International Public Partnerships H1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
September 10, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: NAV per share rose 1.3% to 153.4 pence in the first half, producing an annualized total NAV return of 8.2%. The company reaffirmed its 2026 dividend target of 8.79 pence per share, with interim dividends covered 1.3 times by operating cash flow.
  • Positive Sentiment: INPP has realized more than £440 million of assets, generally at or above published valuations, and reinvested or committed over £480 million into opportunities targeting returns above 11%, compared with the portfolio’s 9.1% discount rate. Management said this capital recycling has improved portfolio duration, inflation protection and revenue security.
  • Positive Sentiment: Core assets continued to perform broadly in line with expectations, including 99.4% availability across the OFTO portfolio and 99.8% availability across PPP assets. Management also highlighted progress at Sizewell C, Tideway and BeNEX, alongside a potential pipeline of roughly £1 billion in regulated, PPP and operating assets.
  • Negative Sentiment: INPP wrote its equity investment in broadband provider toob down to nil and will not commit further capital because of structural headwinds in the U.K. alternative-fibre market, although the exposure was less than 1% of NAV. Management also cautioned that dividend cover is likely to normalize from the unusually strong 1.3 times first-half level.
  • Neutral Sentiment: The company maintained its 9.1% portfolio discount rate despite recent bond-yield volatility, citing transaction evidence and inflation protection, but acknowledged that sustained higher yields could eventually affect infrastructure valuations. INPP may use its £350 million revolving corporate debt facility as a bridge when new investments precede asset disposals.
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Earnings Conference Call
International Public Partnerships H1 2026
00:00 / 00:00

Transcript Sections

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Operator

I'll now hand you over to Jamie Hussein. Jamie, good afternoon, sir.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Great to have so many of you join us today. I'm Jamie Hossain, the lead portfolio manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure, the company's investment adviser. I'm delighted to welcome you to INPP's 2026 half-year results presentation. Over the next 20 minutes or so, I'll take you through the headline results and then the four pillars of INPP's investment case. I'll spend most of my time on the second pillar, which is capital allocation and what three years of recycling capital has done for the portfolio and for shareholder returns. Mohammed Anwar, CFO of INPP and head of valuations at Amber, will then take you through the financial performance during the period in a bit more detail, as well as provide an asset management update.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Dan Watson, head of sustainability, will follow with an update on the company's responsible approach to investing and the benefits its assets bring to the communities they serve. I'll then close with a few remarks before handing over for Q&A. Just on housekeeping, the full results materials, including this presentation, the interim report itself, and the RNS, are all available for download on INPP's website. With that, let's dive straight in, starting with the financial highlights on slide 3. I'm pleased to report it's been another period of strong operational and financial performance for INPP. The net asset value or NAV per share increased by 1.9 pence to 153.4 pence at 30th of June. That's a growth rate of about 1.3% over the six months. Adding back the dividends paid during the period gives a total NAV return per share of 8.2% on an annualized basis.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

The total NAV itself also edged higher, although the headline GBP 2.7 billion figure remains unchanged once rounded. What's particularly pleasing is where that NAV per share growth has come from, which is simply the portfolio doing its job. The underlying distributions arrived as forecast or better, and future distributions are now a period closer, so they are worth more today. Where that growth has not come from is a reduction in the weighted average discount rate used to value the portfolio. That remains unchanged at 9.1% and is well supported by real transaction evidence of what buyers are paying for assets of this quality, despite the volatility we're currently seeing in the bond markets. Mohammed will take you through the moving parts of the NAV shortly, but the overall picture is one of strong operational results and resilient valuations broadly in line with expectations.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

The one exception was toob, where, as announced in August, INPP chose not to commit further capital, given the structural headwinds in the U.K. AltNet market. It wasn't an easy call, but it was the right one, and it didn't have a material impact on valuations as it represented less than 1% of the NAV. Delivery across the rest of the portfolio, though, remained strong. On income, the board has reconfirmed the 2026 dividend target of 8.79 pence per share, a 2.5% increase on last year, with the first quarterly interim dividend of 2.19 pence declared and due to be paid on the 15th of September. Dividends were well covered at 1.3 times over the six months, up from 1.1 times last year, and that's on operating cash alone. It excludes any proceeds from asset sales.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Part of that improvement was down to the timing of cash receipts in the first half, so cover is expected to ease back towards its normal level over the full year. A key stat of ours is inflation linkage or inflation protection, which strengthened from 0.7% to 0.8%. Now, what this simply means is if inflation over the long term runs 1% higher than assumed, then our returns are expected to rise by 0.8%. Or put another way, NAV per share is expected to increase by around 12 pence. That protection of real income matters to long-term shareholders, and I'll come back to why the figure has improved because it's a direct result of the capital recycling strategy. Finally, the ongoing charges have remained broadly consistent at 1.11%. In short, NAV up, inflation protection up, dividend well covered, and a discount rate that has held steady.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

