Interim Results

Pantheon Intl Participations PLC 4 March 2002 PANTHEON INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS PLC INTERIM RESULTS The Board of Pantheon International Participations PLC (PIP) today announces the unaudited results for the six months to 31 December 2001. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT The six months to 31 December 2001 were a period of considerable uncertainty in markets worldwide. The Company's fully diluted Net Asset Value (NAV) per share decreased by 10.5% to 598.7p (30 June 2001: 669.1p). The Adjusted Redemption Value of Participating Loan Notes (PLNs) in the Company declined by 10.5% to 589.5p (30 June 2001: 659.0p), reflecting their small discount to asset value on redemption. Over the years, the broadly diversified nature of the Company's portfolio has served to mitigate the effects of short-term market movements on asset growth. Today, with a portfolio comprising holdings in more than 250 private equity funds and 2,700 underlying companies worldwide, across the full spectrum of traditional and technology sectors, the Company remains well positioned to transform upturns in particular markets or sectors into value growth. The Company's policy is to base the valuation for private equity funds on the latest accounts produced by the underlying fund managers. In the case of the valuation at 31 December 2001, more than 82% of portfolio assets were valued on the basis of accounts dated September 2001 or later and 99% on the basis of accounts dated at or after 30 June 2001. Private equity funds may from time to time contain a proportion of quoted shares, for example where underlying company investments have been taken public but the holdings are not yet fully sold. The Manager reviewed the quoted market holdings in the latest fund accounts and considered the valuation of those holdings. ACTIVITY IN THE PERIOD Despite the continuing low levels of both flotation and M&A activity during the period under review, the Company received distributions totalling £22.1 million from investments during the six months to December 2001, again demonstrating the capacity of its selected managers to achieve liquidity even in unfavourable market conditions. The Company made new fund commitments totalling £20.4 million over the half year as part of its strategic new investment programme, under which it plans to commit some £225 million to primary private equity fund investments between 2001 and 2003. The strategic primary fund programme is designed to maintain the desired degree of diversification within the portfolio. The new commitments made in the six months to 31 December 2001 are for a balanced mixture of venture and later-stage vehicles investing primarily in the USA and Western European markets, including CSFB Global Opportunities Partners, TPG Endurance Partners, Polaris Venture Partners IV, German Private Equity Partners and Parthenon Investors II. In the half year, the Company made new commitments, including secondary purchases, totalling £23.2 million, of which £7.3 million had been drawn down by the end of the period, while total outstanding commitments stood at £137.4 million at 31 December 2001. In the implementation of its strategic investment programme, the Company continues to benefit from its capacity periodically to issue PLNs, which enable it to pursue attractive opportunities as they become available while maintaining cash efficiency. I am pleased to announce that subscription agreements for the underwriting of a further £50 million of PLNs have been agreed for an annual fee of 0.5%. MARKET COMMENTARY AND OUTLOOK Continuing economic uncertainty in the major global markets was exacerbated by the events of 11 September, and the half year to December 2001 was characterised by a general lack of market confidence. Against this background, M&A activity, which had already slowed earlier during the year, came to a temporary halt. However, in the private equity markets in which the Company operates, recent developments have represented a return to long-term trends for those markets after the high levels of fund raising and entry pricing and the accelerated pace of investment and realisations seen in the recent past. The private equity slowdown was more marked in the USA than in Europe: US fund raising effectively halved to around $90 billion (£62 billion) in 2001 compared with the previous year, whereas preliminary data for Europe suggest that fund raising fell by less than a quarter to some EUR 37 billion (£23 billion). Similarly, levels of new investment by private equity funds appear to have held up better in Europe than in the USA. Many venture firms, particularly in the USA, are concentrating their time and resources on their existing portfolios. For venture firms without a significant portfolio but with uncommitted capital, lower valuations combined with decreased competition for quality deals offer good investment opportunities. Meanwhile, in the later-stage market, particularly in Europe, there are indications that