Rising interest rates should theoretically reduce the attractiveness of alternative assets, but Intermediate Capital (ICP) is not suffering any pull-back in demand yet. The specialist asset manager – which invests across a range of debt, private equity and real estate via closed-ended funds – surpassed its €6bn (£5.31bn) annual fundraising target by around €100m during the first-half. Overall assets under management were up 17 per cent to €33.6bn, with around €26bn third-party fee-earning.
The Europe Fund VII – which invests in the subordinate debt and equity instruments of private European companies – contributed €3.9bn in inflows. The fund closed at the start of November at €4bn of third-party commitments – a 60 per cent increase on its predecessor – and with an average fee rate of 1.43 per cent of commitments, up on 1.34 per cent.
Net investment returns of £186m represented 17 per cent of the average balance sheet portfolio, up on 12 per cent the prior year, benefiting from one of the last legacy assets being revalued in line with its listed share price. The asset manager also benefited from a one-off £9.8m fair value credit on hedging derivatives.
Analysts at Numis expect adjusted pre-tax profits of £213m for the year to March 2019, giving EPS of 75.3p (2018: £168m, 79.2p).
| INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL (ICP) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 1,009p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 2.93bn | |
| TOUCH: | 1,007-1,010p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,226p | LOW: 899p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.1% | PE RATIO: | 10 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 471p | NET CASH: | £277m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2017 | 285 | 95.5 | 33.1 | 9 |
| 2018 | 259 | 124 | 43.6 | 10 |
| % change | -9 | +30 | +32 | +11 |
| Ex-div: | 06 Dec | |||
| Payment: | 10 Jan |
