IP Group swings to H1 loss

Intellectual property investor IP Group reported a first-half loss of £309.9m on Wednesday, a marked reversal when compared to the £116.5m interim profit recorded at the same time a year earlier.

For the six months ended 30 June, IP Group recorded a net portfolio loss of £291.1m, down from a net gain of £140.4m in 2021, while net overheads rose from £9.6m to £11.1m.

IP Group said its interim loss was principally driven by the reversal of gains on Oxford Nanopore, reflecting public market declines for life science tools companies.

The FTSE 250-listed group's net asset value dropped from £1.73bn or 167.0p per share at the end of 2021 to £1.41bn or 136.7p per share at the midway point of 2022. Over the same time period, its balance sheet also slipped from £321.9m to £235.7m.

However, IP Group still opted to hike its interim dividend from 0.48p per share to 0.50p despite swinging to a loss.

IP Group added that it was not immune to the current high level of macro uncertainty, with its public portfolio being impacted by the reaction of global stock markets to rising interest rates, particularly evidenced by a rotation out of growth and technology stocks.

"IP Group remains well financed and is well placed to support its portfolio companies. Increased interest in our main thematic areas makes us confident that appetite for and valuation of growth companies in our areas of expertise will get stronger. As a result, we believe that prospects for our portfolio remain positive. However, in the short term we are planning lower capital allocations to the portfolio than originally envisaged for 2022 on the basis of likely lower levels of cash realisations given the current market backdrop," said the firm.

As of 0915 BST, IP Group shares were down 1.10% at 85.40p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com