It's a consistent set of results, which is what INPP has always aimed to deliver. Turning now to slide 4. This November marks 20 years since INPP's IPO, and that anniversary is a useful frame for these results. At its core, INPP is a straightforward proposition. It invests in essential infrastructure that people rely on every day, from schools and community hospitals to the trains that keep people moving and the networks that keep the lights on and the water clean. What makes these assets distinctive is how they earn their money. Around 99% of the portfolio's revenues are long-term and secure, either government-backed or independently regulated, rather than depending on how much the assets are used or what's happening in the wider economy. The slide here sets out the four pillars of INPP's investment case, and they've remained remarkably stable since 2006.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Firstly, a track record of reliable and progressive income demonstrated by a dividend that's grown by at least 2.5% every year since IPO. Second, capital allocation focused on primary market assets with over GBP 440 million realized and over GBP 480 million reinvested or committed over the last three years. Thirdly, a differentiated portfolio of low-risk, essential infrastructure, 135 investments across nine countries with a weighted average life of around 41 years. Fourth, highly predictable income from long-term contracted cash flows, sufficiently predictable that from the existing portfolio alone, the dividend is projected to keep growing for at least the next 25 years. Now it's the second pillar on capital allocation, which is where the biggest change has happened since interest rates shifted in 2022.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

INPP has been selectively selling mature assets at prices that imply a return below the portfolio's 9.1% discount rate, then redeploying that capital into new investments with projected returns of more than 11%. That is an uplift of more than 200 basis points on every GBP recycled without materially changing the risk profile of the portfolio. I will take each one of these four pillars in turn, starting with the dividend track record on the next slide, before coming back to capital allocation on slides 6 and 7. For now, starting on slide 5 and pillar one, which covers INPP's reliable and progressive dividend. I think the chart on this slide speaks for itself, and it is a track record we are particularly proud of.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

INPP has grown its dividend by at least 2.5% every single year since listing in 2006, with every one of those dividends covered at least 1.1 times by operating cash generated from the portfolio. That is the longest unbroken record of dividend growth among the U.K.-listed infrastructure and renewable energy investment trusts, and it is why the Association of Investment Companies recognizes INPP as a next-generation dividend hero. If you take a moment to think about all the things this chart has lived through, we have seen things like the global financial crisis, Brexit, the pandemic, double-digit inflation, and the sharpest interest rate cycle in a generation. Through all of that, the dividend has kept growing fully covered by operating cash. That is the revenue security I noted earlier, working in practice.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

For this year, the board has confirmed full-year dividend targets of 8.79 pence for 2026 and 9.01 pence for 2027, maintaining that 2.5% annual growth, which at the current share price is a dividend yield of around 6.4%. Unlike a fixed coupon on a gilt, this is an income stream that has grown every year for nearly two decades, and on the cash flows of the portfolio as it stands today, it is projected to keep growing at that rate for at least the next 25 years without a single new investment. I will show you the underlying cash flows that sit behind that when we come to slide 9. Before that, let us turn to slide 6 and pillar two, which covers the investment side of capital allocation. Capital recycling in practice means selling mature assets at attractive valuations and then reinvesting those proceeds into higher returning opportunities.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

The approach is now in its third year. It has been accretive for shareholders, and INPP is looking to build on it further. The chart on this slide builds up deal by deal the capital INPP has committed or deployed since mid-2023, including the Moray West OFTO, where INPP is currently preferred bidder. In total, over GBP 480 million at an average projected return of more than 11%. Every one of those commitments is fully inflation protected, which is why the portfolio's overall inflation protection rose to 0.8%. With a five-year cash yield above 6%, they contribute cash to dividend cover early on. So where do double-digit returns like this come from? Largely from the investment adviser's access to the primary market. Amber has been originating investments for INPP since its IPO.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

By the primary market, I simply mean backing new projects directly when they are first financed rather than buying existing assets secondhand in crowded auctions. That is typically where better returns can be accessed for a similar risk profile. Sizewell C is the clearest example, the first nuclear power station anywhere to be financed under the same regulated model as Tideway, a framework that Amber spent years working with the U.K. government to shape. Post-period end, INPP committed a further GBP 40 million or so to BeNEX. It is INPP's existing German rail platform, and it was to fund a newly won concession at a projected return in the low teens. Looking ahead, beyond the circa GBP 290 million already committed to Sizewell C, BeNEX, and Moray West, the investment adviser has identified a nearer-term pipeline of around GBP 1 billion across regulated assets, PPPs, and operating businesses, with estimated double-digit returns.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

