Final Results - Year Ended 31 January 2000
Intermediate Capital Group PLC
27 March 2000
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2000
Intermediate Capital Group PLC ('ICG'), the leading specialised European
provider of mezzanine finance, announces its results for the year ended 31
January 2000.
Financial highlights:
* Core income up 32% to £23.4m
* Net capital gains up 30% to £11.7m
* Pretax profits up 31% to £35.1m
* Proposed final dividend of 15.4p making 22.2p per share for the year, a
12% increase
* A record £340m of new financings arranged
* Successful Rights Issue raised £55m of new equity
* Loan book increased to a record £460m
Operational highlights:
* Establishment of a Euro 400m Collateralised Debt Obligation ('CDO') high
yield fund - the first ever in Europe
* Further substantial increase in ICG's mezzanine fund management business
* A record 22 loans arranged during the year. Twelve in the UK and ten in
the rest of Europe
Commenting on the results, Murray Stuart, Chairman of ICG said:
'ICG has had an excellent trading year with profits increasing by over 30%
and our loan book growing to a record level.
Last year saw a significant expansion of ICG's fund management business, with
managed funds rising from £175m to nearly £500m, and our entry into European
high yield fund management which has substantial growth potential.
ICG has established a consistent record of growth with its profits increasing
every year since it was established eleven years ago. We operate in fast
growing markets. We have had a strong start to our new financial year and
believe we have excellent continuing growth prospects.'
Enquiries:
Tom Bartlam, Managing Director,
Intermediate Capital Group PLC
(020) 7628 9898
Gill Ackers/Simon Sporborg,
Brunswick Group Limited
(020) 7404 5959
Notes to the Editors
A brief explanation of Intermediate Capital Group's lending activities is
attached.
Results
Last year ICG made record pre-tax profits, which increased by 31% to £35.1m.
Earnings per share increased by 27% to 49.2p.
The Board is recommending a final dividend of 15.4p net per share to be paid
on 26 May 2000 which, with the interim dividend of 6.8p, brings the total for
the year to 22.2p net per share, an increase of 12% over last year's
dividend. This final dividend is being paid to all shareholders, including
those who took up new ordinary shares at the time of the Rights Issue, and
consequently the total cost of the dividend in the year has increased by 32%
to £12.2m. The net dividend is covered twice by post tax profits.
Core Income
Core income, which ICG defines as net interest income plus fee income less
related administrative expenses, rose to £23.4m, an increase of 32%.
Net interest and dividend income grew by 23% to £20.5m, primarily as a result
of the increased loan book and the Rights Issue. Transaction fees increased
by 20% to £5.2m, and fund management fees nearly doubled to £3.4m as a result
of increased mezzanine funds under management and the receipt of CDO fund
management fees for part of the year. Consequently total fee income rose by
39% to £9.2m. Operating expenses increased by 14% to £6.3m, primarily as a
result of increased staff costs.
Capital Gains and Provisions
Capital gains for the year amounted to £28.9m (£21.6m) gross and provisions
totalled £8.1m (£7.9m). Capital gains, net of provisions and the £9.1m
(£4.7m) cost of the medium term incentive scheme, increased by 30% to £11.7m.
ICG's Lending Activity
ICG had another strong year in terms of new lending activity with the amounts
of loans arranged and provided by ICG both reaching record levels. Last year
ICG arranged or invested in a total of £340m of financings, of which £197m
was invested on ICG's own Balance Sheet, £78m was invested on behalf of fund
management clients with the balance of £65m being syndicated to third party
investors.
ICG made 22 new loans during the year of which 12 were in the UK and 10 in
Continental Europe broken down as to four in France, two in Norway, and one
each in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. ICG was again
successful in increasing the amount of mezzanine finance it provided for non-
LBO financing purposes, making nine such loans to support acquisitions or
refinancings.
ICG's loan portfolio increased by 17% to a record £460m at the year end. If
Sterling had not appreciated against the Euro during the year the value of
the loan book would have been £27m higher and it would have increased by 24%
from the previous year.
