LONDON (Alliance News) - Juridica Investments Ltd, which provides capital for corporate legal claims, Monday reported a swing to first-half profit, driven by an upward movement in unrealised gains on financial assets.
In a statement, Juridica said it made a USD10.3 million profit in the six months ended June 30, compared with USD3.0 million loss in the corresponding period last year. It reported a USD13.3 million unrealised gain on financial assets at fair value through the profit and loss account, compared with a gain of just USD1.5 million in the first half of 2013.
Its net asset value increased to USD2.11 per share from USD2.02 over the six-month period.
Juridica Asset Management Ltd, the company's investment manager, said it believes Juridica's portfolio will see "significant" activity within the next 12 to 18 months.
"This expectation is based on our knowledge from managing the company's investments which includes: confirmed trial dates; expected final decisions following trial or arbitration; and various other factors. Each of these milestones, if successful, creates real incentives for defendants to seek settlements. In addition, settlement discussions are on-going for certain investments," the investment manager said in its report.
Juridica Asset Management also said it is optimistic the portfolio will produce further returns of capital over the next 12 to 18 months and beyond.
The investment manager said it anticipates declaring a dividend to shareholders of USD37.0 million by the end of 2014. That expectation is based on USD53.5 million net value of cash proceeds generated by the company, after fulfilling contingency funding obligations for remaining cases in the antitrust portfolio, estimated taxes and other required reserves, as well as expectations for the remainder of 2014.
Juridica shares were Monday quoted up 3.1% at 138.15 pence.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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