Burford Capital first-quarter earnings soar, cites positive momentum

(Alliance News) - Burford Capital Ltd on Tuesday said profit and revenue both multiplied in the first quarter of 2023, highlighting continued positive momentum within its portfolio.

Shares in Burford Capital were up 0.8% to 1,050.00 pence each in London on Tuesday shortly after midday.

The London-based global finance and asset manager, focusing on law, said pretax profit jumped to USD308.5 million in the three months that ended March 31, from USD76.5 million a year earlier.

Revenue trebled to USD380.9 million from USD123.1 million, led by capital provision income surging to USD475.9 million from USD140.7 million.

New commitments also doubled to USD165 million from USD82 million, while Burford Capital's portfolio rose 8.2% to USD6.6 billion on March 31 from USD6.1 billion on December 31, due to "significant fair value gains but also new deployments and undrawn commitments".

"We saw continued positive momentum in the first quarter of 2023 in the progression of our portfolio as court activity and legal processes further normalized in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic," said Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bogart.

"As an indicator of ongoing portfolio activity, an additional 12 case milestones have occurred since our May 16 update when we had observed 28 milestones and expected 61 more through the remainder of the year."

Burford Capital's cash, cash equivalent and marketable securities as of March 31 stood at USD183 million, down 13% from USD210 million on December 31.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter

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