10th Nov 2014 07:00
JLIF
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
JLIF, the international infrastructure investment company, today announces its Interim Management Statement (IMS) for the period 1 July 2014 to 7 November 2014[1].
HIGHLIGHTS
• | Actual growth in Portfolio value for the year to date of 7.16% to £809.9 million on a rebased value of £755.8 million[2] |
• | Market capitalisation exceeded £1 billion for the first time in October 2014, less than four years after launch (IPO value of £270 million) |
• | Successful share issue in September 2014 raising gross proceeds of £50 million |
• | Additional c.£39 million of acquisitions agreed since 1 July 2014 |
• | Dividend of 3.25 pence per share paid in October 2014 in respect of the six month period to June 2014 |
• | Net Asset Value[3] ("NAV") of £881.9 million as at 30 September 2014, including £24.9 million allocated to dividend paid in October 2014 |
• | NAV per share, as at 30 September 2014, of 105.6 pence ex-div (108.8 pence cum-div), due to underlying growth over the period |
Paul Lester CBE, Chairman of JLIF, said:
"The Board is pleased with the performance of the Portfolio in the third quarter of 2014. Underlying growth for the year continues to be good supported by a number of value enhancing follow-on acquisitions and new investments. JLIF continues to maintain its pricing discipline when pursuing new investments and continues to actively seek new opportunities in the UK and overseas."
Andrew Charlesworth, Director of John Laing Capital Management Limited (JLCM), Investment Adviser to JLIF, said:
"JLIF's Portfolio continues to perform well in the second half of 2014. This has primarily been driven by efficiencies being identified and delivered across several projects. Following the signing of contracts with John Laing for a further portfolio acquisition, we were pleased with shareholder support of the tap issue in September, raising £50 million at a significant premium to NAV and small discount to share price."
Acquisitions
In September 2014 JLIF agreed the acquisition of a portfolio of three availability based, operational assets from John Laing. The first of these acquisitions was completed at the end of September, being a 40% stake in the Groningen Tax Office in the Netherlands. The project comprises the operation of 47,000m2 office accommodation, 700 parking spaces and 9,000m2 of public gardens for a period of 20 years.
The second asset, a 50% stake in the South East London Police Stations project, was completed at the start of October, of which 25% was acquired from John Laing plc and 25% from the John Laing Pension Trust. The project involves the provision of 34,000m2 of internal space, including 96 custody cells and stabling for 24 horses.
The third asset in the portfolio is a 100% stake in the North Birmingham Mental Health project, the acquisition of which JLIF anticipates to complete in the near future.
These acquisitions follow JLIF's successful £50 million placing in early September, further details of which are provided below.
Portfolio Performance
The Portfolio has performed well during the third quarter, with actual underlying growth for the year to date remaining ahead of expectations (measured against the expected unwind of the Portfolio weighted average discount rate, adjusted for the timing of distributions and acquisitions made during the year). Actual underlying growth in Portfolio value for the nine months to the end of September was 7.16% (or £54.1 million), 18% ahead of discount rate unwind expectations.
£000's | ||
Portfolio Value as at 31 December 2013 | 795,849 | |
Acquisitions | 5,599 | |
Distributions | (40,775) | |
Exchange rate movements | (4,898) | |
Rebased Portfolio Value as at 31 December 2013 | 755,774 | |
Growth on rebased value | 54,088 | 7.16% |
Portfolio Value as at 30 September 2014 | 809,861 |
Dividends
JLIF paid a dividend in October of 3.25 pence per share, relating to the six month period to the 30 June 2014. The total dividend value was £24.9 million, of which 6.1% was taken up via the scrip dividend alternative. This resulted in 1,278,606 new shares being issued, which were admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange on 20 October 2014.
Capital Raising
In September 2014 JLIF issued 43,103,448 new shares at a price of 116.0 pence per share via a non pre-emptive shareholder tap issue. This resulted in gross proceeds of £50 million, the majority of which has been used to finance the acquisition of the three asset portfolio from John Laing. The balance of the proceeds will be used for further acquisitions and/or for working capital purposes. JLIF has now raised in excess of £860 million of capital since its launch in November 2010.
Hedging
Strategically JLIF does not hedge the capital values of its long term assets held overseas in Canada and Continental Europe. It does continue to manage the short term cash flows arising from these projects by hedging them appropriately. For example, to reduce its exposure to fluctuation of short term Canadian dollar cash flows, JLIF is using foreign exchange forward contracts and has also hedged a proportion of the expected Canadian dollar 2015 cash flows.
Outlook
JLIF has seen steady secondary market activity in 2014, having been invited to bid for more than 60 stakes (some offered as portfolios) in the year to date. These have been predominantly stakes in UK assets, although they have also included stakes in assets located in Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland, Hungary and Australia. In addition to those successfully acquired, JLIF has selectively declined bidding on some of these that do not adequately fit the investment criteria or did not represent good value for money and others are still in the sales process. Key to the company's success and its value to shareholders remains being selective on finding assets that meet the required risk profile and can be acquired at good value to shareholders.
For the remainder of 2014 and the start of 2015, JLIF is aware of a number of potential investment opportunities and therefore expects a similar level of market activity to continue. JLIF will continue to assess assets presented to it and, where considered to represent good value for shareholders, will seek to grow the fund by acquisitions, whilst maintaining a disciplined approach.
JLIF continues to develop strategic relationships with local participants in overseas markets in order to identify a pipeline of opportunities for growth in the medium and long term.
Note:
This IMS aims to give an update of material events and transactions that have taken place during the period from 1 July 2014 to 7 November 2014 and their impact on the financial position of the Investment group. This update reflects JLCM's and the Board's current views. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and could change. Factors which could cause or contribute to such differences include, inter alia, general economic and market conditions and specific factors affecting the financial prospects or performance of individual investments within the portfolio of JLIF.
This IMS contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. Undue reliance should not be placed on any such statements because they speak only as at the dateof this document and, by their very nature, are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause actual results and JLIF's actions to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.
This IMS has been prepared solely to provide additional information to shareholders as a body to meet the relevant requirements of the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules and this IMS should not be relied on byany other party or for any other purpose.
GIIN Number: K2UFLF.99999.SL.831
David Marshall Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7901 3326
Email: [email protected]
Andrew Charlesworth
Email: [email protected]
Finsbury Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7251 3801
Faeth Birch
Philip Walters
Nidaa Lone
[1] The release and content of this IMS is in accordance with the FCA Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.3. Any reference to the Group or Investment
Group below refers to JLIF and its corporate subsidiaries.
[2] See Portfolio Performance for full details
[3] Net Asset Value is equal to total assets (including portfolio value) minus liabilities of the JLIF Investment Group (as defined in the company's
Annual Report 2013).
Related Shares:
John Laing Infrastructure Fund