None of these are guaranteed to convert into investments, but the summary on slide 23 in the appendix gives a sense of the depth of opportunity available to INPP. One more thing on risk, because it is a fair question whenever returns step up. The investments made since mid-2023 carry the characteristics shareholders have come to expect from INPP. Their revenues are regulated or contracted, so returns are not driven by power prices or passenger volumes. They have structural protections during construction. There is naturally some incremental risk in earlier-stage assets, but our view is that it is modest relative to the additional return, and the best evidence for that is the dividend chart on the previous slide. For the pipeline, the expectation is to maintain a risk profile broadly consistent with the existing portfolio.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Now, on the other side of the equation on slide 7, which covers where the capital comes from. Since mid-2023, INPP has realized or committed to realize over GBP 440 million of investments, which is around 17% of the portfolio. So although these assets are often described as illiquid, there is a deep pool of buyers for them at the right price. The chart here builds those sales up cumulatively, with the colored ticks showing how each realization compared to the valuation INPP had most recently published. The realizations have come from all three segments of the portfolio: regulated investments, PPPs, and operating businesses, which show value can be crystallized right across the portfolio. There is one feature of this track record I would like to draw your attention to.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Every single one of those transactions completed at or above that published valuation, with some at a premium and two at a significant premium. These realizations include the sale of a minority stake in the Moray East Transmission project during the period for around GBP 40 million, with INPP retaining a 51% stake and with that, control. Post-period end, INPP agreed to sell nine school projects for around GBP 58 million, again at a premium, with completion expected in the fourth quarter. These sales were made to recycle capital into those higher-returning investments, but they have an additional benefit. Sophisticated investors repeatedly paying at or above INPP's published valuations is independent validation of those valuations and of the 9.1% discount rate behind them. It also closes the loop on capital recycling.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Realizations priced at an implied return below 9.1% reinvested at more than 11%, which is an uplift of more than 200 basis points on every GBP recycled. It is why, with the shares still trading below NAV, we believe the discount is a mispricing rather than a reflection of the portfolio. Part of these realization proceeds have gone into the share buyback program of up to GBP 225 million, which the board has now extended to 30th of September 2027, with the overall size unchanged. To date, around GBP 150 million worth of shares have been bought back, generating about 1.9 pence of NAV accretion, including the GBP 27.7 million during the half-year period. Capital goes where the expected return is greater. So as the discount has narrowed, the balance has shifted towards new investments, though buybacks remain an important part of the toolkit where a significant discount prevails.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Finally, on this slide, a word on funding. INPP has a GBP 350 million corporate debt facility, recently upsized on existing terms, and may well look to use it as a short-term bridge where new investments are completed ahead of the sales that fund them. There is more detail of the facility in the appendix. Pillar 3 on slide 8. This shows what three years of this capital recycling activity has done to the shape of the portfolio, comparing the June 2023 position when INPP set out its current approach to capital allocation with the latest June 2026 position. You can see the improvement across every measure shown. Revenues that are protected, long-term and secure, up from 98% to 99%. The weighted average discount rate up from 8% to 9.1%, which is 110 basis points of additional projected return. Inflation protection up from 0.7% to 0.8%.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

The dividend growth horizon extended from 20 to at least 25 years. The weighted average life of the portfolio extended from 37 to 41 years, extending rather than running down the life of the company. The renewable energy transmitted through the portfolio's assets can now power the equivalent of 3.7 million homes, up from 2.7. So the simple message from this slide is that capital recycling hasn't just improved returns deal by deal, it has made the whole portfolio stronger on income security, on duration, on inflation protection, and on projected returns. Pillar 4 on slide 9 brings all of this together as we look to the future. The dark blue bars show the cash the portfolio is projected to pay to INPP over the next 30 years, based purely on the investments held at 30th of June. So no new deals, no new equity, no future realizations assumed.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Remember, the portfolio's weighted average life is around 41 years, so these cash flows run well beyond the edge of the chart. The lines then illustrate what could happen to the NAV, and this is the key point, because it captures the organic growth potential of the portfolio. The orange line is the base case with no further investment activity and the portfolio essentially running off. The gray and blue lines, though, show what could happen if the surplus cash each year after paying the dividend is reinvested. One at a return in line with the current 9.1% discount rate, and one at 11% in line with what's actually been achieved over the last three years. No new capital, no asset sales. It is simply the portfolio funding its own growth, and over time, that quietly compounds into capital growth alongside a growing income.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

