Syncona makes 'positive' operational and clinical progress in H1

Healthcare company Syncona said on Thursday that it had delivered "positive operational and clinical progress" across its portfolio against a challenging macro backdrop in the six months ended 30 September.

Syncona said net assets rose from £1.30bn at the start of the trading year to £1.36bn at the half, or 202.9p on a per share basis, representing a total net asset value return of 4.3%.

The FTSE 250-listed group stated its life sciences portfolio, shot up in value from £524.9m to £602.6m for a 3.9% return.

Syncona said its solid performance was driven by positive impacts stemming from foreign exchange rates across its life sciences portfolio and its capital pool - generating an aggregate £112.6m uplift to net asset value, which more than offset the £49.2m impact from the decline in share prices of its listed holdings.

Looking ahead, Syncona said it continues to expect to deploy £150.0m-250.0m of capital in the 2022-23 trading year as it supports its existing portfolio and looks to identify new opportunities.

"We have a number of opportunities to create new companies in late-stage diligence and expect at least one new company to be announced by the end of FY2022/3, alongside further investment in our portfolio. Our strategic balance sheet enables us to continue to invest and be opportunistic in identifying exciting opportunities that become available in these challenging market conditions," said Syncona.

As of 0840 GMT, Syncona shares were up 2.63% at 177.34p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com