Results for the year to 31 March 2017
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An excellent year
- Total return of £1,592m or 36% and NAV per share of 604 pence (31 March 2016: 463 pence)
- Very strong Private Equity gross investment return of £1,624m or 43%, driven by Action, Scandlines, and more recent investments, such as ATESTEO. The gross investment return from our investments completed between 2013 and 2016 was 29%
- Disposals and refinancings in Private Equity generated £982m of proceeds
- £409m invested in three new portfolio companies, BoConcept, Ponroy Santé and Schlemmer as well as a further investment of £62m in Q Holding to support its acquisition of Degania
- Good progress in Infrastructure; advised 3i Infrastructure plc ("3iN") on £479m of investment in six companies and announced the launch of three Infrastructure fund platforms to complement our mandate as investment adviser to 3iN
- A 16% total shareholder return from 3iN
- Successful sale of our Debt Management business to Investcorp for £270m
- Proposed final dividend of 18.5 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for FY2017 to 26.5 pence per share, subject to shareholder approval
Simon Borrows, 3i''s Chief Executive, commented:
"FY2017 was another important year for 3i. Our Private Equity and Infrastructure businesses performed well and we simplified the Group by selling our Debt Management platform. Our efforts over the last few years in reshaping the portfolio mean we are now able to focus on active asset management and origination. We have made a good start to FY2018 with c.€500m of new investments signed and strong value growth potential in our current portfolio."
Financial highlights
| Year to/as at 31 March 2017 |
Year to/as at 31 March 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Group | ||
| Total return including discontinued operations | £1,592m | £824m |
| Total return1 | £1,501m | £797m |
| Operating expenses including discontinued operations | £130m | £134m |
| Operating expenses1 | £117m | £107m |
| Operating cash profit including discontinued operations | £33m | £37m |
| Operating cash profit/(loss)1 | £5m | £(9)m |
| Realisation proceeds | £1,005m | £794m |
| - Uplift over opening book value2 | £38m/5% | £70m/13% |
| - Money multiple3 | 3.7x | 2.4x |
| Proceeds from the sale of Debt Management | £270m | nil |
| Gross investment return | £1,755m | £1,051m |
| - As a percentage of opening 3i portfolio value | 40% | 28% |
| Cash investment | £638m | £433m |
| 3i portfolio value | £5,675m | £4,497m |
| Gross debt | £575m | £837m |
| Net cash | £419m | £165m |
| Gearing4 | nil | nil |
| Liquidity | £1,323m | £1,352m |
| Net asset value | £5,836m | £4,455m |
| Diluted net asset value per ordinary share | 604p | 463p |
1 The sale of our Debt Management business completed on 3 March 2017. The FY2017 total return attributed to the business sold to Investcorp has been classified as discontinued operations and the prior period results have been represented. Unless stated, all balances are on continuing operations.
2 Uplift over opening book value excludes refinancings.
3 The money multiple is calculated as cash proceeds over cash investment. As the total calculation includes the proceeds from partial disposals and refinancings, the valuations of the remaining investments are included in the multiple.
4 Gearing is net debt as a percentage of net assets.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Silvia Santoro, Investor Relations Director
Tel: 020 7975 3258
Kathryn Van Der Kroft, Communications Director
Tel: 020 7975 3021
For further information regarding the announcement of 3i’s annual results to 31 March 2017, including a live videocast of the results presentation at 10.00am, please visit www.3i.com.
Notes to editors
3i is a leading international investment manager focused on mid-market Private Equity and Infrastructure. Our core investment markets are northern Europe and North America. For further information, please visit: www.3i.com.
Notes to the announcement of the results
Note 1
All of the financial data in this announcement is taken from the Investment basis financial statements. The statutory accounts are prepared under IFRS for the year to 31 March 2017 and have not yet been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year to 31 March 2016 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors’ reports on the statutory accounts for these years are unqualified and do not contain any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis or any statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006. This announcement does not constitute statutory accounts.
Note 2
Copies of the Report and accounts 2017 will be distributed to shareholders on or soon after 31 May 2017.
Note 3
This announcement may contain statements about the future including certain statements about the future outlook for 3i Group plc and its subsidiaries (“3i”). These are not guarantees of future performance and will not be updated. Although we believe our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any statements about the future outlook may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different.
Note 4
Subject to shareholder approval, the proposed final dividend is expected to be paid on 21 July 2017 to holders of ordinary shares on the register on 16 June 2017.