US Solar Fund return rate improves in first quarter but still negative
US Solar Fund PLC on Monday said its portfolio had performed below expectations in the first quarter of 2025, despite a slight increase to net asset value.
The London-based investment firm focused on North American solar power plants said NAV total return in the first three months of the year was negative 9.1%. This included a positive 2.2% impact from favourable weather, and negative 11.3% impact from non-weather factors.
Despite being below forecast, this showed improvement, compared to NAV total return of negative 11.6% on-year, and negative 13.4% on-quarter.
The firm’s NAV at March 31 was $196.6 million, equivalent to 64 US cents per share, up 1.3% from 63 US cents per share at December 31.
‘The movement in NAV reflects the roll-forward of the valuation models and adjustments to portfolio working capital over the period,’ US Solar Fund said.
The company cited unplanned power outages and technical issues as drags on performance, but also said the first quarter is typically its slowest, as it involves planned outages for maintenance work. US Solar Fund insisted it is following a remediation plan to mitigate the impact of unplanned outages.
The firm set a first-quarter interim dividend of 0.56 US cents per share, in line with the annual target of 2.25 US cents per share. US Solar Fund in April said it plans to raise the target to 3.5 US cents per share, but this only becomes effective in the third quarter of 2025.
US Solar Fund shares were up 4.5% at 40 US cents per share on Monday afternoon in London.
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