The fair value of IP Group's (IPO) portfolio rose from £614m to a whopping £1.13bn in 2017, largely thanks to its £490m acquisition of Touchstone Innovations. Touchstone’s integration is going to plan, bringing the intellectual property investor additional partnerships and a more balanced portfolio. Other transactions included the acquisition of enterprise investment scheme fund manager Parkwalk in February 2017, which provided a net contribution of £1.6m.
Return on net assets, excluding goodwill, intangible assets and acquisition/restructuring costs, came in at £73.2m, against a loss of £7.6m in 2016. IP’s net portfolio gains totalled £94.2m, up from just £6.5m in the prior year – although these figures are susceptible to fluctuations. Istesso Ltd was the chief contributor, as it moved from a subsidiary to a portfolio company, resulting in a £45.1m profit on deconsolidation.
The group remains strongly capitalised. In May, it generated £181m in net placing proceeds, which drew in "significant new shareholders" from China, Australia, Singapore and the UK, while the group's portfolio companies also garnered third-party capital of around £315m, against £230m in 2016.
Prior to these results, broker Stifel had forecast net asset value (NAV) of 139p a share at December 2018 (from 132p in 2017).
IP GROUP (IPO) | ||||
ORD PRICE: | 121p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.28bn | |
TOUCH: | 120-121p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 158p | LOW: 100p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 142p | NET CASH: | £127m |
Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
2013 | 85.4 | 72.6 | 19.6 | nil |
2014 | 28.4 | 9.5 | 2.0 | nil |
2015 | 98.3 | 75.1 | 13.7 | nil |
2016 | 7.6 | -14.8 | -2.4 | nil |
2017 | 104 | 53.4 | 7.1 | nil |
% change | +1262 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: | na | |||
Payment: | na | |||