There's one thing this chart doesn't capture because it holds discount rates constant. Newer assets like Sizewell C and the recent BeNEX concessions are valued today at rates that reflect where they are in their lives. As they bed down and move towards full operations, the risk reduces and the discount rate applied to them would typically fall, which is a further potential source of NAV growth in the nearer term. One final point. Assets with lives measured in decades sit best in a structure with permanent capital, and INPP's closed-ended investment trust structure means it can hold them for their full economic life, selling when it chooses to and never because it's forced to.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

With that, let me hand over to Mohammed to take you through the financial performance in a bit more detail.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Thank you, Jamie. Good afternoon, everyone. Before I take you through the numbers, I would like to highlight a theme worth keeping in mind. This has been another volatile period in the market, and it is the kind of environment this portfolio is built to withstand. NAV per share grew, the dividends grew, and while there were some movements beneath the surface, they largely offset one another. Turning to NAV bridge on page 11, for the six months to 30th June 2026, we opened at 151.5 pence per share and closed at 153.4, up 1.9 pence, and on top of that, we returned 4.3 pence dividend. In total, this resulted in an 8.2% NAV return on an annualized basis. On capital returns, the buyback reduced the NAV by circa GBP 28 million in absolute terms.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Because we bought at a discount to NAV, it added 0.3 pence per share for continuing shareholders. We moderated the pace of buyback somewhat this period as the share price has recovered, and the discount has narrowed. As Jamie set out earlier, we have an attractive pipeline ahead of us, and our current committed investments are expected to deliver returns of over 11%. We have continued to maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation and therefore continue to assess investment opportunities against our buyback thresholds. Turning to valuation, the next two movements, the change in government bond yields and the change in investment risk premia should be read together as together they reflect the impact of discount rate. We have held the discount rate at 9.1%, the same level as at 31st December 2025. Therefore, the impact has only been marginal.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

I will say more about discount rate on the next page. On the remaining movements, foreign exchange had a marginal positive impact over the period. Macroeconomic volatility, largely driven by ongoing Middle East conflict, fed through to slightly higher inflation assumptions in the near term, and the portfolio's inherent inflation protection delivered an uplift around one pence per share to the NAV. Finally, the NAV return. This reflects the unwind of discount rate as we move a period closer to receiving our cash flows, together with updates to our cash flow assumptions and distributions. As announced earlier, our equity investment in toob had been reduced to nil, and that has had a negative impact within the NAV return this period. INPP still remains a GBP 2.6 million investment in toob, which ranks equivalent to senior debt. Let me close on this.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

The low-risk profile of this portfolio continues to serve our investors well. Even with a challenging outcome on toob this period, the portfolio has continued to grow its NAV and service its growing dividend. That underscores the strength of INPP. With that, let me turn to the discount rate in more detail. Since the shift in interest rates at the back end of 2022, INPP moved harder and faster than most in the sector to raise discount rates. We did that because we could see bond yield increases feeding into transaction pricing wherever we were active in the market. However, over the last 18 months or so, that has changed. Stability has returned. Discount rates are holding in the secondary market, so we have kept our discount rate broadly flat at 9.1%.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

The investment adviser participates in a number of M&A transactions across the infrastructure landscape and therefore has detailed insight around pricing. In addition, the company has realized over GBP 440 million of investments across PPP regulated assets and operating businesses. Data from this active market participation provides robust support for the discount rate applied. It is worth remembering that discount rate is a range and valuation can reasonably be priced anywhere within it. We deliberately pick the liquid end of the range where most buyers and sellers are likely to convert. The realizations of our assets at or above NAV and the transaction activity we see in the secondary market underpins the prudent discount rate we apply across our portfolio. We also note that in recent weeks, bond yields across pretty much all regions the company invest in have seen sizable shifts.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

We are yet to observe these shifts impacting transaction-level pricing. In addition, our high degree of inflation protection also acts as a natural buffer because rising bond yields tend to come alongside higher inflation, which works in our favor. These are not just our own numbers. The portfolio valuations are independently reviewed by an external firm at half year and fully audited at year-end. So bringing it together, relative stability is visible in the infra secondaries market. The valuations are supported by market transactions. Independent assurance behind these figures provide further support in terms of robustness of the NAV. Moving to page 14, after the details of valuation movements, this section is more straightforward. It is where we look at how the assets themselves have performed, and for the most part, they have done what the portfolio is designed to do.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

