• ICG Enterprise Trust Plc: Q1 update for the three months ended 30 April 2024

    Source: Nasdaq GlobeNewswire / 25 Jun 2024 07:40:00   America/Chicago

    ICG Enterprise Trust plc

    25 June 2024

    Q1 update for the three months ended 30 April 2024

       
       
       
     NAV per Share of 1,925p 
     Highlights

    • NAV per Share of 1,925p (31 January 2024: 1,909p); NAV per Share Total Return of 1.2% during the quarter and 4.3% over the last twelve months (5 year annualised: 14.5%)
    • Portfolio Return on a Local Currency Basis of 0.5% during the quarter and 4.8% on an LTM basis (5 year annualised: 16.2%)
    • Total Realisations of £29m and New Investments of £32m
    • Two Full Exits completed at a weighted average Uplift to Carrying Value of 29.2%
    • Progressive dividend policy maintained: first quarter dividend of 8.5p per share (Q1 FY24: 8p). Board intends to pay total dividends of at least 35p per share for FY25 (FY24: 33p)
    • £7.0m returned via ongoing share buyback programme in Q1 FY25 (Q1 FY24: £3.1m)
    • Implementing FY25 opportunistic buyback programme: £7.4m returned since it was announced on 8 May 2024


    1 Up to and including 21 June 2024    		 


     PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW   
        Annualised
     Performance to 30 April 20243 months1 year3 years5 years10 years
     Portfolio Return on a Local Currency Basis0.5%4.8%14.6%16.2%13.4%
     NAV per Share Total Return1.2%4.3%13.0%14.5%13.1%
     Share Price Total Return(0.8)%17.3%6.4%9.3%10.7%
     FTSE All-Share Index Total Return7.5%7.5%7.4%5.4%5.8%


     Portfolio activity overview for Q1 FY25PrimaryDirectSecondaryTotalICG-managed
     Portfolio Return on a Local Currency Basis1.1%1.0%(2.0)%0.5%(1.1)%
     Portfolio Return in Sterling1.8%1.9%(0.9)%1.3%(0.3)%
     New Investments£31m£1m—£32m£4m
     Proceeds£13m£1m£16m£29m£19m
     New fund Commitments£28m——£28m—
     Closing Portfolio value£746m£402m£222m£1,370m£422m
     % Total Portfolio54%29%16%100%31%

    ENQUIRIES

    Institutional investors and analysts:

    Martin Li, Shareholder Relations                   +44 (0) 20 3545 1816
    Nathan Brown, Deutsche Numis                   +44 (0) 20 7260 1426
    David Harris, Cadarn Capital                        +44 (0) 20 7019 9042

    Media:

    Cat Armstrong, Corporate Communications, ICG        +44 (0) 20 3545 1850

    COMPANY TIMETABLE

    A presentation for investors and analysts will be held at 11:00 BST tomorrow (Wednesday 26 June 2024). A link for the presentation can be found on the Results & Reports page of the Company website. A recording of the presentation will be made available on the Company website after the event.

     FY25 First Interim Dividend
    Ex-dividend date15 August 2024
    Record date16 August 2024
    Dividend payment date30 August 2024

    ABOUT ICG ENTERPRISE TRUST

    ICG Enterprise Trust is a leading listed private equity investor focused on creating long-term growth by delivering consistently strong returns through selectively investing in profitable, cash-generative private companies, primarily in Europe and the US.

    We invest in companies directly as well as through funds managed by Intermediate Capital Group plc ("ICG") and other leading managers who focus on creating long-term value and building sustainable growth through active management and strategic change.

    ICG Alternative Investment Limited, a regulated subsidiary of ICG, acts as the Manager of the Company.

    NOTES
    Included in this document are Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”). APMs have been used if considered by the Board and the Manager to be the most relevant basis for shareholders in assessing the overall performance of the Company, and for comparing the performance of the Company to its peers and its previously reported results.

    All performance figures are stated on a Total Return basis (i.e. including the effect of re-invested dividends).

    DISCLAIMER
    The information contained herein and on the pages that follow does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to acquire or subscribe for, any securities in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation is unlawful or would impose any unfulfilled registration, qualification, publication or approval requirements on ICG Enterprise Trust PLC (the "Company") or its affiliates or agents. Equity securities in the Company have not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa (each an “Excluded Jurisdiction”). The equity securities in the Company referred to herein and on the pages that follow may not be offered or sold within an Excluded Jurisdiction, or to any U.S. person ("U.S. Person") as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or to any national, resident or citizen of an Excluded Jurisdiction.

    The information on the pages that follow may contain forward looking statements. Any statement other than a statement of historical fact is a forward looking statement. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward looking statement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward looking statement, which speaks only as of the date of its issuance.

    MANAGER’S REVIEW

    Our investment strategy

    We focus on investing in buyouts of profitable, cash-generative businesses in developed markets that exhibit defensive growth characteristics which we believe will support strong and resilient returns across economic cycles.

    We take an active approach to portfolio construction, with a flexible mandate that enables us to deploy capital in Primary, Direct and Secondary investments. Geographically we focus on the developed markets of North America and Europe, including the UK, which have deep and mature private equity markets supported by a robust corporate governance framework.

    Investments managed by ICG accounted for 31% of the Portfolio.

