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Pre-Close Update

9th Dec 2016 07:00

RNS Number : 3821R
John Laing Group plc
09 December 2016
 

JOHN LAING GROUP plc

PRE-CLOSE UPDATE

 

John Laing Group plc ("John Laing" or "the Group"), the international originator, active investor and manager of infrastructure projects, today issues a pre-close update for the year ending 31 December 2016.

 

Investment Activity

· Primary Investment activity has remained strong in each of our three geographical regions: Asia Pacific, North America and Europe (including the UK)

· Total investment commitments to date of £181 million, in line with guidance for 2016

· Investment commitments in 2016 (see Appendix I for full list):

o A6 Parkway (Netherlands): £9.0 million

o Intercity Express Programme (IEP) Phase 1 (UK): £37.0 million

o Eight wind farm investment commitments totalling £133.9 million in the UK, Germany, France, Australia and the US

 

Realisations

· Total realisations agreed in 2016 to date of £255 million, with aggregate prices achieved in line with portfolio valuation (see Appendix I for full list):

o Sale of holdings in British Transport Police and Oldham Housing for £19.5 million (counted towards realisations guidance for 2015)

o Proceeds from a further three completed transactions of £56.4 million

o Agreed sale of 100% holding in A55 road, UK for £28.3 million to JLIF, expected to complete shortly

o Agreed sale of 30% holding in M6 road, Hungary for €26.6 million (estimated £22.5 million), not expected to complete until Q1 2017. This transaction is subject to a number of consents and conditions

o Agreed sale of 29.69% holding in A1 motorway, Poland for €146.9 million (estimated £128.6 million), not expected to complete until Q1 2017. This transaction is also subject to a number of consents and conditions

 

Investment portfolio

· Our investment portfolio as a whole is performing in line with expectations

 

New Royal Adelaide Hospital (NRAH)

· In John Laing's interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2016, which were issued in late August 2016, it was reported that the contractor for the NRAH project was incurring delays and that the estimated impact had been reflected in John Laing's portfolio valuation. The scheduled date for technical completion was April 2016

· Since mid-November 2016, the NRAH project company, in which John Laing has a 17.26% shareholding, has been in dispute over the Government of South Australia's (the State's) non-acceptance of a cure plan submitted in August 2016 to address the contractor's delays, and the State's asserted right to terminate the contract between it and the project company. Mediation between parties to the project is scheduled for mid-December 2016. The project company is also in dispute with the State in relation to certain construction defects alleged by the State. Court proceedings in relation to these matters began on 28 November 2016

· Technical completion is on track for Q1 2017 and it is John Laing's view that the current differences are capable of being resolved. As previously disclosed, John Laing's original equity commitment to the NRAH project, which was made in 2011, was in the range £25 million - £50 million. Our investment is currently held at its estimated fair value; this will be reviewed as part of our portfolio valuation at 31 December 2016

 

Manchester Waste

· As previously reported, the assets underlying our two Manchester Waste investments (Manchester Waste VL Co - 50% interest; Manchester Waste TPS Co - 37.43% interest) became operational in 2015. Levels of diversion of waste from landfill being achieved are ahead of contractual commitments

· The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority ("GMWDA") has indicated that it is not satisfied with the current status of the VL Co project and it continues to seek significant cost savings and efficiencies. The process by which these issues will be resolved is currently unclear to the project company, which continues to work with GMWDA to explore options. As previously disclosed, John Laing's original equity commitment to the VL Co project, which was made in 2009, was in the range £25 million - £50 million. Our investment is currently held at its estimated fair value; this will be reviewed as part of our portfolio valuation at 31 December 2016

 

Other Investments

· Eight investments are expected to move from the primary to the secondary investment portfolio during 2016, namely New Albion Wind Farm, Rammeldalsberget Wind Farm, A15 Road Netherlands, Speyside Biomass, Croydon and Lewisham Street Lighting, Pasilly Wind Farm, Hornsdale Wind Farm Phase I and Horath Wind Farm

 

Pension fund

· Following a triennial actuarial review of the John Laing Pension Fund (JLPF) as at 31 March 2016, a seven-year deficit repayment plan has been agreed in principle with the JLPF Trustee. The plan includes contributions by John Laing of £24.5m, £26.5m and £29.1m in 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively

· As at 30 November 2016, using unaudited asset values the IAS19 pension deficit for JLPF was estimated at £75 million based on an IAS 19 discount rate of 2.85% and long term RPI of 3.20%. The deficit has increased since 30 June 2016 primarily as a result of higher long term inflation expectations