It is a low-risk, essential infrastructure portfolio, and over the period, it has behaved much as expected. Let me take each of these three groupings in turn. Starting with regulated investments, just over half of the portfolio. Cadent has performed strongly against RIIO-2 commitments and now focused on delivering RIIO-3 objectives. At Tideway, we have reached an important milestone after the period end in August. Tideway completed handover, the point at which the operator takes the day-to-day responsibility for the tunnel. Sizewell C construction is progressing in line with expectations, with more than 2,000 people on site each day. Our 11 OFTOs continue to perform in line with expectations, delivering a 99.4% availability during the period. As Jamie noted earlier, we realized minority stake in Moray East during the period for over GBP 40 million at a premium to most recent valuations.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Our PPPs, just over a third of the portfolio, delivered strong operational performance with availability of 99.8% against target of over 98%. After the period end in August, we committed to divest nine Building Schools for Future projects for around GBP 58 million. Like Moray East, this sale is at a premium to most recent valuations, and we expect to reach financial close in the fourth quarter. The company's operating businesses represent 12% of the portfolio. Angel Trains, a rolling stock company, owns passenger trains and leases them to train operating companies under long-term contracts rather than operating passenger services itself. It continued to trade in line with expectations. BeNEX, the company's wholly owned German rail business, had another standout period, winning two further concessions, including one secured after the period end in July.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

As already highlighted in the company's announcement on that award, the associated capital of 46 million euros is committed at an expected low teen returns. The exception on this page is our digital infrastructure holdings. Against structural headwinds in the U.K. AltNet market, we took the decision after the period end not to commit further capital. Subject to final terms, we'll transfer our equity interest to debt holders for a de minimis amount. It is a disappointing outcome on a single asset where the exposure was less than 1% of the NAV. We continue to hold around 1% of the portfolio in digital infrastructure, principally through Community Fibre. Community Fibre has a different profile in terms of scale, such as homes passed, customers connected, positive operating cash flows, and access to lenders. Building on the asset management picture, page 15 puts a number on it.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

What you are looking at is 15 years of distributions actually received from portfolio each year against the forecast set the year before. In short, did the cash we expected actually turn up? Year after year, it has. For most of the last 15 years, the bar sits at or around 100%. This is what a 99% contracted or regulated revenue looks like in practice. Cash that depends on our assets being available and well run, not on market volume or market pricing. There is one clear exception. In 2020, COVID produced a genuine shortfall as some distributions were deliberately held. Even then, the dividend was paid on a fully covered basis. In the most disruptive year in living memory, the portfolio absorbed the shock and still paid shareholders. That is the point of this page.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Risk here sits at asset level, not market level, and it is the investment adviser's job across more than 130 investments to manage it and turn this low-risk portfolio into cash actually received.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

With this, I'll now hand over to our Head of Sustainability, Dan Watson, to go through our approach to responsible investment.

Dan Watson
Head of Sustainability at Amber Infrastructure

Great. Thanks very much, Mohammed, and good afternoon, everyone. Infrastructure is inherently linked to real-world outcomes. The assets that provide essential services to communities also generate the long-term predictable cash flows INPP is built on. We believe the environmental and social needs of the communities these assets serve are a key reason governments support availability payments and regulated returns. In short, these services are simply too important not to be available to everyone. The scale of this essential need is well demonstrated through the outcomes of the company's investments. As Mohammed mentioned, Tideway has now completed the final stages of the project and reached handover with a staggering 21.7 million tons of sewage diverted from the River Thames since August 2024. That is enough to fill Wembley Stadium over five times.

Dan Watson
Head of Sustainability at Amber Infrastructure

In addition, more than 3.7 million estimated equivalent homes are capable of being powered by renewable energy transmitted through the company's OFTO investments, and more than 244 million passenger journeys were taken through rail transport investments. All of these figures point to the essential nature of these assets and a reflection of the durability of the revenues of the company. The essential nature of the company's investment support, in part, the predictable cash flows for the company. However, that durability is conditional, not automatic. Availability and regulated return structures of this kind typically require the underlying asset to remain available, well-maintained, and compliant with agreed performance standards. Failure to do so can result in payment deductions or, for regulated assets, lower allowed return. The board recognizes that environmental and social externalities can affect infrastructure returns, particularly when you consider the long-term nature of these investments.

