For any income-focused investor moving from initial interest to active consideration of adding a stock to their portfolio, it is advisable to interrogate the extent to which the company’s strategy is supported by a durable and mathematically sound shareholder return framework.

An analysis for income-focused investors

For any major integrated energy company, the central challenge is clear: deliver competitive shareholder returns today while navigating the complexities of the global energy transition. bp has announced a "fundamental update" of its strategy—a decisive answer to this challenge that reflects decades of leadership experience and the imperative to deliver strong performance for shareholders.

Here’s the scorecard to watch

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV), a UK-based company, is pioneering sustainable aircraft technologies (see our equity proposition). To date, HAV has raised and invested c £140m in developing its landmark aircraft, Airlander 10, which combines lighter-than-air technology (helium) and an innovative wing design, overcoming traditional airship limitations. The Airlander 10 can deliver 100+ seat regional passenger transport, a 10-tonne payload of freight transportation, or a combination of the two. HAV’s Airlander technology is scalable and its next product, Airlander 50, can transport 50+ tonnes, despite being only slightly longer (120m) than Airlander 10 (98m). HAV has a total order book of c $2bn (29 aircraft) as well as a qualified pipeline of c $7bn, with a 50/50 split between civil and military uses. The company aims to raise an additional c £600m to build its production site (land is secured in South Yorkshire) and achieve its production target of 24 aircraft annually, with first customer deliveries scheduled for 2029.

Laying foundations for the energy transition

VolitionRx (NYSE American: VNRX) is a multinational epigenetics company that applies its Nucleosomics platform through its subsidiaries to develop simple, easy-to-use, cost-effective blood tests to help diagnose and monitor a range of life-altering diseases.