3i Group shares were up 1.8% to 1,219.5p in late morning trading on Thursday following a reported NAV per share growth to 1,406p in Q1 2023 compared to 1,321p in Q4 2022, along with a total return of 6.6% across the financial term.
3i Group announced 90% of its top 20 private equity companies by value increased their earnings to March 2022, with a resilient Q1 from its portfolio groups, including Action, Dynatect, nexeye, Tato and MAIT.
The group confirmed a sales climb for Action of 22% against 2021 and 70% above 2019 of €2,061 million, alongside an EBITDA rise of 29% for year-on-year for the period to €263 million, representing a 115% growth over Q1 2019.
The firm noted the return for Q1 included material reductions in the value of non-discount consumer companies Luqom and GartenHaus.
3i Group also reported the sale of Havea for expected returns of €540 million, representing a 50% uplift on the value announced on 31 March 2022.
The company further drew attention to the completed sale of Q Holding’s QSR division for £190 million.
The group said it signed three new private equity investments over Q1, and announced a fourth investment in July 2022, with all investments scheduled for completion by the end of Q2 2023.
Additionally, 3i Group closed the sale of its European projects portfolio to the 3i European Operational Projects Fund for £106 million.
The company recognised a £322 million gain (34p per share) on foreign exchange in Q1, net of hedging, as the Sterling weakened against the US dollar.
“3i has made a good start to its new financial year. Both portfolios are trading resiliently in the current environment and Action is continuing to grow at an impressive rate,” said 3i CEO Simon Borrows.
“We have already announced a number of new investments this year and executed realisations at significant premiums to their carrying values in recent months, underlining the quality of our portfolio.”
“We see broader economic conditions deteriorating over the rest of the year but remain confident in the composition of our portfolio. We continue to focus on actively managing our portfolio and making sensibly priced investments and bolt-on acquisitions. We will also pursue our realisation projects where conditions allow.”