Seraphim Space upbeat after solid year for SpaceTech

Seraphim Space Investment Trust, the world’s first listed SpaceTech investment company, reported an increase in its portfolio value to £201.5m in its full-year results on Tuesday, up £14.1m year-on-year.

The London-listed firm said the growth was driven by new investments and net gains in fair value, alongside minimal foreign exchange gains.

It said its top 10 holdings, accounting for 81.8% of the portfolio, saw revenues increase significantly by an average of 71% in sterling and 224% on a fair value weighted basis during the 12 months ended 30 June.

The majority of the portfolio was said to be in a solid financial position, with 77% having a robust cash runway, including 60% of companies fully funded beyond June.

During the year, the portfolio raised around $540m, reflecting continued investor interest.

SSIT said it deployed £11m into four new portfolio companies and six existing ones, while selling its interest in nine early-stage companies to Seraphim Space’s new venture fund.

Key developments in the portfolio included several major funding rounds.

ICEYE, the largest holding at 20.9% of net asset value, raised $93m in an oversubscribed series E round, while D-Orbit raised over €100m in a series C round.

HawkEye 360, LeoLabs, Xona Space Systems, and AST SpaceMobile were among others securing significant financing.

Several companies achieved important milestones during the year.

SatVu launched its first infrared imaging satellite, although it experienced operational issues after six months, leading to the order of two replacement satellites.

Tomorrow.io demonstrated highly accurate weather data from its satellites, Seraphim explained, and AST SpaceMobile signed commercial agreements with AT&T and Verizon for space-based broadband services.

The year also saw notable exits and IPOs.

Astroscale completed a $153m IPO on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and HawkEye 360 acquired RF Solutions from Maxar Intelligence.

SSIT said its cash balance at year-end was £27m, supporting its ongoing investment strategy.

“The year to 30 June 2024 was one of significant milestones for both SSIT's portfolio and the space sector as a whole,” said chair Will Whitehorn.

“The heightened role of SpaceTech in the context of geopolitics continues to grow apace. In the last year, this has seen countries pushing for sovereign space capabilities not just in orbit, but increasingly on the moon too.

“With the commercial sector playing an ever-greater role in delivering these capabilities to nation states, many of SSIT's portfolio companies are well aligned with servicing the growing demand from government customers.”

Whitehorn said that had enabled 17 existing portfolio companies - 12 of which are private and five of which are publicly traded - to raise about $900m in additional funding, including further closes on previous rounds, between them during the year, ensuring that the portfolio was well-capitalised to continue its positive trajectory.

“The company has both boosted its available liquidity and reduced the number of holdings that could require additional capital through the combination of the disposal of nine early stage holdings and the IPO of portfolio company Astroscale.

“With six portfolio companies, representing 60% of the portfolio by fair value, now indicating they are fully funded, the company's reserves are expected to be sufficient to continue to meet the needs of the portfolio during the year ahead whilst enabling the investment manager to continue to seek exceptional new potential additions to the portfolio.”

At 1023 BST, shares in Seraphim Space Investment Trust were up 3.46% at 52.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.