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LONDON (Alliance News) - Private equity company 3i Group PLC Thursday said it has swung to a half-year pretax profit after its portfolio gave good returns and its foreign exchange losses more than halved.
3i Group said it made a GBP143 million pretax profit for the six months to September 30, compared with a GBP165 million pretax loss for the corresponding period last year.
The swing to profit was a result of a strong portfolio performance, whose gross return rose to GBP315 million from GBP180 million. After operating expenses, interest and performance fees, 3i's portfolio gave a GBP257 million net return, more than double last year's net return.
The private equity company said it expects to exceed its operating cost savings target of GBP60 million by March 2014.
Meanwhile, net asset value per share rose by 3.4% or 11p to 322 pence, driven by the sales of Xellia and Civica, which were NAV accretive.
"Although there are some signs of recovery in parts of the global economy, the overall environment remains uncertain and volatile," said Chairman Adrian Montague. "We have seen only low levels of GDP growth in Eurozone countries and a marked slow down in emerging markets."
He added: "We remain focused on delivering our strategic plan and we expect to continue to drive improved business performance and generate further shareholder value over the coming years."
3i shares were Thursday quoted at 357.87 pence, down 3.5%.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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