With Circassia (CIR) as its largest quoted investment, Imperial Innovations (IVO) took some pain after the biotech company's flagship cat allergy drug failed its Phase III clinical trial in June. The group holds a 9 per cent stake in Circassia, the value of which declined by more than two-thirds over the reported period. Overall, the net fair value of Imperial's quoted portfolio fell £64m to £43m.
The group increased its rate of investment by 15 per cent on the previous year to £70m. Of this, 79 per cent was invested in existing portfolio companies, while the balance was injected into seven new 'accelerated growth companies', primarily in the ICT and digital sector. Chief executive Russ Cummings said the group favours these types of companies for their superior returns. This nudged the overall net fair value of the group's assets up to £335m, from £327m.
Partnering with universities is an important way for the group to maintain deal-flow. In January, Imperial invested £3.3m in Apollo Therapeutics, a joint venture between Cambridge University's technology transfer office, the technology commercialisation arm of University College London, and pharmaceutical companies.
Cenkos analysts expect a statutory pre-tax loss of £11.1m for the year ended July 2017 and a loss per share of 7p (FY2016: see table).
IMPERIAL INNOVATIONS (IVO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 415p | MARKET VALUE: | £669m | |
| TOUCH: | 415-425p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 517p | LOW: 335p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 283p | NET CASH: | £106m | |
| Year to 31 Jul | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 8.1 | nil |
| 2013 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 4.6 | nil |
| 2014 | 3.6 | 27.4 | 26.8 | nil |
| 2015 | 5.1 | 15.1 | 11.1 | nil |
| 2016 | 4.3 | -63.1 | -43.2 | nil |
| % change | -16 | - | - | - |