Dan Watson
Head of Sustainability at Amber Infrastructure

Managing these impacts effectively can help protect long-term returns and reduce unexpected risks. This sits at the heart of the company's approach to active management and how it views sustainability. The company continued to progress against its ESG KPIs during the first half of 2026, including engagement on diversity, equality and inclusion, climate risk and net zero. Through Amber's hands-on asset management, the company was able to advance decarbonization initiatives across our social infrastructure portfolio, including 80 solar feasibility studies to date and air source heat pump projects reaching the construction stage at two Calderdale schools. Investment adviser will continue its program of stewardship to progress ESG KPIs through the remainder of 2026. This includes working with facilities management partners on further solar feasibility studies across its PPP projects, delivering where financially attractive.

Dan Watson
Head of Sustainability at Amber Infrastructure

It is important to note that the decarbonization is only pursued where the economics support it, and it is aligned with the needs of the company's public sector partners. Finally, we recognize that sustainability performance and disclosure is an important aspect for shareholders, either due to regulatory requirements or for voluntary reasons. Earlier this year, the company released the fifth edition of its sustainability report, including updated TCFD, SFDR, and EU taxonomy disclosures, which hopefully provides useful information for all stakeholders.

Dan Watson
Head of Sustainability at Amber Infrastructure

With that, I will hand it back over to Jamie to wrap up the presentation.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Thank you very much, Dan. If we could move to the final slide, please. Thank you very much. So, as Dan says, yep, this brings us to our final slide 18, and back to where we started with those four pillars. A dividend grown every year for nearly 20 years, covered 1.3 times this half, and projected to keep growing for at least another 25 years without a single new investment. A capital allocation strategy that is working. Over GBP 440 million realized at or above published valuations and over GBP 480 million reinvested at returns above 11%. A portfolio of 135 essential infrastructure assets across nine countries that is measurably stronger than it was three years ago on duration, on inflation protection, and on revenue security. 99% of that portfolio backed by long-term secure revenues, which is what makes the income so predictable in the first place.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

If there's one thing to take away today, it is the capital recycling and the way it sits at the center of these results. Realizing mature assets at prices that imply a return below the 9.1% discount rate, and then reinvesting above 11% at a broadly consistent risk profile through the investment adviser's access to the primary market and early-stage opportunities. That's how INPP is compounding value for shareholders while continuing to pay a growing, fully covered dividend. So 20 years on from IPO, the proposition hasn't changed. Essential assets, secure and inflation-protected revenues, and disciplined management of shareholders' capital. The board remains confident in the strategy and in the continuity of delivery.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

With that, let me thank you for joining today's presentation, and I'll now hand over back to Jake.

Operator

Perfect, guys. That's great. Thank you very much indeed for your presentation this afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, please do continue to submit your questions just by using the Q&A tab that's situated on the right-hand corner of your screen. But just while the team take a few moments to review those questions that have been submitted already, just like to remind you that a recording of this presentation, along with a copy of the slides and the published Q&A, can all be accessed via your investor dashboards. Guys, you can see there, we have received a number of questions, and thank you to all of those on the call for taking the time to submit their questions.

Operator

But Lauren, at this stage, if I may hand over to you to chair the Q&A with the team, and if I pick up from you at the end, that'd be great. Thank you.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Of course. Thank you, and good afternoon, everybody. I can see we've got quite a few questions already submitted, so we will try our best to answer as many as possible in the time remaining. Jamie, we've got a few questions on the buyback program initially. Would you mind providing an update on what has been done to date and what the future plans are, please?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Yes, certainly. I think INPP was actually one of the early adopters of announcing its approach to buying back shares in response to the fairly rapid change in interest rates back in 2022, and the impact that that had on the company's share price and the discount to NAV as a result of that. The company very quickly announced its share buyback program, and that, in total, as a program, has increased to a size of GBP 225 million. As a program, the time of deploying up to that level has recently been extended to 30th September 2027, and to date, of that GBP 225 million, about GBP 150 million has been bought back, which has added about 1.9 pence per share to the NAV.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

I think what we have seen, though, is, and hopefully investors will have seen this, that as the share price has improved and the discount to NAV has narrowed, the use of that buyback mechanism is being reduced, and we are seeing better opportunities to deploy shareholder capital into more accretive opportunities, such as new investments at those double-digit returns, which exceed the returns of those simply just buying back shares, the implied returns of just buying back shares. In short, it has been a helpful tool whilst, and I would say a tool alongside several initiatives that the company has adopted to address its discount to NAV. Given that discount has reduced, I think we are seeing less use of the buyback, but it remains an important part of the toolkit.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Great. Thank you. We have a couple of questions on the divi cover being up. Mohammed, I think this has been touched on in the presentation, but would you mind just confirming if that is expected to increase further?

