Molten Ventures (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing disruptive, high-growth technology companies, today announces its final results for the year ended 31 March 2024.
Financial Highlights
- £1,379m Gross Portfolio Value* (31 March 2023: £1,371m)
- £1,251m Net assets (31 March 2023: £1,194m)
- 662p NAV per share* (31 March 2023: 780p)
- £57m Consolidated Group cash (31 March 2023: £23m)
- -1% Gross Portfolio fair value movement* (31 March 2023: -16%)
- £39m Cash proceeds from realisations (year to March 31 2023: £48m)
- £55m Net of fees raised during the year (31 March 2023: £Nil)
- 0.1% Operating costs (net of fee income and exceptional items) (31 March 2023: <0.1%) below the targeted 1% of year-end NAV*
- £65m invested, £40m direct and £25m representing Forward Partners share-for-share exchange, in addition a further £37m from the managed EIS/VCT funds (year to March 31 2023: £138m from plc and £41m from EIS/VCT funds)**
*The above figures contain alternative performance measures (“APMs”) - see Note 35 for reconciliation of APMs to IFRS measures in the Annual Report.
**EIS and VCT funds are managed by Molten Ventures plc group but are not consolidated. See Accounting Policies on page 116 and Glossary on page 162 for defined terms in the Annual Report.
Performance Highlights
- Investments of £65m during the year from the Molten Ventures balance sheet, with a further £37m from the managed EIS/VCT funds, alongside cash proceeds from realisations during the year of £39m
- Completed share-for-share acquisition of Forward Partners plc (‘Forward Partners’) in March 2024
- Stake acquired in Seedcamp Fund III in February 2024, continuing the strategy of acquiring portfolios with high potential for near-term realisation
- Committed to 6 new seed funds via our Fund of Funds programme, bringing the overall Fund of Funds portfolio to 80 funds.
- Weighted average revenue growth of Core portfolio forecast to be over 50% for calendar year 2024
- Over 85% of companies in the Core portfolio with at least 18 months of cash runway as at 31 March 2024 (based on existing budgets and growth plans)
ESG Highlights
- Launched inaugural stand-alone Sustainability Report on our website.
- Delivered tailored climate workshops to portfolio companies with the aim of improving their climate literacy and alignment to the Net Zero transition, in line with the commitments set out in our Climate Strategy
- Joined the Steering Group of ESG_VC, became a member of Ventures ESG and continued to report against external standards and frameworks including PRI, CDP, TCFD, Investing in Women Code and SECR
- Formally launched the Esprit Foundation (part of the Molten Ventures Group) and awarded its first grants to the Social Mobility Foundation, Included VC and Foundervine
Post Period-End
On 30 April 2024, Hologic, Inc, a NASDAQ listed entity, signed definitive agreement to acquire Endomagnetics Ltd. (‘Endomag’). The acquisition, which is subject to completion conditions and regulatory approval as well as working capital and other customary closing adjustments, values Endomag at approximately $310 million, which is modestly above NAV.
Capital Allocation Policy
As reported in our announcement on 30 April, we provide an update to our capital allocation policy which outlines how the Company intends to deploy its capital resources across NAV per share accretive opportunities in order to deliver long-term value for its shareholders whilst ensuring the Company has appropriate liquidity headroom.
- The Company will continue to focus its efforts on deploying capital into exceptional primary and secondary investments
- The Company manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate reserves with ongoing monitoring of forecast and actual cash flows. Capital resources are managed to ensure there is sufficient headroom for 18 months’ rolling operating expenses
- Given the strong realisation pipeline, the Directors likewise believe that the current share price provides an opportunity to deliver accretive benefits to shareholders by purchasing its own shares at the prevailing discount levels. The Company therefore intends to allocate a minimum of 10% of realisation proceeds to buy back its own shares, utilising the existing authority granted to the Board at the AGM
The Company will continue to balance the pipeline of new investment opportunities against the ability to drive returns to shareholders through share buy backs whilst maintaining sufficient reserves.
