HgCapital Trust PLC Interim Results - Six Months Ended 30 June 2018 (1910A)

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RNS Number : 1910A

HgCapital Trust PLC

10 September 2018

HgCapital Trust plc

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2018

London, 10 September 2018: HgCapital Trust plc ("the Company"), which provides investors with a listed vehicle to invest in all private equity deals managed by Hg, today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2018.

CONTINUED Strong NAV performance driven by double-digit revenue and profit growth AND EXITS ABOVE BOOK VALUE

SUMMARY performance

 
                     31 August      30 June     31 December       % Total 
                          2018         2018            2017     return(1) 
================  ============  ===========  ==============  ============ 
Share price           GBP19.40     GBP19.35        GBP17.68        +11.3% 
NAV per share         GBP20.70     GBP20.59        GBP19.32         +8.3% 
FTSE All-Share 
 Index                                                              +1.7% 
===========================================================  ============ 
                                                                June 2018 
                                                                 Movement 
Net Asset Value      GBP772.5m    GBP768.7m       GBP721.0m     +GBP47.7m 
================  ============  ===========  ==============  ============ 
 

(1) Assuming reinvestment of all historic dividends

key Highlights FOR THE period TO 30 JUNE 2018

-- NAV per share of GBP20.59, a total return of 8.3%.

-- Share price of GBP19.35, a total return of 11.3%.

-- Interim dividend of 16 pence, payable in October 2018.

-- Strong revenue and EBITDA growth of 23% and 19% (on a value-weighted basis) respectively across the top 20 buyout investments (90% of the portfolio) over the last twelve months.

-- Valuation multiple (EV/EBITDA) of 16.8x and debt to EBITDA ratio of 5.3x for the top 20 buyout investments (both on a value-weighted basis).

-- GBP104 million of cash returned to the Company and GBP79 million invested on behalf of the Company.

year to date to 31 AUGUST 2018

-- NAV per share of GBP20.70, primarily reflecting unrealised currency movements since period-end.

-- Share price of GBP19.40.

-- 4 realisations agreed since June completed or due to complete in the second half of 2018.

-- 7 investments agreed since June completed or due to complete in the second half of 2018.

-- Pro-forma liquid resources post completion of all announced transactions are GBP154 million (20% of NAV).

-- Pro-forma outstanding commitments of GBP475 million (61% of NAV). We expect these to be drawn down over the next two to three years.

Hg's Outlook

-- It has been another strong six months for realisations, Hg expects to see further liquidity events over the next six months.

-- While the primary focus has been on exits, Hg has also continued to selectively invest, in situations where it has a unique angle and has developed many years' knowledge of the business.

-- Robust double-digit trading performance from the unrealised businesses underpins Hg's confidence in the quality of these investments and ongoing growth.

-- A focus on operational improvement, coordinated by the dedicated Operations Innovation team, continues to drive the performance of the businesses, and deliver network benefits.

-- Strong earnings, realisations at uplifts to book value and supporting the management teams of the underlying portfolio will continue to drive value for shareholders in HgCapital Trust plc.

Roger Mountford, Chairman of the Company, commented:

"The Company has sold a significant number of investments over the last eighteen months, while many of the newer investments are now in the earlier stages of their planned period of value creation, with much work going on to drive growth and embed operational improvements, the fruits of which we expect to become progressively reflected in their valuations over time."

- Ends -

The Company's 2018 Interim Report and a video from the Manager to accompany the results are available to view at: http://www.hgcapitaltrust.com/.

For further details:

 
 HgCapital Trust plc 
 Roger Mountford (Chairman, HgCapital 
  Trust plc)                               [phone] 
 Laura Dixon (Senior Investor Relations 
  Manager, Hg)                             [phone] 
 Maitland 
 Vikki Kosmalska and Seda Ambartsumian     [phone] 
 

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc (ticker: HGT.L) gives investors exposure to a portfolio of high-growth private companies, through a liquid vehicle listed on the London Stock Exchange. New investments and existing portfolio companies are managed by Hg, an experienced and well-resourced private equity firm with a long-term track record of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for its investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapitaltrust.com .

For further details, see www.hgcapitaltrust.com and www.hgcapital.com

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September 10, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)