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Definitely. I think in terms of the divi cover, we have reported 1.3 times for June 30. I think just remind everyone that typically, our divi cover has hovered between 1.1 and 1.2 if we look at the long-term history. However, this time around, this is more around timings of cash flow. For the full year, what we would expect is that the divi cover would normalize towards our normal expected ranges.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Okay. Thank you. We have got quite a few questions on the volatility in the macro environment at the moment and how that might impact INPP. Jamie, would you mind touching on that, please?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Yes, certainly. Sorry, this is the volatility of bond yields.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Yes. Sorry.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Yes. Look, like everyone, we have seen government bond yields across the globe, certainly the developed world, widening or increasing, and that obviously has knock-on impacts elsewhere. What we are seeing, and what we have typically seen in the past, is how that necessarily translates to the pricing of infrastructure assets. It is not quite an immediate like for like. With infrastructure assets, there remains a very deep pool of potential buyers. Typically, these are private infrastructure funds which far outweigh the size of the listed infrastructure market of which we are part of. That deep pool means that there is very competitive pricing for these infrastructure assets. As our track record that we have described in terms of selling at NAV or above NAV kind of demonstrates that. What we therefore see is when bond yields do rise, they do not necessarily translate to lower pricing of our assets.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Mohammed did touch on this a bit earlier. Should yields on government bonds remain at a high level over a sustained period, we may see that translate through to pricing on our infrastructure assets. Certainly for the time being, the active transactions we have seen of infrastructure assets, both during the period and actually post the period, do not suggest at the moment there is any material change. I might just ask Mohammed if there was anything you wanted to add to that.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

No, I think, Jamie, as you have noted, the transaction activity is not right now reflecting a shift in the market pricing we are seeing in the private markets. This has been quite a consistent theme where private markets are pricing infrastructure assets at NAV or above NAV, and it is just not for INPP. There is wider evidence of other infrastructure partners realizing assets at that level. This is because essentially that is, as Jamie, you noted, it is a bigger market of infrastructure is private, and that is where the pricing is set for infrastructure investments. One more point to note is the inflation linkage. We have inflation protection of 0.8%, which essentially means that for 1% increase in inflation, we will see a 0.8% increase in returns.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Other way of saying that is a 1% sustained increase in inflation will result in 12 pence per share increase in NAV. That provides a natural hedge. Typically, what we would expect is if inflation is high, bond yields are correlated to that to some degree, and that creates a natural hedge within the portfolio to mitigate impacts. Now, some would go back to 2022 and think about what happened there, and I will probably highlight 2022 interest rate cycle shift was once in generation. That was over 300-400 BPS movement in quite a narrow window of time. It is a generational shift. That cannot account for the mechanism through inflation protection. But within a cycle, if we expect normalized movements in bond yields, we would expect there to be a mitigation applied there.

Mohammed Anwar
CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber

Hopefully, that gives you an overview of how we see the valuations, the discount rate, the market evidence in front of us.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Great, thank you. Jamie, could you please provide a reminder on the fee structure, whether we are purely NAV or NAV and market cap, please?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Certainly. The company pays its investment adviser a fee that is based or weighted 50% on the NAV, or the valuation of the portfolio, and 50% on the market cap. So taking into account that share price and, in the current instance, that share price discount to NAV. So that is a 50/50 weighting, and that 50/50 weighting aligns the investment adviser very closely with the company. It is a fee arrangement that was announced this time last year, or, sorry, was implemented the middle of last year. So it has been a fee arrangement that has recently been introduced.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Great. Thank you. Could you please touch on whether the change in government will have any impact on INPP and the future pipeline?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Sure. Yes, very topical question. I think the short answer is, it's a bit too early to see clearly. Clearly, though, it is something we're following very closely. Perhaps just to address any concerns over the existing portfolio. I think just as a reminder, many of our assets have very strong protections around things like change in law or discontinuation, where we receive financial compensation. It's worth making that point. Having said that, what we do tend to see when a new prime minister and a new government come in is their priorities on various things, including infrastructure spending and aspects to that. For us, a new government probably can change the prospective pipeline. At the moment, as I say, it's perhaps a bit too early to understand the real implications.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Having said that, we have seen, for quite some time, quite a lot of opportunities in the U.K., principally through the regulated mechanism. Sizewell C obviously being the most recent example of that. We are seeing other opportunities for regulated type investments in the U.K., as it is a model that's being used in other situations like Lower Thames Crossing project, which is expected to use that same model, alongside projects like the water reservoir projects that are earmarked as well. There's good use of the regulated model in the U.K. Beyond that, I don't think we're seeing much change at the moment. We will continue to see what the new government may bring in the future.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Thank you. That's a segue into the next question. Are we expecting any implications on our investment into Sizewell C as a result?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Well, in short, no. If that is in relation to the new government or indeed any prospective government, I would say no. It's worth highlighting or reminding investors actually that Sizewell C benefited from cross-party support. I think energy security is at the forefront of our minds, alongside the fact that the ability to deliver low-carbon baseload electricity, which is essential to our energy mix, to complement the more intermittent, renewable type of energy infrastructure that has been growing over recent years. I think the case for Sizewell remains essential and, as a result, we don't see any issues or implications around that, nor indeed through the change of government.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

