Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) has released the following update:
“The health of the company’s shareholders and board is of the utmost importance and given the UK Government’s advice on social distancing, travel and measures to prohibit public gatherings in order to minimise the spread of COVID-19, the Company has decided to change the location of its AGM on 30 April 2020. Specific details will be announced in due course.
Portfolio generation to date in 2020 has been strong and is approximately 20% ahead of budget (over 30% of the 2020 generation budget has already been produced) and forward power prices for the remainder of 2020 are relatively stable. The company’s target dividend of 7.1 pence per share is expected to be well covered.
The company’s overall borrowings are equivalent to 25 per cent of gross asset value (GAV), in the middle of its medium term guidance of between 20 and 30 per cent of GAV, all of which sits at company level.”
[Greencoat UK Wind has hardly ever traded at a discount since it was launched and it is hard to see how covid-19 has any direct impact on its business. This makes the collapse in the company’s share price all the more puzzling. The statement has had the desired effect; the shares are up about 8% at the time of writing. The fund still trades on a meaningful discount (about 7%), however, and maybe more importantly, a very attractive yield.]
UKW: Update from Greencoat UK Wind