 

Other

· Sale of the UK activities of Project Management Services completed on 30 November 2016

· Based on a preliminary review of the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) legislation published by the UK Government on 5 December 2016, no further provision is expected to be required as at 31 December 2016 beyond that established at 30 June 2016

 

Outlook

· Net asset value at 31 December 2016 is projected to be in the range of management expectations, assuming constant exchange rates and no change in the IAS19 pension deficit as at 30 November 2016

· We expect the special dividend for 2016 to be based on the three completed realisations (£56.4 million), the A55 transaction expected to complete shortly (£28.3 million) and the M6 Hungary transaction expected to complete in Q1 2017 (approx. £22.5 million), giving a total of approximately £107 million versus our guidance of approximately £100 million

· The pipeline of new investment opportunities remains strong in both PPP and Renewable Energy, across Asia Pacific, North America and Europe (including the UK)

· John Laing is currently part of nine shortlisted PPP bids due to reach financial close in 2017 or 2018, including five in North America

· We continue to assess opportunities in infrastructure sectors closely linked to our existing PPP and renewable energy sectors

· The market for secondary infrastructure investments remains strong

 

Olivier Brousse, John Laing's Chief Executive, said:

"It has been a busy year so far for John Laing and we are in line with our guidance for 2016. Throughout the year, we have continued to focus on our core business of greenfield infrastructure, including investments in new projects, active management of our existing portfolio and realisation of several mature assets as we anticipate future opportunities. We are well positioned to take advantage of a growing number of new infrastructure projects in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe."

 

The Group's results for the year ending 31 December 2016 will be announced on 7 March 2017.

 

A call for analysts and investors will be held at 8.00am (London time) today.

Conference call details:

UK number 020 3139 4830

Pin code 45187978#

 

Further information

Analyst/investor enquiries:

Olivier Brousse, Chief Executive +44 20 7901 3200

Patrick O'D Bourke, Group Finance Director +44 20 7901 3200

Tom Randell, Head of Investor Relations and Communications +44 20 7901 3200

 

Media enquiries:

James Isola, Maitland +44 20 7379 5151

www.laing.com

 

Appendix I: details of investment commitments and realisations

 

Investment commitments

Region

PPP

£m

RE

£m

Total

 £m

A6 Parkway (Netherlands)

Europe

9.0

-

9.0

Intercity Express Programme (IEP) Phase 1

UK

37.0

-

37.0

I-77 Managed Lanes

US

1.1

-

1.1

Hornsdale Wind Farm Phase 2

Asia Pacific

-

6.0

6.0

Lynfi Wind Farm

UK

-

24.0

24.0

Nordergründe Offshore Wind Farm

Europe

-

36.7

36.7

Sommette-Eaucourt Wind Farm

Europe

-

11.7

11.7

Sterling Wind Farm

US

-

15.7

15.7

Kiata Wind Farm

Asia Pacific

-

20.4

20.4

Horath Wind Farm

Europe

-

14.3

14.3

Saint-Martin-L'Ars Wind Farm

Europe

-

5.1

5.1

Total

47.1

133.9

181.0

 

Realisations completed

Shareholding

Purchaser

Total

£m

British Transport Police*

54.17%

JLIF

19.5*

Oldham Housing*

95%

Dungavel Wind Farm

100%

JLEN

38.2

New Albion Wind Farm

100%

JLEN

11.8

Shareholding in JLEN

2.2%

Market placing

6.4

Total

75.9

*Counted towards the realisations guidance for 2015

 

Realisations agreed but not yet completed

Shareholding

Purchaser

Total

£m

A55 UK

100%

JLIF

28.3

M6 Hungary

30%

Third party

22.5**

A1 Poland

29.69%

Third party

128.6**

Total

179.4

**GBP amounts are estimates based on €/£ exchange rates as at 30 November 2016 and incorporate the

effect of some foreign exchange hedging

 

JLIF = John Laing Infrastructure Fund

JLEN = John Laing Environmental Assets Group

Appendix II: exchange rates at 31 December 2015, 30 June 2016 and 30 November 2016

 

Exchange rate vs Sterling

31 December 2015

30 June 2016

30 November 2016

Euro

1.3592

1.2086

1.1800

US dollar

1.4833

1.3410

1.2485

Australian dollar

2.0340

1.8166

1.6901

New Zealand dollar

2.1692

1.8871

1.7629

 

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
END
 
 
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