27th Mar 2025 09:53
(Alliance News) - International Public Partnership Ltd on Thursday said it actively pursues further portfolio asset sales as it seeks to boost shareholder returns.
The FTSE 250-listed infrastructure investment company said its net asset value per share decreased by 5.2% to 144.7 pence at the end of December 2024 compared with 152.6p a year earlier.
This was primarily driven by an increase in discount rates, reflecting the sharp rise in underlying government bond yields during the period, the firm explained.
IFRS pretax profit plummeted to GBP0.5 million in 2024 from GBP28.0 million a year prior.
Chair Mike Gerrard said: "The company's portfolio continued to show resilience during the year with strong underlying performance, despite a persistently challenging market environment for listed investment companies."
Gerrard added the board continues to believe the current share price relative to NAV "materially undervalues" the company.
On Thursday, shares in International Public Partnership were up 0.8% at 109.44 pence each in London.
To attempt to narrow the discount the firm said it will actively pursue further asset sales across its portfolio and increase its target for shareholder returns to up to GBP200 million from up to GBP60 million over the period to March 2026.
The increased capital returns will be funded by a combination of divestments and surplus operating cash flow generated by the company, it said.
"While it is expected that the programme may be delivered through share buybacks, other forms of capital returns may also be considered," the company added.
International Public Partnership said: "Despite the persistent challenges facing the sector, which are contributing to sustained upward pressure on discount rates and consequent valuation challenges, listed infrastructure continues to represent an attractive long-term investment."
The company increased the final dividend by 2.9% to 4.19p per share from 4.07p taking the total payout to 8.37p, up 3.0% from 8.13p a year prior.
International Public Partnership expects long-term annual dividend growth of around 2.5%. The 2025 and 2026 annual dividend targets are 8.58p per share and 8.79p respectively.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
International Public Partnerships