Agronomics reports fall in net assets in first half

Agronomics reported a net asset value per share of 16.9p in its unaudited interim results on Wednesday, representing a slight decrease from the prior period.

The AIM-traded firm said despite that, the share price closed at 9.5p on 31 December, indicating a significant discount of 43% to the net asset value per share.

Investment income for the half-year, including loan interest and net unrealised gains, amounted to £0.7m.

Operating expenses totalled £0.76m, resulting in a net loss of £0.44m.

The board said the carrying amount of invested assets stood at £145.88m, with cash and cash equivalents at £22.01m.

Agronomics said the decrease in net assets to £167.83m was primarily due to unrealised foreign currency losses on investments.

In terms of investment highlights, Agronomics said it was actively involved in funding various portfolio companies in the half-year.

Notably, on 9 August it co-led Meatable's €30m series B round with a €4m investment.

On 14 August, £0.7m was invested in Clean Food Group's £2.3m pre-series A financing round.

BlueNalu, another portfolio company, closed a $33.5m series B round on 9 October, with Agronomics investing $20m.

Other investments included Solar Foods' €8m series B financing round, Liberation Labs' $25m loan for its biomanufacturing facility, and Clean Food Group's government-funded project aimed at accelerating novel low-emission food production systems.

“The board anticipates a number of positive developments within the portfolio during 2024,” said chair James Mellon.

“With the first regulatory approvals for the field now having been granted in major jurisdictions such as the US, we are confident that in 2024 we will witness additional regulatory approvals and commercial partnerships from companies within the Agronomics portfolio.

“In addition, notwithstanding that broader financial conditions remain challenging, it is anticipated that several portfolio companies will achieve material funding rounds providing them with the capital they need to continue to improve their processes and push their production towards cost parity with conventional production methods.”

At 1224 GMT, shares in Agronomics were down 0.77% at 9.62p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.