DeA Capital (MI:DEA) Assets under management (AUM) grew by over 10% during FY17, with the positive trend continuing in Q4. Further progress was made with recycling capital from mature direct investments towards supporting the growth of the alternative asset management platform, two new SPAC investments, and strong distributions. The holding company financial position reached €92.3m (19% of NAV) providing significant further flexibility, and a distribution of €0.12 per share has again been confirmed. Underlying NAV total return for the year (adjusted for the €0.12 per share dividend and goodwill impairment of €0.09) was 4.6%, ahead of our forecast. The shares have responded to this progress but continue to trade at a 23% discount to NAV and our sum-of-the-parts value of €1.92 per share.
Strong capital generation to fund future growth
AUM grew to c €11.7bn (FY16: c €9.5bn), the private equity investment portfolio was reduced to c €250m (FY16: c €282m) despite €33m of new SPAC investment (Crescita and IDeaMI), and the holding cash position increased to €92.3m (FY16: €48.5m). An impairment of €34.2m relating to historical goodwill at DeA Capital Real Estate reflects a recognition that fee levels are unlikely to return to those seen before the impact of the global financial crisis, rather than current performance, with real estate AUM increasing from €8.7bn to €9.5bn and underlying attributable earnings increasing.
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