As Lower Power Prices Weigh on NAV
Fiona Craig Market News
18 February 2026
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited (LSE:NESF) reported a drop in its unaudited third-quarter net asset value, with NAV per ordinary share declining to 84.9p. The decrease was mainly attributed to softer third-party power price assumptions and weaker winter irradiation, which left UK generation 12.9% below budget.
Taking into account the forthcoming impact of the UK government’s decision to shift Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) inflation indexation from RPI to CPI, year-end NAV would have stood at 82.9p. Despite these pressures, the board reaffirmed its full-year dividend target of 8.43p per share, with forecast dividend cover of between 1.1x and 1.3x, highlighting its continued focus on delivering income amid challenging market conditions.
The fund’s capital recycling strategy and recent asset disposals have generated £72.5 million to date, contributing a positive uplift to NAV and supporting efforts to manage leverage. Gearing currently sits just under the 50% debt-to-GAV threshold, although a depressed share price has pushed the enterprise value (EV) gearing ratio above 50%.
Management intends to further reduce leverage through additional asset sales and repayment of its revolving credit facility (RCF). A broader strategic review, scheduled to be presented to investors in March, is aimed at strengthening long-term value. This will be underpinned by the fund’s Article 9 sustainability classification and its ongoing commitment to biodiversity initiatives and strong ESG standards across its supply chain.
The outlook remains constrained by sharply weaker operating performance, including falling revenues and two consecutive years of net losses, alongside negative technical indicators, with the share price trading below key moving averages and a bearish MACD signal. These headwinds are partly offset by improving operating cash flow, a debt-free balance sheet expected in 2025, and a high dividend yield, though these positives do not fully counterbalance earnings pressure and weak momentum trends.
More about NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited is a publicly listed specialist investor in utility-scale solar and energy storage assets, primarily located in the UK. The portfolio comprises more than 100 operating solar projects with significant installed capacity and long remaining asset lives, generating inflation-linked income from government-backed subsidies and electricity sales into the UK power market.
Hi my friend! I want to say that this post is amazing, nice written and include almost all important infos. I?d like to see more posts like this.
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I don’t know who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you are not already 😉 Cheers!
I have been browsing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.
There are some attention-grabbing closing dates on this article however I don?t know if I see all of them middle to heart. There is some validity but I will take maintain opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we wish more! Added to FeedBurner as properly
smile
Attractive part of content. I just stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to say that I acquire actually loved account your weblog posts. Any way I will be subscribing in your augment or even I success you get entry to constantly rapidly.
Wonderful work! This is the type of info that should be shared around the net. Shame on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thanks =)