both private equity houses and debt providers believe price expectations still to be too high. The gap between vendor and purchaser expectations is expected to narrow during 2002, which should offer private equity funds the opportunity to acquire quality businesses at realistic prices. While there are already signs that some recovery in both M&A and flotation activity is likely during 2002, holding periods for private equity investments are expected to remain around historic norms of between five and seven years, in contrast to the unusually short intervals of 18 months to two years between entry and exit seen towards the top of the market cycle. During the remainder of the year, the Manager expects the private equity market to be characterised by a cautious investment pace against a background of lower entry valuations. The secondary market, where deal flow increased strongly during 2001, should continue to grow as institutions redistribute and rebalance their existing commitments to the private equity asset class. WARRANTS I am pleased to report that, as at the final warrant exercise date of 19 November 2001, subscription rights in respect of 4,778,065 of the total 4,811,912 outstanding warrants were exercised by warrant holders representing subscriptions for 3,535,743 ordinary shares and 1,242,267 PLNs. The trustee, appointed for the purpose of exercising the remaining warrants in the Company subject to the terms of the warrant instrument, exercised the remaining 33,847 warrants. Such exercise has resulted in the issue of 25,046 ordinary shares and 8,800 PLNs. These ordinary shares and PLNs were sold in the market for the benefit of those warrant holders who did not exercise their warrants prior to 19 November 2001. In total, the Company received approximately £12 million from the exercise of warrant holders' final subscription rights. CONCLUSION I am pleased to report that the Company is looking towards the coming period and beyond with cautious optimism. Whilst private equity has not experienced the level of volatility of the public markets, the current phase of the cycle offers opportunities across all sectors of the market. L. G. Stopford Sackville Chairman 28 February 2002 PANTHEON INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS PLC STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN OF THE COMPANY (unaudited) (incorporating the revenue account*) for the six months to 31 December 2001 2000 Restated ** Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 (Losses)/gains on investments - (21,612) (21,612) - 17,533 17,533 Currency (losses)/gains on capital - (56) (56) - 242 242 items Income - Dividends and interest 369 - 369 901 - 901 - Other income - - - 12 - 12 Investment management fee (1,523) - (1,523) (1,358) - (1,358) Other expenses (345) (17) (362) (574) - (574) Return on ordinary activities before financing costs and tax (1,499) (21,685) (23,184) (1,019) 17,775 16,756 Interest payable - - - (121) - (121) Revaluation of participating loan notes *** - 2,958 2,958 - (5,084) (5,084) Return on ordinary activities before tax (1,499) (18,727) (20,226) (1,140) 12,691 11,551 Tax on ordinary activities - (26) (26) - - - Return on ordinary activities after tax (1,499) (18,753) (20,252) (1,140) 12,691 11,551 Return per ordinary share - Basic (7.96p) (99.62p) (107.58p) (6.41p) 71.36p 64.95p - Diluted + + + + 63.61p 57.90p * The revenue column of this statement is the revenue account of the Company. ** The comparative figures for the period ended 31 December 2000 have been restated in respect of certain costs. See Note 1. ***The revaluation of the participating loan notes in the six months ended 31 December 2001 of £2,958,000 comprises a reduction in the value of the PLNs of £7,452,000 relating to the movement in the value of the Company's assets, offset by the effect of the warrant conversion which has led to a reduction in this movement of £4,494,000. + In order to comply with Financial Reporting Standard No. 14: Earnings per share, returns per share which are not dilutive have not been shown. All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing activities. SUMMARISED BALANCE SHEET OF THE COMPANY (unaudited) As at 31 As at 30 As at 31 Dec 2001 June 2001 Dec 2000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Investments 196,340 202,394 194,822 Investments in subsidiary undertaking 1 1 1 Net current assets 1,481 3,728 5,485 Total assets less current liabilities 197,822 206,123 200,308 Creditors: amounts falling due after one year Participating loan notes 68,552 65,441 63,199 Capital and reserves 129,270 140,682 137,109 Amounts attributable to shareholders and Participating loan note holders 197,822 206,123 200,308 Total net assets for the purposes of calculating the net asset value per ordinary share 129,270 140,682 137,109 Net asset value per ordinary share - Basic 598.7p 780.2p 760.4p - Fully diluted* 598.7p 669.1p 653.4p Adjusted redemption value per participating loan note 589.5p 659.0p 643.6p Number of ordinary shares in issue** 21,592,356 