Last checked at 
(Alliance News ) - Private equity investor 3i Group PLC on Thursday reported a strong half-year performance by its portfolio of companies and infrastructure assets, raising its interim dividend by 10% in response.
3i shares were up 3.9% to 1,418.50 pence in London on Thursday morning, the second leading FTSE 100 gainer after Auto Trader Group PLC.
3i also said Finance Director Julia Wilson will retire at the annual general meeting in June next year, after 15 years with the company and 13 as finance director.
Wilson will be replaced by James Hatchley, who is currently strategy director. Hatchley will join the board in May. He joined 3i in 2017, having been chief operating officer for peer KKR & Co Inc in Europe.
3i said total return, or total comprehensive income, was GBP2.20 billion in the six months that ended September 30, almost doubled from GBP1.14 billion a year before and exceeding the GBP1.73 billion booked in all of financial 2021. 3i said the half-year result represented a 24% return on opening shareholders funds.
Net asset value per share was 1,153 pence on September 30, after paying a 21p second interim dividend in July, up from 947p on March 31.
3i declared a first interim dividend for financial 2022 of 19.25p, up from 17.5p a year ago, which it said was in line with its policy.
"We saw good growth from our two investment portfolios in the first half of the year and this momentum has continued into November," said Chief Executive Simon Burrows.
The private equity portfolio generated a gross investment return of 27% in the half-year, 3i said, led by major holding Action, a Dutch retailer. The infrastructure portfolio provided a 5% GIR, driven by a 3% rise in the share price of London-listed 3i Infrastructure PLC.
Burrows added: "Despite the social and economic uncertainty that we have seen over the last 18 months, competition for private assets remains very strong. While we will continue to deploy capital selectively in new and bolt-on investments, we are also in a good position to benefit from favourable market conditions through our realisation pipeline to deliver attractive returns for our shareholders."
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
