IP Group describes first half performance as 'robust'

Intellectual property-based business developer IP Group announced its half-yearly results for the six months ended 30 June on Wednesday, reporting net portfolio gains of £0.7m, down from £28.7m at the same time last year.

The FTSE 250 firm said the fair value of its portfolio was £1.16bn at period end, a significant improvement £0.66bn a year ago and £1.13bn at year-end.

Total capital provided to portfolio companies and projects in the half was £46.9m, up from £20.1m year-on-year, with “significant” funding rounds completed by Oxford Nanopore Technologies of £100.0m, Crescendo Biologics of $70.0m, Carisma Therapeutics of $53.0m, and Enterprise Therapeutics of £29.0m.

Microbiotica entered into multi-year strategic collaboration with Genentech - a member of the Roche Group - in a deal worth up to $534.0m during the period, the board highlighted.

It also noted that Ceres Power signed a strategic collaboration with China's Weichai Power, comprising both product development and launch, as well as an equity investment, before announcing an oversubscribed £20.0m fundraising in July.

Looking at the books, IP Group’s net assets were £1.49bn at period end, compared to £0.97bn a year ago and £1.51bn at the end of the 2017 financial year.

Hard net asset value stood at £1.3bn, rising from £0.9bn at the same time in 2017 but down from £1.33bn at year-end.

Its return on hard net asset value was a negative £13.1m in the half, compared to positive returns of £21.3m and £64.1m for the 2017 half and full years respectively.

Gross cash and deposits as at 30 June stood at £258.5m, down from £263.1m a year ago and £326.3m at the full-year.

“The underlying performance of the group's portfolio has been robust in the first half with a number of our companies completing both major fundraisings and collaborations,” said IP Group chief executive officer Alan Aubrey.

“Our portfolio is well diversified, both by sector and stage of development, with multiple opportunities to crystallise value and there are a number of inflection points for several of our companies over the next six to twelve months.”

Aubrey said IP Group remained “financially sound”, with a “strong” balance sheet, net assets of £1.5bn and exposure to the UK, US, Australasia, and increasingly Asia.

“The group remains excited by the opportunities within the portfolio and we look to the second half of the year and beyond with confidence.”