18,031,567 18,031,567 Number of warrants in issue** - 4,811,912 4,811,912 Number of participating loan notes in issue*** 11,628,229 9,931,032 9,820,099 * The fully diluted net asset values per ordinary share assume that all existing warrants are exercised at a subscription price of 250p. At 31 December 2001 there were no warrants outstanding and, consequently there is no dilutive effect on the Company's net asset value. ** On 19 November 2001, 4,778,065 warrants were exercised representing subscriptions for 3,535,743 ordinary shares of 67p each and 1,242,267 participating loan notes (PLNs) at the warrant exercise price of 250p per ordinary share or PLN. On 28 November 2001, the trustee, appointed for the purpose of exercising the remaining warrants in the Company, exercised the remaining 33,847 warrants. Such exercise resulted in the issue of 25,046 ordinary shares and 8,800 PLNs. *** On 14 August 2001 the Company announced that 758,771 PLNs were to be redeemed at a price per PLN of 659.0p, having an aggregate value at the adjusted redemption value as at 30 June 2001 of £5m. In addition, on 10 August 2001 the Company issued 1,204,901 new PLNs at the initial issue price of 659.0p being the adjusted redemption value as at 30 June 2001. SUMMARISED STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS (unaudited) Restated** For the six months to For the six months to 31 December 2001 31 December 2000 £'000 £'000 Net cash outflow from operating activities (1,448) (2,826) Servicing of finance Payment of participating loan note interest - (158) Net cash outflow from servicing of finance - (158) Net taxation recovered 868 23 Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchases of investments (60,750) (97,820) Sales of investments 46,082 76,903 Realised currency (losses)/gains (37) 72 Net cash outflow from capital expenditure and financial investment (14,705) (20,845) Equity dividends paid - (354) Financing Proceeds from issue of participating loan notes 7,940 21,279 Proceeds of warrant conversion 11,969 1,067 Payments to redeem participating loan notes (5,000) - Net cash inflow from financing 14,909 22,346 Decrease in cash (376) (1,814) These accounts have been prepared using accounting standards and policies adopted at the year end. ** Note 1: With effect from 1 July 2000 the cost of limited partnership management fees are charged to capital. Previously such expenses had not been material and were charged to revenue. This change was first implemented in the Company's report and accounts for the year ended 30 June 2001. Therefore the results previously published for the six months ended 31 December 2000 have been restated to reflect this change. The above financial information does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The comparative financial information for the year end 30 June 2001 has been taken from the full accounts which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and contained an unqualified audit report. The results for the six months to 31 December 2001 have been reviewed by the Company's auditors and their report is set out below. INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT TO PANTHEON INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS PLC INTRODUCTION We have been instructed by the company to review the financial information. We have read the other information contained in the interim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial information. DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority, which require that the accounting policies and presentation applied to the interim figures would be consistent with those applied in preparing the preceding annual accounts except where any changes, and the reasons for them, are disclosed. REVIEW WORK PERFORMED We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in bulletin 1999/4 issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review consists principally of making enquiries of management and applying analytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial data and, based thereon, assessing whether the accounting policies and presentation have been consistently applied, unless otherwise disclosed. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls and verification of assets, liabilities and transactions. It is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in accordance with United Kingdom Auditing Standards and therefore provides a lower level or assurance than an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information. REVIEW CONCLUSION On the basis of our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months ended 31 December 2001. RSM Robson Rhodes, Chartered Accountants, London, England, 28 February 2002 For further information please contact: Rhoddy Swire, Director of Pantheon International Participations PLC - 020 7484 6200 Richard Bowley, CEO of Pantheon Ventures Limited - 020 7484 6200 Email: contactus@pipplc.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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