3i Infrastructure PLC on Wednesday said annual profit was down despite reporting a total return ahead of expectations.

The Jersey-based infrastructure investment trust said net asset value at March 31 was 362.3 pence per share, down 7.2% from 336.2p a year ago.

NAV total return for the financial year ended March 31 was 11.4%, compared to 14.7%. This is ahead of its target of between 8% and 10%.

Net gains on investments fell 47% to £180 million from £338 million the year before.

Pretax profit was also lower at £347 million, a 12% decrease from £394 million a year prior. This was partly due to higher finance costs of £35 million, up from £16 million the year before.

3i Infrastructure added that it recommended a final dividend of f 5.95p per share, up 6.6% from 5.58p a year ago, bringing its full-year dividend to 11.90p per share.

Chair Richard Laing said: ‘3i Infrastructure continues to deliver long-term, sustainable returns. I am pleased to report that we achieved another year of outperformance, with a total return of 11.4% in the year ended 31 March 2024. This is the tenth consecutive year that the company has met or exceeded its target return.’

Shares in 3i Infrastructure were up 0.2% at 339.59 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

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