For H1 2022, CK Infrastructure (CKI) posted a 46% YoY increase in net profits to HK$4.4bn ($560mn), mainly since last year’s profit was weighed down by a one-off deferred tax related charges for its UK businesses. Operational profit across the group’s business lines reported an 6% increase in local currencies with the UK’s profit contribution jumping 219% to HKD 1.7bn ($220mn) due to reasons mentioned above. Profit contributions from the Power Assets and Australia portfolios increased as well by 14% YoY to HKD 1bn ($130mn) and 9% YoY to HKD 1bn ($130mn) respectively. This rise was slightly offset by a decrease in profits from smaller portfolios in Europe, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Canada. On the balance sheet, its bank balances and deposits increased 19% YoY to HKD 9.6bn ($1.2bn) while total debt fell 4% to HKD 28.6bn ($3.6bn). Of the total borrowings, 74% are repayable in 2023-2026 with the remaining repayable beyond 2026. CKI’s net debt and net total capital stands at HKD 19bn ($2.4bn) and HKD 147bn ($18.7bn) respectively, giving it a net debt to net total capital ratio of 12.9%, lower than 14.7% at the end of last year. In light of the positive earnings result, the board raised its interim dividend to be paid in September 2022 by 1.4% to HKD 0.70 per share ($0.09 per share).
CKI’s 4.2% perps callable in 2026 are trading flat at 77.2 cents to the dollar, yielding 5.44%.