Funding
In October 1999 ICG successfully raised £54.5m by means of a one for four
Rights Issue of new ordinary shares. This materially strengthened ICG's
Balance Sheet, giving ICG the capacity to increase its borrowings
substantially over the next few years, while maintaining good capital ratios
and gearing levels. At the year-end, shareholders funds amounted to £160m
and consequently ICG's total debt of £337m represented gearing of only 211%
(340%). In addition at the year end the excess of value over the cost shown
in the Balance Sheet of quoted and unquoted shares and warrants was estimated
to be £57m (£35m).
ICG expects to raise further debt facilities during the course of its new
financial year and in this regard a further private placement of unsecured
senior notes is at an advanced stage.
Fund Management
The highlight here was the establishment of a high yield and leveraged loan
fund in the form of a Euro 400m CDO, which ICG manages. Similar funds
represent a substantial market in the USA and this is the first such fund
established in Europe. At the year end this Fund was over 60% invested. ICG
regards European high yield debt as an asset class that it understands, with
similar characteristics to mezzanine and where it is able to apply its proven
credit analysis skills. ICG sees this new Fund as being a first step in the
building of a significant high yield debt fund management business in a
market which it believes has considerable growth potential.
Last year ICG continued to grow its mezzanine fund management business with
the amounts invested on behalf of clients increasing during the year from
£175m to £235m. It continues to be an important objective for ICG to grow
this activity and it has recently launched a new Euro 400m mezzanine fund
which it hopes to close in the first half of the year.
The European Mezzanine Market
Last year saw further strengthening of the LBO markets in both the UK and
Continental Europe, continuing the trend seen for the last couple of years.
This very active market place continues to be driven by a combination of a
high level of merger and acquisition activity, in particular with large
companies selling off subsidiaries across Europe, and high levels of finance
available from both private equity investors and debt providers. It has led
to strong demand for mezzanine. ICG has also been increasingly active in
providing mezzanine for non-LBO related businesses. Consequently overall
ICG's deal flow has been greater than ever before.
Last year the principal competition again came from banks and investment
banks offering senior debt and mezzanine as a one-stop debt financing
package. While the number of banks offering mezzanine has increased it
continues to be the case that, for the most part, banks do not want to be
large continuing holders of mezzanine and therefore will often offer to ICG
some of the mezzanine which they have underwritten.
The High Yield Bond market, as we expected, came to life again during the
last financial year providing an alternative to mezzanine for the large
transactions where there is a need for intermediate finance of in excess of
Euro 100m. However, ICG continues to believe that for some larger financings
mezzanine can be as attractive a financing instrument as High Yield Bonds.
In this competitive market ICG has again benefited from its independence and
specialisation as well as its ability to be flexible and innovative. In
addition ICG has a larger number of professional staff dedicated to the
European mezzanine market than any of its competitors and a 'brand name'
which it believes is unrivalled in its market place, both of which help to
give it an excellent pan European deal flow.
In terms of pricing ICG has maintained its cash interest margins at former
levels and has, overall, been able to achieve satisfactory pricing on its new
mezzanine loans. The financial structures of prospective transactions, in
particular levels of gearing, remain of the greatest importance to ICG, and
in the majority of transactions it believes gearing has remained within
acceptable levels.
Prospects
The European buyout market, together with the demand for mezzanine, has been
strong in the early months of the new financial year and ICG believes that
this should continue as long as the economic and financial background remains
stable. ICG has started the year with a particularly high level of activity,
having arranged £165m of mezzanine and invested £70m on its Balance Sheet in
seven transactions. We, therefore, believe that we should have another
strong year of mezzanine lending.
In the current market conditions, with our growing loan book and fund
management activities, we believe that the outlook for interest and fee
income is very good. We have already achieved good capital gains on four of
our assets and the prospects for capital gains for the year are excellent.
We therefore look forward to another very good year.
INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL GROUP PLC
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
For the year ended 31 January 2000
Year to Year to
Jan 00 Jan 99
£m £m
------------------------- ------- -------
Interest and dividend 36.0 34.8
income
Gain on disposals 28.9 21.6
Fee and other operating
income 9.2 6.6
------- -------
74.1 63.0
Interest payable and
similar charges (15.5) (18.1)
Provisions against loans
and investments (8.1) (7.9)
Administrative expenses (15.4) (10.3)
------------------------- ------- -------
Profit on ordinary
activities before taxation 35.1 26.7
Tax on profit (10.3) (8.2)
------- -------
Profit on ordinary
activities after taxation 24.8 18.5
Dividend proposed (12.2) (9.2)
------- -------
Retained profit
transferred to reserves 12.6 9.3
------- -------
Earnings per share 49.2p 38.6p
All activities represent
continuing operations
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation is split as follows:
Core Income Capital Gains
Year Year to Year Year
to Jan 99 to to
Jan 00 £m Jan 00 Jan 99
£m £m £m
------------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------
Income
Interest and dividend
income 36.0 34.8 - -
Gain on disposals - - 28.9 21.6
Fee and other operating
income 9.2 6.6 - -
------------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------
45.2 41.4 28.9 21.6
Less:
Interest payable and
similar charges (15.5) (18.1) - -
Provisions against loans
and investments - - (8.1) (7.9)
Administrative expenses
and incentive payments (6.3) (5.6) (9.1) (4.7)
------------------------ ------ ------ ------ ------
23.4 17.7 11.7 9.0
======================== ====== ====== ====== ======
INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL GROUP PLC
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
For the year ended 31 January 2000
Year to Year to
Jan 00 Jan 99
£m £m
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 0.3 0.2
Loans 409.5 363.3
Investments 50.9 31.0
Current assets
Debtors 24.1 9.4
Loans and investments 27.3 19.1
Cash at bank 0.1 2.9
------ -------
51.5 31.4
------ -------
---------------------------- ------ -------
Total assets 512.2 425.9
---------------------------- ------ -------
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 11.7 9.3
Share premium account 84.7 32.2
Capital redemption reserve 1.4 1.4
Profit and loss and other
reserves 61.8 49.2
------ -------
Equity shareholders' funds 159.6 92.1
Provisions for liabilities
and charges 0.1 0.1
Creditors: amounts falling due
after more than one year 324.9 311.0
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year 27.6 22.7
---------------------------- ------ -------
Total capital and liabilities
512.2 425.9
---------------------------- ------ -------
INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL GROUP PLC
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW
For the year ended 31 January 2000
Year to Year to
Jan 00 Jan 99
£m £m
Operating activities
Interest and dividends
received 30.5 35.8
Gain on disposals 28.9 21.0
Fee and other operating
income 9.6 7.3
Administrative expenses (11.5) (7.7)
------- -------
57.5 56.4
Interest paid (14.8) (19.0)
------- -------
Net cash inflow from
operating activities 42.7 37.4
Taxation paid (9.9) (5.8)
Capital expenditure and
financial investment
Loans and investments made (196.7) (159.1)
Realisations of loans and
investments 96.3 86.9
Loans for syndication (7.7) (12.3)
------- -------
(108.1) (84.5)
Debtors relating to
investments (16.2) -
Purchase of tangible fixed
assets (0.3) (0.1)
------- -------
(124.6) (84.6)
------- -------
Equity dividends paid (9.6) (8.4)
============================= ======= =======
Net cash outflow before
financing (101.4) (61.4)
============================= ======= =======
Financing
Increase in share capital 54.9 -
Increase in debt 43.6 61.8
----------------------------- ------- -------
(Decrease)/Increase in cash
and cash equivalents (2.9) 0.4
============================= ======= =======
The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute the
group's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 January 2000 or 1999. The
financial information for the year ended 31 January 1999 is derived from the
statutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar
of Companies. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was
unqualified and did not contain a statement under s237(2) or (3) Companies
Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 January 2000 will be
finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the
directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the
Registrar of Companies following the company's annual general meeting.
NOTE TO EDITORS
ICG was founded in 1989 and was successfully floated in 1994. Its business
is to arrange and provide intermediate, or mezzanine, capital for companies
in the UK and Continental Western Europe. ICG lends from both its own
resources and from third party funds under its management. Mezzanine finance
ranks in terms of risk and reward between bank debt and equity capital. In
return for providing finance, ICG seeks a strong cash yield and an additional
return related to the success of the investee company, usually in the form of
a capital gain.
Mezzanine finance has been principally used to finance management buyouts but
is increasingly used as expansion and acquisition capital.
