17th Aug 2021 11:33
(Alliance News) - Syncona Ltd on Monday said its portfolio is funded to "deliver important clinical milestones", as net asset value was hit by the performance of its listed holdings in the first quarter of the 2022 financial year.
The FTSE 25-listed investment tryst is a healthcare specialist that starts, builds and funds life science companies.
Its fully diluted net asset value per share was 178.9 pence at June 30, compared to 193.8 pence at March 31.
NAV return was 7.7% for the three months ended June 30, compared to 14% in the same period last year. NAV total return in 2021 was 4.4%.
Syncona's net assets totalled GBP1.20 billion, with a capital base of GBP578.0 million on June 30.
"Whilst we recognise that the share price performance of our listed holdings has brought volatility to our NAV, we remain focused on delivering value over the long-term," said Martin Murphy, chief executive of Syncona Investment Mangement Ltd.
"Our portfolio is funded to deliver important clinical milestones, which are potential key value drivers for our business over the next 12-24 months."
The life science portfolio was valued at GBP622.4 million at June 30, down 14% from GBP722.1 million at March 31. The decline was driven by a decline in share prices for Freeline and Achilles Therapeutics.
Freeline expects progression in three of its clinical stage programmes by the end of the year and Achilles plans to publish interim-data on its non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma programmes, with patients to be enrolled for higher doses in the programme in the second half of the year.
Shares in Syncona were down 2.3% at 206.12 pence in London on Tuesday morning trading.
By Josie O'Brien; [email protected]
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