10th Jan 2022 12:57
(Alliance News) - Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC has said on Monday it expects annual revenue for 2021 to be "comfortably ahead" of expectations, and earnings to be "in excess" of GBP40 million.
The over GBP40 million projection for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation would be more than double that of 2020, which brought in GBP15.6 million.
The battery storage fund is targeting a dividend payout for 2021 of 7.0 pence per share, which remains the same as 2020. It has kept 7.0 pence per share as the target for 2022.
Gresham raised GBP100 million in equity funds, and GBP180 million of debt was secured at sterling overnight index average rates in 2021, adding to the fund's capital base.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, the company had 415 megawatts of battery energy storage systems under construction, more than doubled from 175 MW in the third quarter.
It also added 280 MW to the pipeline in the fourth quarter of 2021, due to be connected in 2023 and 2024, which will bring the target portfolio to over 1.5 gigawatts. The timelines for some projects have been pushed back by up to a quarter due to Covid-related supply chain challenges, the company noted.
"The outlook remains very exciting for energy storage sector investments, particularly due to the recent Contract for Difference auction launch announcement for renewable generation projects. The UK government's Department for Energy and Industrial Strategy expects this will result in a further 12GW in contracts, primarily for offshore wind, far in excess of the 5.5GW achieved in the 2019 round. This substantial growth in renewables will lead to increased generation intermittency and therefore drive the need for significant additional energy storage capacity," said Chair John Leggate.
Looking ahead, Gresham House plans to achieve a net asset value growth "towards the upper end" of the target range of 8% to 15%. It plans to achieve a market share of roughly 25% to 30%, and stay the leading owner of operational BESS in the UK and Ireland.
The company's share price rose by 0.9% to 132.70 pence each in London during midday trading.
By Elizabeth Winter; [email protected]
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