Operational Highlights
- Record fundraising year across products, with third party AUM up 8% to €10.7bn. A record period of realisations leaves total AUM flat at €13.0bn
- Fundraising achievements include: ICG Longbow's third fund closing at £700m; largest issuer of European CLOs raising €1.3bn; and ICG's first ever US fund, a $371m CLO. Since the year end Senior Debt Partners closed at its €1.7bn hard cap and our US Private Debt Fund had a $450m first close
- Record level of realisations reinforcing our strong track record and generating £1.1bn of cash for our Investment Company
- New funds investing on target with ICG Europe Fund V 58% invested, ICG Longbow III 37% invested and Senior Debt Partners 42% invested. A solid pipeline of investment opportunities in a highly competitive investment market
- Investment portfolio remains broadly resilient. Smaller number of weaker assets continue to underperform but are reducing in number
Financial Highlights
- Group profit before tax up 11% on FY13 at £158.7m compared to £142.6m, adjusted1 Group profit before tax of £175.1m compared to £148.3m in FY13 primarily due to a high level of exits from portfolio assets in FY14
- Fund Management Company profit of £35.0m compared to £40.4m in FY13
- Investment Company profit1 of £140.1m compared to £107.9m in FY13
- Strong balance sheet with unutilised cash and debt facilities of approximately £678m. This follows a period of strong realisations and enables the FMC to seed new products and growth initiatives strengthening long term profitability
- Final dividend of 14.4 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 21.0 pence, up 5% on FY13, and a share buyback programme of up to £100m launched
| 31 March 2014 | 31 March 2013 | |
| Fund Management Company profit before tax | £35.0m | £40.4m |
| Adjusted Investment Company profit before tax1,2 | £140.1m | £107.9m |
| Adjusted Group profit before tax1,2 | £175.1m | £148.3m |
| Group profit before tax | £158.7m | £142.6m |
| Group profit after tax | £137.4m | £123.8m |
| Adjusted Earnings per share1,2 | 39.9p | 33.6p |
| Earnings per share | 35.7p | 32.1p |
| Cash core income | £231.7m | £39.9m |
| Dividend per share | 21.0p | 20.0p |
| Investment portfolio3 | €2,311m | €3,030m |
| Third party assets under management | €10,669m | €9,900m |
¹Excluding the impact of fair value charges on derivatives (FY14: £16.4m; FY13: £5.7m)
2Net impairments exclude a provision of £17.3m on a restructured asset with a corresponding uplift in unrealised capital gains
3Excludes the impact of consolidating the US CLO
The definitions for Fund Management Company (FMC), Investment Company (IC), Cash core income, Assets under management (AUM) are available in the Glossary
Commenting on ICG's 2014 full year results, Christophe Evain, CEO, said: "ICG has delivered a good set of results, with steady overall growth in group profits up 11% and a strong increase in third party AUM at a time when assets have exited our portfolios at a record rate due to favourable market conditions. We continue to fund raise well and develop new opportunities for investors in line with our strategy to develop our third party fund management business. In light of ICG's strong financial discipline and balance sheet we are increasing our dividend by 5% for this year and announcing a share buyback programme of up to £100m as we seek to balance returns to shareholders and further investment in growing our fund management capabilities. "Our business model and 25 year track record position us well to continue to capture market share. There is no doubt that investor interest in credit strategies is increasing. This is due to more positive economic sentiment around the world combined with the need to diversify sources of yield in portfolios and the demand for alternative sources of finance in the new lending landscape. In light of this market we see the momentum in growing our business continuing".
