JLEN (LON:JLEN), the diversified renewable infrastructure investment trust, has reaffirmed its dividend in the face of uncertainty created by the spread of coronavirus.
The trust said it was committed to paying its quarterly dividend of 1.655p and guided on a full year dividend of 6.66p. With shares trading around 106p, JLEN provides a yield of 6.2%.
The news will increase investor confidence in the JLEN dividend as scores of Bluechip FTSE 100 companies scrap or reduce their dividends in an effort to conserve cash during the decline in economic activity caused by coronavirus.
No material long-term impact
JLEN operate a portfolio of renewable energy assets including wind, solar, hydro and biomass in the UK and is a strong financial position having just completed a placing and is conservatively geared through a revolving credit facility which isn’t due to refinanced until 2022.
Although they are conscious of COVID-19, their operations have remained largely unaffected by the spread of the virus.
The investment trust said in a release they saw no material long-term impact from COVID-19 on its ability to continue to meet their investment objectives.
In the short-term, it is expected JLEN will experience lower power prices as demand drops inline with economic activity, but this isn’t expect to cause significant disruption to operations.
JLEN have price floor or fixed price arrangements for summer 2020 and winter 2020/2021 for 49% and 48% of their power generation respectively.
The has seen an impact to it’s food waste projects that are reliant on commercial waste food which has seen a reduction in collections. Residential food collections are said to remain stable. The food waste business makes up less than 5% of the JLEN portfolio.
The company said it will monitor COVID-19 developments closely but the health and safety of all employees, stakeholders and their staff is of primary importance.
JLEN (LON:JLEN) shares traded at 106p in early trade on Thursday.
