IP (IP), a seed capital fund for research-based companies, saw its fair value portfolio decline from £1.1bn to £1bn in 2019. Chief executive Alan Aubrey conceded in a statement that the figure was disappointing, and that it reflected “ongoing rationalisation in the portfolio and significant headwinds, particularly in the UK market”. The group recorded a negative return on its net assets, excluding intangible assets and goodwill, of £73.7m.
But its three most valuable holdings, which account for 37 per cent of net asset value, had a solid year: Oxford Nanopore, Istesso and Ceres Power (CWR) all announced significant technical and/or commercial developments. Oxford Nanopore reported investment and secondary share sales totalling £109.5m, after it more than doubled revenue and orders in 2018. Meanwhile, Istesso progressed with a drug for rheumatoid arthritis and Ceres Power said that Bosch is set to increase its stake to 18 per cent, from 4 per cent.
Nonetheless, overall capital raised stalled, falling by £287m, which management attributed to fewer large-scale raises completed by its companies in 2019 than in the year prior.
The group has turned its focus to its liquidity, with disposals last year resulting in a record £80m of cash realisations from its portfolio. This fed into a cut in net overheads by almost £4m.
| IP GROUP (IPO) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 59p | MARKET VALUE: | £625m | |
| TOUCH: | 59.0-59.3p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 104p | LOW: 54p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 108p | NET CASH: | £86.4m* | |
| Year to 29 Dec | Return on hard NAV (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2015 | 84.0 | 75.1 | 13.7 | nil |
| 2016 | -7.6 | -14.8 | -2.4 | nil |
| 2017 | 64.1 | 53.4 | 7.1 | nil |
| 2018 | -75.6 | -294 | -27.7 | nil |
| 2019 | -73.7 | -78.8 | -7.1 | nil |
| % change | - | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| *Includes lease liabilities of £2m | ||||
