3i Group PLC another productive quarter

3i Group PLC (LON:III) announced today Q1 performance update

A good start to the year

· NAV per share of 760 pence and total return of 5.1% for the three months to 30 June 2018

· Cash realisations of £337 million in the quarter, net of the £535 million reinvestment in Scandlines

· Completed two new Private Equity investments in Royal Sanders and International Cruise and Excursions (“ICE”) totalling £245 million

· Advised 3i Infrastructure plc (“3iN”) on its investment in Attero and a further investment for Infinis, Alkane Energy

Simon Borrows, Chief Executive, commented:

“This was another productive quarter for 3i with good portfolio performance as well as significant investment and realisation activity. We completed the Group’s sale and reinvestment into Scandlines, two new Private Equity investments and advised 3iN on its investments in Attero and Alkane Energy. Our balance sheet is strong but we remain cautious about the pricing of new investments in the current environment. Overall, our portfolio of international companies remains well positioned, despite the macro uncertainties, to deliver another year of good earnings growth.”

Private Equity

Portfolio performance

The Private Equity portfolio generated good returns in the quarter. The majority of the portfolio performed well with notable value growth increases from Action, Basic-Fit, Cirtec Medical and Etanco.

Private Equity investments

We completed our £135 million investment in Royal Sanders, a private label and contract manufacturing producer of personal care products, in April 2018. In June 2018, we completed our £110 million investment in ICE, a global travel and loyalty company that connects leading brands, travel suppliers and end consumers. In addition to our proprietary investment, we continue to originate acquisition opportunities for our portfolio companies. In the quarter, Royal Sanders announced its first acquisition under our ownership and there is a good pipeline of other acquisition opportunities across the portfolio, the majority of which are expected to be funded by the companies themselves.

Private Equity realisations

We generated total cash proceeds in the quarter of £868 million, principally from the £835 million received from the sale of Scandlines in June 2018, before taking account of the Group’s £535 million reinvestment.

^{1.     Private Equity proceeds are shown gross and before the Group’s £535 million reinvestment.}

In June 2018, we announced the realisation of Etanco, one of the last investments in Eurofund V, for proceeds of c.€102 million. At 30 June 2018, Etanco was held on an imminent sales basis and valued at £88 million, an uplift of 32% compared to its value at 31 March 2018 of £66 million.

Infrastructure

Our Infrastructure team had a busy start to the year, including advising 3iN on the completion of its investments in Attero and Alkane Energy and its refinancing of TCR. 3iN’s shares performed well in the quarter, generating unrealised value growth of £27 million for 3i in addition to dividend income of £11 million.

The infrastructure market remains very active and our Infrastructure team is working on a pipeline of interesting investment opportunities in Europe and North America.

Total return and NAV position

We recognised a £99 million gain on foreign exchange in the quarter, as both the US dollar and euro strengthened against sterling. Based on the balance sheet at 30 June 2018, a 1% movement in the euro and US dollar would result in a total return movement of £47 million and £10 million respectively. The diluted NAV per share increased to 760 pence (31 March 2018: 724 pence) or 738 pence after deducting the 22p per share FY2018 dividend, which was paid on 20 July 2018.

Balance sheet

Top 10 investments by value at 30 June 2018

The 10 investments in this table comprise 72% (31 March 2018: 75%) of the total Proprietary Capital portfolio value of £6,915 million (31 March 2018: £6,657 million).

Balance sheet

At 30 June 2018, the Group’s balance sheet included net cash of £638 million, before the 22 pence FY2018 dividend (£213 million), which was paid on 20 July 2018.