HgCapital Trust turns in decent first-half performance

(Sharecast News) - HgCapital Trust reported a 21.4% total return to its net asset value per share in its interim results on Monday, to 373.4p.
The FTSE 250 company noted that over the same six months to 30 June, its share price total return was 17.4% to 305p, while by comparison, the FTSE All-Share Index had a total return of 11.1%.

At period end, its net asset value stood at £1.64bn, which was an uplift of £349m from the end of the 2020 financial year.

HgCapital reported "strong" double-digit growth from its portfolio in the first half, with revenue and EBITDA growth of 20% and 27%, respectively, across its top 20 investmentsover the last 12 months.

Its valuation multiple was 25x estimated value-to-EBITDA, and its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 5.9x, for those top 20 investments.

The company made continued investments in the period, with £165m deployed on behalf of HgCapital Trust into companies that its manager, Hg, had known for "many years" and had demonstrated a track record of strong performance across market cycles.

Outstanding commitments at 30 June totalled £623m, down from £647m at the end of December, which would be deployed over the next three to four years.

A total of £82m of cash was returned to HgCapital through realisations at uplifts to book value and refinancings, while £75m of new equity was raised in the first half at a premium to net asset value.

Liquid resources totalled £239m at period end, with a further undrawn standby facility of £165m available for investment.

"Despite the uniquely challenging circumstances we have all faced during the Covid-19 pandemic over the last 18 months, I am pleased to report to you that HGT and its underlying investments continued to perform very well in the first half of 2021," said chairman Jim Strang.

"HgCapital Trust's strategy of investing in software and services businesses with strong growth prospects and highly resilient business models has helped maintain the strong momentum observed throughout the last full financial year."

At 0949 BST, shares in HgCapital Trust were down 0.73% at 399.03p.