26th Nov 2018 12:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - Augmentum Fintech PLC reported its first interim results Monday since listing on the London Main Market in March.
In the period from incorporation on December 19 last year to September 30, the fintech venture capital investor had a net asset value total return of 5.1%.
At September 30, Augmentum Fintech's NAV per share was 104p. The company's net assets at September 30 totalled GBP97.8 million.
Portfolio Manager Tim Levene said it has been an "extraordinarily busy" first half of the financial year.
The company's portfolio fair value increased 62% since the company listed in March to GBP53.9 million on September 30 from GBP33.3 million on March 13.
The rise in the valuation of peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa and equities investment platform Interactive Investor led to a GBP5 million increase in Augmentum Fintech's NAV.
Augmentum Fintech also made five new investments in the period, selected from 350 potential deals. The trust said its rate of capital deployment is as expected and its conversion rate of deals is high.
"In the first nine months of 2018, global VC investment in fintech exceeded the total investment seen in 2017, and the current year is on track to be a record year. We are seeing more deal flow than ever before, and the quality of companies continues to increase," said Levene.
"With Brexit on the horizon and the uncertainty it is creating, it is clear to us that young and dynamic fintech businesses are often better placed to respond to these new challenges than the incumbents that they are looking to disrupt. We believe that the UK will remain the epicentre of fintech within Europe. But other European cities will develop strong capabilities in fintech. Accordingly, we will continue to expand our coverage across Europe, especially in Germany, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands."
At September 30, Augmentum Fintech had GBP43.9 million in cash.
The company said it will not pay a dividend, and "anticipates" not recommending a dividend "in the near future unless required to do so to maintain investment trust status".
Stockbroker Numis commented: "Augmentum focuses exclusively on the fintech sector; however this is Series A and B investment rounds but not seed capital. At the same time, Augmentum is not afraid to take a contrarian stance and look for value in fintechs that have not fulfilled their early promise and potentially lofty valuations."
Shares in Augmentum Fintech were up 2.4% Monday at 98.40 pence each.
Related Shares:
Augmentum Fint.