Final Results

RNS Number : 8449G

HgCapital Trust PLC

09 March 2015

 



HgCapital Trust plc

Final results for the year ended 31 December 2014

London, 9 March 2015:  HgCapital Trust plc ("the Trust"), which provides investors with a listed vehicle to invest in all private equity deals managed by HgCapital, today announces its full year results to 31 December 2014.

Summary performance

	28 February 2015	31 December 2014	31 December 2013	% Total return1
NAV per share	£12.48	£12.78	£11.80	+12.8%
Share price	£11.00	£10.58	£10.10	+9.6%
FTSE All-Share Index				+1.2%
			2014 Movement
Net Asset Value	£465.9m	£476.9m	£440.6m	+£36.3m

¹ Assuming reinvestment of all historic dividends

Financial Highlights

·     NAV per share increased to £12.78; +12.8% on a total return basis.

·     Share price increased to £10.58; +9.6% on a total return basis.

·     As at 28 February 2015 NAV per share of £12.48, largely due to the impact of adverse FX movements.

·     Proposed final dividend for the year of 32 pence per share (2013: 29 pence) to be paid on 18 May 2015, subject to shareholder approval. This is in addition to a special dividend of 19 pence per share paid in September 2014, bringing the total dividends for the year to 51 pence per share.

·     Strong revenue growth of +11% and EBITDA growth of +9% across the top 20 buyout investments (89% of the portfolio value) over the last twelve months to 31 December 2014.

·     An EV to EBITDA valuation multiple of 13.2x and debt to EBITDA ratio of 4.5x as at 31 December 2014 for the top 20 buyout investments.

·     Estimated liquid resources as at 28 February 2015 (adjusted for post December transactions) available for deployment are £46 million (10% of NAV) with outstanding commitments of £190 million (41% of NAV).

·     +11.5% p.a. 10-year compound annual growth rate of the share price vs. +7.6% p.a. from the FTSE All-Share Index, both calculated on a total return basis to 31 December 2014.

Investment Activity

·     £87 million deployed on behalf of the Trust over 2014 that funded both new acquisitions and further investments within the existing portfolio.

·     £83 million of cash returned to the Trust over 2014 resulting primarily from buyout realisations.

·     In December 2014 the Services team announced the acquisition of A-Plan, a UK based insurance provider. The Trust's share of this investment on completion by May 2015 (subject to FCA approval) is estimated to be £15.3 million.

Manager Outlook

·     Investing in the current market environment remains challenging and we have maintained a cautious and disciplined approach in selecting and investing in companies within sub-sectors that we know well.  We strongly believe that we can continue to find opportunities to invest in businesses growing materially faster than the broader economy.

·     2014 was a year when nearly a third of the capital deployed on behalf of the Trust was to fund bolt-on acquisitions, an increasing feature of how we work to grow value in our portfolio companies.

·     We have confidence in our portfolio and we are working hard to further improve the operational performance of our companies, the effects of which are yet to be fully reflected in our valuations. This will be further enhanced by any sustained recovery in the economic environment.

·     Absent a material reduction in market ratings, we expect the strong performance we are seeing across the portfolio to continue to drive NAV growth.

·     We believe that there will be further opportunities during the course of 2015 to continue to realise investments from within the portfolio, just as we have done consistently across market cycles.

·     We remain confident that we will continue to reward our investors with superior long-term returns.

Roger Mountford, Chairman of the Trust, commented:

"Active management across the portfolio is creating value that we believe will drive attractive returns for shareholders over the coming years".

- Ends -

The Trust's 2014 Annual Report and a webcast from the Investment Manager to accompany the results are available to view at:  http://www.hgcapitaltrust.com/.

For further details:

HgCapital
Stephen Bough,(CFO, HgCapital)	[phone]
Roger Mountford, (Chairman, HgCapital Trust plc)	[phone]
Maitland
Tom Eckersley Peter Ogden	[phone] [phone]

About HgCapital Trust plc

HgCapital Trust plc is an investment trust whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Trust gives investors exposure, through a liquid vehicle, to a portfolio of high-growth private companies, managed by HgCapital, 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, see www.hgcapitaltrust.com and www.hgcapital.com

Neither the contents of HgCapital's website, HgCapital Trust's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the websites (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

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