ICG also has a high yield debt fund management business.
ICG now has a market capitalisation of £290m.
In the twelve months ending 31 January 2000 the 22 new loans made by ICG were
as follows:
Accord is a provider of outsourcing services to local authorities in the UK.
In June 1999 ICG arranged and provided a £4m mezzanine loan for development
capital purposes.
Adscene is a publisher of a number of local newspapers and free sheets in
different parts of the UK. In September 1999 ICG arranged and provided a
£12.5m mezzanine loan to help finance the buyout of this company.
Asco is a leading provider of logistic services for the North Sea oil
industry and is based in Scotland. In June 1999 ICG took a participation of
£7.9m in the mezzanine loan which was provided to Asco to help finance its
acquisition of a US based oil logistics service company.
Charter is a UK engineering company which manufactures railway sleeper
fastenings and components for the defence industry. In January 2000 ICG took
a participation of £7.2m in the mezzanine loan which was provided to help
finance the buyout of this company.
Coal Products is the largest UK producer of solid smokeless fuel. In
December 1999 ICG took a participation of £3.5m in the mezzanine loan
provided to assist in the refinancing of this company.
Elior is France's largest contract catering group. In May 1999 ICG arranged
a FF300m mezzanine bond which was used for acquisition finance purposes.
Grands Vins de Gironde is one of the leading French wine trading companies.
In March 1999 ICG arranged and provided a FF90m mezzanine bond to help
finance the buyout of the company.
Helly Hansen is a leading Scandinavian producer of outdoor clothing. In May
1999 ICG arranged and provided a £17.7m mezzanine loan to support the
refinancing of the company.
HLF Insurance is a group created by the merger of two UK based insurance
brokers Lambert Fenchurch and Heath Group. In December 1999 ICG arranged a
£40m mezzanine loan to help finance the acquisition of Lambert Fenchurch by
Heath.
IBS Brocke is a German manufacturer of plastic moulded components for the
automotive industry. In July 1999 ICG arranged and provided a DM25m loan to
help finance the buyout of this company.
IPC is a leading UK consumer magazine publisher. In August 1999 ICG arranged
a £53m subordinated loan to this company for refinancing purposes.
Latium Group is a UK manufacturer and retailer of UPVC windows. In March
1999 ICG arranged and provided a £4m mezzanine loan to enable it to acquire
the Everest business.
Le Figaro is a well known French newspaper publisher. In October 1999 ICG
took a FF125m participation in the mezzanine bond provided to help finance
the buyout of this company.
Lizzy is a French company which has a leading position in pest control for
the housing and commercial building sector. In November 1999 ICG arranged
and provided a FF60m mezzanine loan to help finance the buyout of this
company.
Maccess is a UK cash and carry distributor of car accessories. In August
1999 ICG arranged and provided a mezzanine loan of £10m to help finance the
buyout of this company.
Meyn is a Dutch company and is the second largest manufacturer of poultry
processing equipment in the world. In July 1999 ICG arranged and provided a
NLG31m mezzanine loan to help finance the buyout of this company.
Neste is a major Finnish chemical company. In December 1999 ICG took a
participation of Euro 12m in the mezzanine loan which was provided to finance
the buyout of this company.
Norcros is a UK company involved principally in the manufacture and
distribution of showers and tiles. In November 1999 ICG arranged a mezzanine
loan of £26m to help finance the buyout of this company when it was taken
private.
Nycomed is a Norwegian company which produces and distributes pharmaceuticals
in different parts of Europe. In November 1999 ICG took a NOK150m
participation in the mezzanine loan which was provided to help finance the
buyout of this company.
Oriflame is a Swedish based company involved in the direct selling of
cosmetic products throughout the world. In October 1999 ICG arranged the
Euro 53m mezzanine loan to support the buyout of this company.
Pets at Home is a UK chain of retail outlets selling products for the
domestic pet market. In January 2000 ICG arranged a £24m mezzanine loan to
support its acquisition of PetsMart - another retail chain in the same
business.
PHS is the second biggest provider of washroom services and plant rental in
the UK. In September 1999 ICG took a £6m participation in the £25m mezzanine
loan which was provided to help finance the buyout of the company.
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