Net Asset Value and Portfolio Update

RNS Number : 2292P

HydrogenOne Capital Growth PLC

08 February 2023

 

HydrogenOne Capital Growth plc ("HydrogenOne" or the "Company")

LEI: 213800PMTT98U879SF45

8 February 2023

Net Asset Value and portfolio update

HydrogenOne, the first London-listed fund investing in clean hydrogen for a positive environmental impact, today announces its quarterly net asset value and portfolio update for the period ended 31 December 2022.

Key highlights for the quarter

· Positive outlook underpinned by macro tailwinds and supportive regulatory regimes in the USA and Europe;

· Net Asset Value ("NAV") per share of the Company 97.3 pence, an increase of 1.6% from 31 December 2021, and 0.8% from 30 September 2022;

· Diversified portfolio of hydrogen assets, delivering growth for investors across the portfolio;

· Growth delivery from private portfolio companies, accounting for 97% of the portfolio, delivering an aggregate £33m in revenue in 2022, an increase of 110% compared to 2021;

· First investment in a clean hydrogen production project in Germany (completed post quarter end); and

· SFDR Article 9 classification and signatory of UN PRI.

Net asset value

At 31 December 2022, the unaudited NAV per share of the Company was 97.3 pence, representing a quarterly increase of 0.8% and an increase of 1.6% for the 12 month period ended 31 December 2022, the first financial year since its launch in 2021. The Company had net assets of £125.3 million at that date.

The quarterly increase was driven primarily by valuation uplifts to the Company's portfolio of private investments, positively contributing 1.6 pence (1.7%) per share to the NAV movement.

NAV bridge

Opening NAV per share at 30 Sep 2022	96.5p
Portfolio valuation uplifts	1.6p
Company expenses	(0.8)p
Closing NAV per share at 31 Dec 2022	97.3p

Financial summary

	31 Dec 22	30 Sept 22	Change	31 Dec 21	Change
NAV	£125.3m	£124.3m	0.8%	£102.8m	21.9%
NAV per share	97.3p	96.5p	0.8%	95.8p	1.6%
Portfolio valuation	£106.8m	£103.3m	3.4%	£47.5m	124.8%
Portfolio fair value gain / (loss) on cost	£5.6m	£3.1m	80.6%	£(1.6)m	n/a
Other net assets (incl cash)	£18.5m	£21.0m	-16.7%	£55.3m	-66.5%

Portfolio

· At 31 December 2022, the Company's private portfolio comprised nine investments in hydrogen assets in the UK and Europe with an aggregate value of £103.1 million, as well as a small allocation to strategic listed hydrogen companies.

· The portfolio continues to perform in line with the expectations of the Investment Adviser, HydrogenOne Capital LLP.

· Seven of the Company's private investments, representing 89% of its invested portfolio by value,  are revenue-generating, producing equipment and technology solutions for clean hydrogen production. The unaudited aggregate revenue from these investments was c. £33m in the 12-month period to 31 December 2022, an increase of 110% from 2021 on a pro-forma basis.

· The Company is invested in two private hydrogen production companies, representing 8% of the invested portfolio, located in Norway and Germany, which are expected to generate material cash flow from the middle of the decade as projects come on line.

· Additional investment in strategic, global hydrogen equities representing 3% of the invested portfolio, in revenue generating businesses.

· The portfolio weighted average discount rate at 31 December 2022 was 12.9% (30 September 2022 12.8%).

Portfolio developments

· Sunfire GmbH (17.4% of NAV), the leading German industrial electrolyser producer, delivered a 250kw high temperature solid oxide electrolyser to RWE. Separately, it agreed manufacturing JV with Vitesco Technologies (post quarter-end).

· HiiROC Limited (10.3% of NAV), a UK-based thermal plasma electrolysis developer, won the first UK project with Centrica to inject hydrogen at Brigg Gas Fired Power station, as part of the Net Zero Technology Centre's £8 million Open Innovation Programme.

· Strohm Holding B.V. (9.3% of NAV), a Netherlands-based hydrogen pipeline company, completed a €29m investment round. Separately, it won a contract from ECOnnect to provide over 11km of its Thermoplastic Composite Pipe for the TES Wilhelmshaven Green Gas Terminal in Germany.

