(Alliance News) - 3i Group PLC said Wednesday it saw "another good quarter" in the first period of financial 2019 with the investment company's private equity portfolio performing well.
At June 30, 3i Group's net asset value per share stood at 864 pence, 6.0% higher compared to 815p at March 31.
In the three month period, 3i saw a NAV total return of 6.2%. The private equity firm saw a GBP212 million gain in the period on foreign exchange movements as both the dollar and euro strengthened against the pound.
"This was another good quarter for 3i. Our Private Equity portfolio performed well with Action again generating good growth, as well as 3i Infrastructure PLC delivering another strong share price performance," said Chief Executive Simon Burrows.
Action is a Benelux-based non-food discount retailer and represents 3i's largest investment by valuation - which increased 13% in the quarter to EUR3.08 billion. Action saw like-for-like sales growth in the first six months of 2019.
Despite the "challenging macro-economic headwinds" in Europe and China, 3i Group said there is "little change" in the momentum of its private equity portfolio.
3i Infrastructure is a FTSE 250-listed infrastructure investor which is 33% owned by 3i Group. 3i Infrastructure's share price was 299.00p on July 1, 8.5% higher than at April 1. It was quoted at 284.34p on Wednesday.
Burrows added: "Both our Private Equity and Infrastructure teams had a busy quarter on origination and investment. Our balance sheet is well-funded but we remain cautious about the pricing of private investments in the current environment and have continued to focus on platform and bolt-on acquisitions."
At June 30, 3i Group's net cash stood at GBP307 million.
Shares in 3i Group were down 1.5% in London on Wednesday morning at 1,117.50 pence each.
3i Group (III)
3i Infrastructure (3IN)