LONDON (Alliance News) - Juridica Investments Ltd Tuesday said its expects to invest in several patent portfolios and a variety of commercial cases during 2015 as the company reported annual results for 2014.
Juridica, which invests capital in corporate legal claims, said one antitrust case, in particular, has significant upside potential and is expected to be resolved in the next 12 months.
The company reported a fully diluted loss per share of 4.49 cents in 2014, compared with earnings of 4.85 cents per share in the prior year, as it swung to a net loss of USD5.0 million from a net profit of USD5.1 million.
The swing to a loss was because expenses rose to USD24.4 million from USD7.9 million, largely due to USD14.5 million of performance fees paid to former investment manager JCML 2007 Ltd, in which Juridica has a 36.17% stake. The increase in expenses more than offset higher investment movements, which increased to USD19.4 million from USD12.9 million thanks to USD18.8 million of realised gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss.
Net asset value decreased to USD1.66 per share at the end of 2014 from USD2.02 per share at the end of 2013, with company citing payment of a USD0.31 per share dividend for 2014 and its net loss.
"The company has a high quality portfolio of cases that continue to progress as expected. Several of these investments are anticipated to see significant activity within the next 12 to 24 months. One antitrust case, in particular, has significant upside potential and is expected to resolve within the next twelve months," Juridica said in a statement.
"In addition, Juridica expects to make several investments in medium to large sized patent portfolios and various commercial cases during 2015," the company added.
Juridica shares were down 7.4% at 115.72 pence per share on Tuesday.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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