International PPL expects further NAV growth

Infrastructure investment group International Public Partnerships (INPP) saw profits jump in the first half as its net asset value (NAV) improved and reiterated its positive outlook for the sector.

Pre-tax profits came in at £19.4m in the six months to June 30th, up from £11.4m in the same period the year before. Meanwhile, NAV per share rose from 116.9p at December 31st 2011 to 118.4p.

INPP said it sees good prospects for further NAV growth as projects in construction move into the operational phase, including the recently completed Northern Diabolo which represents around 14% of NAV.

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There is also a strong supply of investment opportunities, particularly through UK offshore transmission, Building Schools for the Future follow-on investments as well as promising international opportunities in Germany and Australia, INPP said.

During the period, the company raised £200m (before issue costs) of new equity capital from shareholders, exceeding the initial target of £180m.

"We've been delighted by the support received from existing and new shareholders in helping the company exceed its ambitious capital raising target.It has further underlined the growing investor appetite for the company and social infrastructure as an alternative asset class," said Chairman Keith Dorrian.

"The majority of the proceeds have already been deployed, underlining the company's strong flow of attractive investment opportunities and combined with the continued government commitment for infrastructure investment across the geographic regions in which we operate, the outlook for the sector remains positive."

The company is paying out 3.0p per share as a half-year dividend, up slightly from 2.925p per share last year, and is targeting a full-year dividend of 6.0p per share, up 2.6% year-on-year.

INPP's total shareholder return since it floated in London in November 2006 to June 30th 2012 was 54.2%, compared with the 11.5% return on the FTSE All-Share index over the same period. The company aims to provide a medium-term return to investors of 8-9% per annum on the initial public offer (IPO) issue price of 100p per share.