Download the results highlights   

Download the full results 

Very strong FY2023 performance in challenging markets

• Total return of £4,585 million or 36% on opening shareholders’ funds (2022: £4,014 million, 44%) and NAV per share of 1,745 pence (31 March 2022: 1,321 pence). This includes a 65 pence per share gain on foreign exchange translation.

• Our Private Equity business delivered a gross investment return of £4,966 million or 40% (2022: £4,172 million, 47%). This result was driven primarily by Action’s very strong performance in FY2023, with a good contribution from a number of our other portfolio companies operating in the value-for-money and private label, healthcare, industrial technology and business and technology services. We saw weaker trading in a small proportion of our portfolio, most notably our discretionary consumer segment.

• Action delivered annual revenue growth of 30% and EBITDA growth of 46% in 2022 and has started 2023 well. Action’s LTM run-rate EBITDA to P3 2023, which ended on 2 April 2023, was €1,439 million (3 April 2022: €1,012 million), representing a 42% increase over the same period last year. This strong performance supported value growth of £3,708 million for Action in the year, in addition to cash dividend distributions to 3i of £325 million.

• The Private Equity team invested £381 million in the year, deploying capital in four new investments and three bolt-on acquisitions. In addition, our Private Equity portfolio companies completed a further eight bolt-on acquisitions funded through their own balance sheets. Realisations from the Private Equity portfolio totalled £857 million in the year and included the sales of Havea and Christ at uplifts of 50% and 45% respectively to their opening values, as well as the sales of Q Holding’s QSR and Precision Components businesses, and of its Twinsburg site.

• Our Infrastructure business generated a gross investment return of £86 million, or 6% (2022: £241 million, 21%). This return was impacted by the decline in the share price of 3i Infrastructure plc (“3iN”), despite its strong NAV return in the year, offset in part by good contributions from our US Infrastructure assets, including notably Smarte Carte.

• The portfolio continues to trade resiliently in the current environment, with 83% exposure to the value-for-money and private label, infrastructure and healthcare sectors.

• Across the Group, we received over £1.3 billion of cash primarily via portfolio company realisations and income in the year. After repaying the £200 million fixed-rate bond due in March 2023, we ended the year with liquidity of £1.3 billion, net debt of £363 million and gearing of 2%. 

• Total dividend of 53.0 pence per share for FY2023, with a second FY2023 dividend of 29.75 pence per share to be paid in July 2023 subject to shareholder approval.

Simon Borrows, 3i's Chief Executive, commented:

“Our portfolio has been carefully assembled and its resilience and consistent financial performance in recent years reflects the benefits of thematic investing, disciplined pricing and active asset management. No portfolio company reflects this approach better than Action, which continues to be 3i's largest and most resilient portfolio investment. We are now focused on developing a select number of other companies to fulfil their potential to also become long-term compounders for the Group. Whilst we expect macroeconomic conditions to remain challenging in the near term, we have started FY2024 with good momentum and are confident that we have the right people, portfolio and processes to continue to compound value from our portfolio and deliver consistent returns through the cycle.”

Financial highlights

¹ _{Gearing is net debt as a percentage of net assets.}

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

For further information regarding the announcement of 3i’s annual results to 31 March 2023, including a live webcast of the results presentation at 10.00am, please visit www.3i.com.