     Medium-term targetQ1 FY25Five-year average
    1. Target Portfolio composition 1   
    Investment category   
    Primary~50%55%59%
    Direct~25%29%27%
    Secondary~25%16%14%
    Geography   
    North America~50%45%40%
    Europe (inc. UK)~50%49%53%
    Other—6%7%
        
    2. Balance sheet   
    Net cash/(Net debt)2~0%(3)%(1)%
    1 As percentage of Portfolio; 2 (Net cash)/net debt as a percentage of NAV

    Performance overview

    • At 30 April 2024, the Portfolio was valued at £1,370m. The Portfolio Return on a Local Currency Basis for the quarter was 0.5% and in Sterling terms the Portfolio value grew by 1.3%
    • ICG Enterprise Trust generated a NAV per Share Total Return of 1.2% during the quarter, ending the period with a NAV per Share of 1,925p
    • Over the last five years ICG Enterprise Trust has generated an annualised NAV per Share Total Return of 14.5%
    Movement in the Portfolio
    £m    		3 months to 30 April 2024
    Opening Portfolio£1,349m
    Total New Investments£32m
    Total Proceeds£(29)m
    Portfolio net cashflow£3m
    Valuation movement1£7m
    Currency movement£11m
    Closing Portfolio£1,370m
    % Portfolio growth (local currency)0.5%
    % currency movement0.8%
    % Portfolio growth (Sterling)1.3%
    Expenses and other income(0.3)%
    Co-investment Incentive Scheme Accrual(0.2)%
    Impact of share buybacks and dividend reinvestment0.3%
    NAV per Share Total Return1.2%
    1. 92% of the Portfolio is valued using 31 March 2024 (or later) valuations.

    Quoted company exposure

    • We do not actively invest in publicly quoted companies but gain listed investment exposure when IPOs are used as a route to exit an investment. In these cases, exit timing typically lies with the manager with whom we have invested
    • At 30 April 2024, ICG Enterprise Trust’s exposure to quoted companies was valued at £59.9m, equivalent to 4.4% of the Portfolio value (31 January 2024: 4.8%). There was one quoted investment that individually accounted for 0.5% or more of the Portfolio value:
    CompanyTicker30 April 2024
    % of Portfolio value
    ChewyCHWY-US1.1%
    Other companies 3.3%
    Total 4.4%

    Realisation activity

    • Total Realisation proceeds of £29m during the quarter
    • Two Full Exits completed during the quarter, at a weighted average Uplift to Carrying Value of 29.2% and a 4.4x Multiple to Cost

    New investment activity

    • Total New Investments of £32m during the quarter, of which 10% (£4m) was alongside funds managed by ICG
    • The split of Total New Investments was split by category as follows:
    Investment Category

    Cost (£m)    		% of New Investments
    Primary£31m95%
    Direct£1m5%
    Total£32m100%

    Commitments

    • We made two new fund Commitments totalling £27.6m during the quarter:

    FundManagerCommitment during the period
      Local currency£m
    Leeds VIILeeds Equity$20.0m£15.7m
    Oak Hill VIOak Hill$15.0m£11.9m
    • At 30 April 2024 we had Total Undrawn Commitments of £434m to funds in their investment period and a further £118m to funds outside their investment period

    Balance sheet and liquidity

    • Total available liquidity at 30 April 2024 was £169.3m (31 January 2024: £195.9m)
     £m
    Cash at 31 January 202411.2
    Total Proceeds29.0
    New investments(32.3)
    Debt drawn down20.0
    Shareholder returns(12.4)
    Management fees(4.0)
    Co-investment Incentive Scheme distribution(6.1)
    FX and other expenses(0.9)
    Cash at 30 April 20244.5
    Available undrawn debt facilities164.8
    Total available liquidity169.3
    • The cash balance was £4.5m (31 January 2024: £11.2m) and drawn debt was £40.0m (31 January 2024: £20.0m). As a result, we had net debt of £35.5m (31 January 2024: £8.8m)
    • Post period end, we announced an extension to the maturity of our €240m revolving credit facility by one year, to 29 May 2028. All other key terms remain the same as in the agreement announced on 1 June 2023 (available here)
    • At 30 April 2024, the Portfolio represented 106.9% of net assets (31 January 2024: 105.1%)
     £m% of net assets
    Portfolio1,370.5106.9%
    Cash4.50.4%
    Drawn debt(40.0)(3.1)%
    Co-investment Incentive Scheme Accrual(49.3)(3.8)%
    Other net current liabilities(3.6)(0.3)%
    Net assets1,282.1100.0%

    Dividend and share buyback

    • Progressive dividend policy maintained: first quarter dividend of 8.5p per share (Q1 FY24: 8p)
    • It is the Board’s current intention to declare total dividends of at least 35p per share for FY25 (FY24: 33p)
    • The following purchases have been made under the Company's long-term share buyback programme:

     Q1 FY25Since 19 October 20221
    Number of shares purchased590,0002,137,188
    Capital returned to shareholders£7.0m£24.8m
    Number of days shares have been acquired under the buyback programme20133
    Weighted average discount to last reported NAV39.7%39.3%

    1 Being the date the long-term share buyback programme was announced, up to and including 21 June 2024

    • Post period-end, the Board announced an opportunistic share buyback programme for FY25 of up to £25m. So far, £7.4m has been returned to shareholders via this programme, through the purchase of 620,000 shares at a weighted-average discount of 37.7% to the last reported NAV

    Activity since the period end

    Notable activity between 1 May 2024 and 31 May 2024 has included Realisation Proceeds of £11m; New investments of £24m; and New fund commitments of £12.8m.

    ICG Private Equity Fund Investments Team
    25 June 2024


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