IP Group plc

Annual Results

04 Mar 2014

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO), the developer of intellectual property based businesses, today announces its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2013.

Highlights

Financial and Operational highlights

  • Net assets increased to £337.0m (2012: £263.1m)
  • Net cash and deposits as at 31 December 2013: £24.1m (2012: £47.9m)
  • Adjusted profit before tax of £77.6m (2012: £46.7m), excluding £5.0m reduction in fair value of Oxford Equity Rights asset (2012: £6.0m)
  • New intellectual property commercialisation agreement signed with The University of Manchester
  • £5m investment in Cambridge Innovation Capital plc and Memorandum of Understanding signed to share information on co-investment opportunities
  • First US pilot IP commercialisation agreements signed with the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University
  • Launch of £30m IP Venture Fund II in partnership with the European Investment Fund

Portfolio highlights

  • Fair value of portfolio: £285.9m (2012: £181.8m)
  • Capital provided to portfolio companies: £27.5m (2012: £26.3m)
  • Portfolio realisations: £5.5m (2012: £16.7m)
  • Value of ten largest holdings: £225.2m (2012: £138.2m)
  • Group’s portfolio companies raised in excess of £160m of new capital (2012: £110m)
    • Applied Graphene Materials plc admitted to AIM, raising gross proceeds of £11m at IPO
    • Oxford Nanopore Technologies Limited completed £40m private financing

Post-year-end highlights

  • £100m (before expenses) raised through issue of new equity capital in February 2014
  • Announced the recommended proposed acquisition of the remaining 79.9% shareholding in Fusion IP plc not currently owned by the Group in an all-paper transaction to be implemented by way of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement
  • Net unrealised fair value increase in the Group’s holdings in quoted portfolio companies of £23.6m between 31 December 2013 and 28 February 2014, including admission to AIM of Actual Experience plc

Commenting on the Group’s annual results, Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer of IP Group, said:

“2013 was a record year with the strongest financial performance since the Group was formed in 2001. There was also significant strategic progress with a commercialisation agreement with the University of Manchester, an investment in Cambridge Innovation Capital as well as pilot agreements with two of the US’s eight Ivy League universities.

The current year has started well with Actual Experience plc listing on AIM and Xeros Limited also announcing its intention to float on AIM. The Group recently announced the recommended acquisition of the remaining 79.9% of Fusion IP plc that it does not currently own and we look forward to welcoming Fusion IP’s staff to the Group. We firmly believe the acquisition will create a stronger UK based IP commercialisation company with greater critical mass including a portfolio valued at over £300m and approximately £140m of cash.

The recent capital raise will enable the Group to accelerate growth by increasing our overall rate of capital deployment into both our existing portfolio and into new early stage opportunities, in the UK and internationally, as well as to broaden our access to world class IP. As such, we remain confident in the Group’s ability to deliver significant shareholder value.”

For more information, please contact:

IP Group plc
Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer 020 7444 0050
Greg Smith, Chief Financial Officer 020 7444 0050
Liz Vaughan-Adams, Communications 020 7444 0062 / 07979 853 802
   
FTI Consulting 020 7831 3113
James Melville-Ross, John Dineen

Further information on IP Group is available on our website: www.ipgroupplc.com

Notes

(i) Nature of announcement

This Annual Results Release was approved by the directors on 3 March 2014.

The financial information set out in this Annual Results Release does not constitute the company's statutory accounts for 2013 or 2012. Statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2013 and 31 December 2012 have been reported on by the Independent Auditor. The Independent Auditor’s Reports on the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2013 and 2012 were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis, and did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2012 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2013 will be delivered to the Registrar following the Company's annual general meeting.

The 2013 Annual Report and Accounts will be published in April 2014 and a copy will be posted on the Group's website (www.ipgroupplc.com). In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.1 a copy of the Annual Report and Accounts will also be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism on or around this date and will be available for inspection at: www.Hemscott.com/nsm.do from that time.

Throughout this Annual Results Release the Group’s holdings in portfolio companies reflect the undiluted beneficial equity interest excluding debt, unless otherwise explicitly stated.

(ii) Forward looking statements

This Annual Report and Accounts may contain forward looking statements. These statements reflect the Board’s current view, are subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties and could change in the future. Factors which could cause or contribute to such changes include, but are not limited to, the general economic climate and market conditions, as well as specific factors relating to the financial or commercial prospects or performance of individual companies within the Group’s portfolio.

Annual Results can be viewed in the PDF file format (PDF 997KB, opens in a new window)