The woes of embattled fund manager Neil Woodford, whose funds are the second-largest shareholder in IP Group (IPO), weighed on market sentiment towards the early-stage investment specialist during the first half.
“In some cases, this has adversely impacted valuations and constrained funding availability,” IP said. Its portfolio value remained broadly flat on the year end at £1.13bn. Woodford Investment Management funds own holdings in 12 of IP's portfolio companies, which account for 34 per cent of the group's total portfolio value. The largest commonly-held company by value is Oxford Nanopore, which represents almost a quarter of IP's portfolio by value. Following speculation of a financing round in Oxford’s second half, management said that it would review its valuation of the company should this take place. Amid reports of an intention to explore a listing of Oxford, IP said it would support a flotation.
The group's portfolio companies raised 32 per cent less capital than they had done at this point last year, with total capital raised falling from £353m to £239m. But more encouragingly, IP is showing improvements in its cash control, achieving cash realisations of £46m for the year to date – already far above its £30m total for its 2018 financial year.
| IP GROUP (IPO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 70p | MARKET VALUE: | £736m | |
| TOUCH: | 69.8-70.2p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 134p | LOW: 54p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 110p | NET CASH: | £71m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2018 | 4.5 | -21.6 | -2.09 | nil |
| 2019 | -32.2 | -49.5 | -4.45 | nil |
| % change | - | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na |
