3i Group sees 'good overall performance' YTD

3i Group said Action's impressive performance has continued, with very strong sales and underlying earnings growth. Year-to-date sales of €9.3bn were 21% ahead of the same period last year, while like-for-like sales growth over the same period was 9.6%, driven by customer transactions and strong sales of everyday necessities.

In the broader private equity portfolio, 3i said Royal Sanders and European Bakery Group continued to perform well, while customer demand also drove a recovery across healthcare assets. Audley has continued to see "very strong growth" and software and IT-related assets in the portfolio also showed positive momentum.

"We are also seeing an improving trend across some of the discretionary consumer assets and MPM continues to perform well. A number of the assets which experienced challenging operating conditions last year have been returning to improving trading trajectories. WilsonHCG has however yet to see any material upturn in the recruitment process outsourcing market," said 3i.

As of 0920 BST, 3i shares were up 0.52% at 3,358.50p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com