Thursday May 15, 09:27 AM
3i Group reports FY NAV 1,077 pence/share, 'realistic' on outlook UPDATE
(updating to add detail, dividend, conference call)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - 3i Group Plc. reported an increase in net asset value per share of 1,077 pence in its full-year results, up from 932 pence in 2007, but the private equity
company admitted it is 'realistic' in its outlook as the credit crunch impacts its activities.
UBS (Virt-X: UBSN.VX - news) had forecast NAV rising to 1,050 to 1,060 pence per share, increasing from the 1,007 pence NAV announced at the end of September based on the underlying portfolio of companies performing well, despite divestments slowing.
3i posted a pretax profit of 828 million pounds in 2008 compared to 1.05 billion in 2007, whilst assets under management increased by 37 percent to 9.8 billion pounds in the full year ending March 31.
The private equity company said that the proceeds from divestments had slowed, as expected, to 1.74 million pounds in the year compared to 2.43 billion pounds in 2007.
But the group's final dividend increased to 10.9 pence from 10.3 pence in 2007, bringing the total dividend to 17 pence.
The private equity company also announced it is launching an offer for 425 million pounds of unsecured convertible bonds to refinance its existing 550 million euro bonds that mature on August 1. The conversion rate will be set at a premium of 25 to 35 percent on the volume weighted average price of 3i's shares.
3i said it made 47 new investments compared to 62 in the previous year, with a total return of 792 million pounds, and an 18.6 percent return on opening shareholders' funds compared to 1.07 billion pounds in 2007 or a 26.8 percent return.
CEO Philip Yea said, on a conference call to journalists, that its portfolio of companies is 'overall in good shape' in spite of the turbulent markets.
But he noted the company is 'realistic' in its outlook due to the adverse changes in the world economy outlook.
He added that the company is now more highly diversified, after having reshaped itself by broadening its asset classes, increasing third-party funds under management and expanding geographically.
3i is expanding its footprint in Asia, and announced last month that it raised $1.2 billion for its 3i India Infrastructure Fund. Charles Stanley said recently that the fund is currently trading on a large premium to net asset value, in spite of it taking some time to produce on a return on the capital invested.
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