3i Infrastructure (3IN) announced its annual results for the year-end 31 March 2023. The company achieved a 14.7% NAV return for the year, delivery of the FY23 dividend target of 11.15 pence, and a 6.7% increase in the target dividend for FY24 to 11.90 pence per share. Despite the solid NAV performance, shares were down 6.9% for the period, although this was ahead of the benchmark FTSE 250 return which was down 7.9%.
Since the IPO in 2007, the company’s annualised total shareholder return is 11.7%, comparing favourably with the broader market (FTSE 250) which has returned 6.1% annualised over the same period.
Commenting on the performance, Scott Moseley and Bernardo Sottomayor, managing partners of 3i Investments plc, added:
“This was another strong year for the company, materially exceeding its target return. We have carefully selected our portfolio, identifying infrastructure companies that benefit from long-term structural growth trends in their underlying markets. 3i Infrastructure is well positioned to continue to deliver attractive shareholder returns.”
Regarding the outlook, chair Richard Laing continued:
“The past year has seen significant volatility in both equity and credit markets and in energy and power prices. Against this backdrop, the company has remained disciplined in its investment approach, maintaining adequate liquidity and an appropriate level of gearing in the company’s portfolio.
“Our portfolio consists of resilient businesses providing essential services to their customers and the communities they serve, often benefitting from long-term sustainable trends. These businesses are generating discretionary growth opportunities that are accretive to our investment cases, leaving us well positioned to continue to build on our strong performance.”
3IN : Continued NAV growth but shares down for 3i Infrastructure