NextEnergy Solar Fund Ltd (LSE:NESF) burnished its credentials as one of FTSE 350's top income stocks with an 11% increase in total dividends to 8.35p, giving a yield of 11%.
With the payout covered 1.3 times by earnings, the group has increased its target for the current year to 8.43p. It has also signed off a £20 million share buyback programme.
The guidance was given alongside full-year results, which revealed a modest decline in the net asset value (NAV) to 104.7p. NESF generated income of £80 million in the 12 months ended March 31, up £1 million on the year earlier.
Gearing was up marginally at 29.3% with the weighted average cost of capital 0.7 percentage points higher at 6.4%.
Chair Helen Mahy said the company had made "solid progress" with its capital recycling programme, which started with the sale of Hatherden a 60MW ready-to-build solar project in November.
Since the year-end, NESF has successfully delivered the second phase and realised "attractive value for shareholders" from the sale of Whitecross, a 35.22MW operating solar asset.