· NanoSUN Limited (9.2% of NAV), a UK-based developer of hydrogen distribution and mobile refuelling equipment, achieved a key milestone by completing the first serial production of its enhanced Pioneer Mobile Hydrogen Refuelling Station, named Henry Cavendish, for delivery to Octopus Hydrogen, in the UK.

· Gen2 Energy AS (2.7% of NAV), a Norwegian green hydrogen project developer, signed an agreement with Åfjord municipality in Norway for large-scale production and shipping of green hydrogen.

Investment activity

· The Company completed a second tranche investment of EUR 1.25 million in Strohm, the world's first and leading producer of Thermoplastic Composite Pipe. In total, HydrogenOne has invested EUR 11.25 million in the EUR 29 million investment round.

· Post the quarter end, the Company invested £1.4 million into Cranfield Aerospace Solutions Ltd, a pioneer in hydrogen-powered passenger flight, marking the final tranche of the £7 million investment by the Company, as previously announced.

· Post the quarter end, the Company announced its first investment in a green hydrogen project, at Thierbach in Germany (the "Thierbach Project") where it will invest £2.5 million (EUR 2.8 million) alongside other institutional investors and HH2E. 

Further details on the Company's private investments, including the new investments referenced above, can be found on its website at https://hydrogenonecapitalgrowthplc.com/portfolio/private-investments .

ESG

· The Company was classified as an Article 9 Fund under the SFDR and EU Taxonomy Regulation and completed an EU Taxonomy alignment assessment on its private portfolio.

· The Company also became a signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.

· The first reporting in accordance with the SFDR Article 9 requirements and the International Sustainability Standards Board framework will be published with the FY2022 Annual Report, expected to be released in April 2023.

Factsheet and investor webinar

The 31 December 2022 factsheet is now available on the Company's website: https://hydrogenonecapitalgrowthplc.com/investors/factsheets/.

The Company's Investment Adviser, HydrogenOne Capital LLP, will be hosting a 30-minute live webinar presentation for investors and analysts on Q4 2022 Factsheet and NAV update commencing at 9am GMT today. 

In order to register for the webinar, please follow the link: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/hydrogenone-capital-growth-plc/register-investor .  

The presentation will also be available on the Company's website at https://hydrogenonecapitalgrowthplc.com/investors/documents-and-publications/ .

Notes

This announcement is not an offer for sale or subscription or solicitation to purchase shares in any jurisdiction. This announcement contains inside information.

For further information, please visit www.hydrogenonecapitalgrowthplc.com or contact:

HydrogenOne Capital LLP - Investment Adviser	[phone]
JJ Traynor/Richard Hulf Eva Bezruchko
Barclays Bank PLC - Corporate Broker Dion Di Miceli Stuart Muress	[phone] [e-mail]
FTI Consulting - Media Enquiries Matthew O'Keeffe Cally Billimore	[phone] [e-mail]

About HydrogenOne:

HydrogenOne is the first London-listed hydrogen fund investing in clean hydrogen for a positive environmental impact. The Company was launched in 2021 with an investment objective to deliver an attractive level of capital growth by investing in a diversified portfolio of hydrogen and complementary hydrogen focussed assets. INEOS Energy is a strategic investor in HydrogenOne. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange's main market (ticker code: HGEN). The Company is an Article 9 climate impact fund with an ESG policy integrated in investment decisions and asset monitoring.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire or subscribe for, shares in the Company in any jurisdiction. The distribution of this announcement outside the UK may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the Company that would permit possession of this announcement in any jurisdiction outside the UK where action for that purpose is required. Persons outside the UK who come into possession of this announcement should inform themselves about the distribution of this announcement in their particular jurisdiction.

This announcement contains (or may contain) certain forward-looking statements with respect to certain of the Company's plans and/or the plans of one or more of its investee companies or projects and their respective current goals and expectations relating to their respective future financial condition and performance and which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions readers that no forward- looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as it forms part of UK domestic law ("MAR"). Upon publication of this announcement, the inside information is now considered to be in the public domain for the purposes of MAR. The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is HydrogenOne Capital LLP.

 

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