s NAV in last FY, the managers saw it fit to increase the total 2022 dividend to 6.80p, up from 6.76p in 2021.
Again, this dividend has increased since the full year results with the trust declaring an interim dividend of 1.78p – an increase on track to meet their 7.14p dividend target for 2023 FY.
A 7.14p dividend would yield investors 5.6% with JLEN shares trading at 128p. This far exceeds the current FTSE 100 average 12-month historical yield of 3.8%.
One of JLEN’s core financial objectives for the trust is to provide ‘predictable income growth for shareholders’. This has been demonstrated by steady dividend increases since inception.
Although JLEN shifted from an ‘inflation-linked’ dividend policy to a ‘progressive’ policy, the trust still benefits from reliable inflation-linked cashflows that will support additional dividend increases in the future.
It must be noted, there is an element of uncertainty around windfall taxes on power generators and what this could mean for JLEN’s asset’s cash producing attributes. Chris Tanner, Co-Lead Investment Manager of JLEN, discussed these implications at the recent Investment Trust conference.