Still a good punt 26 Apr 2007 15:10
24/04/2007
SovGEM has appreciated in share price terms yet remains substantially undervalued given its net asset value (NAV) growth record under loquacious chief executive Hugh de Lusignan.
The emerging market finance house invests in early-stage businesses, mainly in China or PRC-related markets, and issued strong finals for the year to December. The highlight was 51.6% NAV growth to 27.9p, substantially north of the current share price, which looks illogically discounted.
Profits increased from £270,000 to £1m, driven by an increase in realised gains on investment disposals from £450,000 to £1.59m. Realised gains reflected a number of transactions, among them the timely sale of the entire stake in fertilizer maker and first investee Bodisen Biotech, part disposal of its stake in AIM-star Renesola, and the sale of part of its holding in Harbin Electric, a Chinese linear motor maker now quoted on NASDAQ. Encouragingly, the numbers also revealed unrealised gains of £1.59m within the portfolio, up from £1.05m in 2005.