That's great. Thank you. It looks like we've got one final question, which is a nice one to end on. What do you see as the key points of differentiation for INPP against the wider infrastructure and renewables peer group?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Sure. Great question. I would say the company's real differentiator is its access to its investment adviser, Amber, who has the skill set and the capabilities to access new investments in the primary market, where we're seeing those really attractive returns, but with substantially lower risk. Again, I've mentioned Sizewell, but it does remain a really great example of this. Sizewell C, the investment has allowed INPP to access a return over the construction period, which is expected till the late 2030s, and into early operations in the early 2040s. That return is expected to be in the low teens. It is fixed through the fact that we are receiving a real return of 10.8%, and that is real and therefore inflation linked. The nominal is closer to, as I say, the low teens.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

When you think about the risk associated with that, we put out quite a substantial amount of guidance on this in the 2025 annual report, in a case study there, which sets out both the risk mitigations and prospective returns, including in some downside scenarios. Hopefully, I think hopefully investors will recognize that they look very healthy. We do take some risk, but in even the most severe downsides, we're still seeing some pretty healthy returns. The ability to access that unique opportunity has come from the company's investment adviser. As a result, INPP has managed to be a first mover into a variety of other new sectors.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

When INPP was, in the early days, solely focused on PPPs, we noted the reducing pipeline of that, and were therefore quick to adopt and move to new investments that carried a very similar risk profile, but attractive returns, and back then, it was a move into things like offshore transmission. We were a first mover into that segment of market. These are transmission links that connect the offshore wind farms to the onshore grid, but they don't rely on any renewable power generation. We get paid an availability stream as long as that cable is available. That first mover into that sector has led to INPP now being a market leader in this asset class with very secure availability revenue streams at very attractive returns.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

That movement into OFTOs, the offshore transmission, then created a platform for us to move into other regulated assets like Tideway, which is the same model as Sizewell C. We closed that in 2015 and brought that through construction. I am giving a few key examples of how INPP, the company, is able to access those attractive investments through the investment adviser, which I would say is probably a key differentiator. As a final point, you can see that as well through the income as well that INPP has generated, which as I mentioned, the growth of that puts it as a leader among investment trusts, both infrastructure and the renewable energy investment trusts. I think when you combine all of those features, it creates a very compelling proposition in the infrastructure space.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

That's great. Thank you. I've just seen one final question come in, which I think we have time for. Could you please confirm how you're planning to fund your pipeline and whether you would consider using the revolving credit facility?

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

Yeah. In short, the answer to that is yes. I think we could or do consider using that corporate debt facility or revolving credit facility. Fundamentally, the new investments will be funded through asset realizations and disposals. We, at the investment adviser, are very active both on the new pipeline of opportunities that we see for the company, but also the investment adviser is actively working on realizations and asset disposals to fund that. There's multiple work streams happening. However, despite what we have managed to achieve this to date, is to time those investments and divestments such that the divestments can clearly fund the investments.

Jamie Hussein
Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure

That might not always be possible in the future, and therefore, the use of the revolving credit facility is a very efficient way to be able to make those new investments, and then fund that through the divestments or disposals to refill the revolving credit facility. In short, yes, we can expect to use that potentially in the future.

Lauren Deeble
Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure

Great. Thank you. That concludes the Q&A. Thank you, everybody, for taking the time to join us this afternoon, and I will hand back to the operator to close out the presentation.

Operator

Perfect, guys. That is great. Thank you very much indeed for addressing all of those questions that came in this afternoon and for updating investors today. Could I please ask investors not to close this session as you will now be automatically redirected for the opportunity to provide your feedback. On behalf of the management team of INPP, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation. That now concludes today's session, good afternoon to you all.

Analysts
    • Jamie Hussein
      Lead Portfolio Manager for INPP at Amber Infrastructure
    • Mohammed Anwar
      CFO of INPP and Head of Valuations at Amber
    • Dan Watson
      Head of Sustainability at Amber Infrastructure
    • Lauren Deeble
      Executive Assistant and Investor Relations at Amber Infrastructure
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