Zug, 21 October 2015
– Spice Private Equity Ltd (the “Company”, ticker symbol “SPCE”) today
releases Q3 2015 results above expectations for the company.
During the quarter, the Net Asset Value (“NAV”) grew significantly,
reaching USD 39.20 per share as of 30 September 2015 (30 June 2015: USD
37.83 per share, +3.6%; 31 December 2014: USD 38.02 per share, +3.1%).
The driving factor for the NAV increase was the strong performance on
invested capital of 25.2% for the quarter (as % of average invested
capital; not annualized) which more than offset the expenses incurred in
the period. The large gain on the investment portfolio for the quarter,
USD 8.4 million on a base of USD 34.7 million in fair value, was
accomplished mainly through the initial uplift on the secondary purchase
of Global EM Portfolio I at a significant discount and the uplift on
exit of the Giant Interactive direct co-investment. Of the total
investment program of USD 220 million, so far USD 86.7 million or 39.4%
has been allocated. Total Spice Private Equity exposure as of 30
September 2015 stands at USD 79.1 million corresponding to 34.6% of
total assets.
Spice Private Equity also publishes an economic NAV (adjusting for
the required accounting treatment of the “derivative financial
liability” stemming from the put-call agreement in CHF between the
Company and Fortress entities). This has also risen significantly during
the quarter and has reached an all-time high following the
restructuring at the end of 2014. As of 30 September 2015 the economic
NAV amounted to USD 42.21 per share (30 June 2015: USD 40.96 per share,
+3.1%; 31 December 2014: USD 40.96 per share, +3.1%).
The share price of the Company decreased by 11.8% to USD 22.50 per share during the quarter (30 June 2015: USD 25.50).
In the third quarter of 2015, the highlights were the completion of
the acquisition of a sizeable portfolio of LP interests on the secondary
market, the first co-investment in India and in Brazil and the
divestment of the co-investment in Giant Interactive.
Spice Private Equity has completed a secondary transaction, acquiring
LP interests in two Indian and two Latin American focused partnerships
managed by three different general partners (total Spice Private Equity
exposure acquired is USD 20.0 million). Spice Private Equity also
entered into two co-investment opportunities. One, with Clearwater
Capital Partners, in Altico Capital India Private Limited (“Altico
Capital”), a Non-Bank Finance Company based in Mumbai, India (total
Spice Private Equity commitment is USD 10.0 million). The other in Rede
D’Or São Luiz (“Rede D’Or”), the largest private hospital operator in
Brazil (total Spice Private Equity commitment is USD 12.2 million). This
co-investment opportunity is led by The Carlyle Group.
Giant Interactive, a leading online game developer and operator in
China and the first co-investment completed under the new strategy of
Spice Private Equity, has been exited, generating an attractive 24% IRR
return and a cash on cash return of 1.28x, a slight increase from the
most recent valuation.
After the receipt of the first deferred payment of USD 37.4 million
stemming from the sale of the “Legacy Portfolio”, cash held across the
subsidiary and the holding entity stood at USD 62.1 million as of 30
September 2015, and unfunded commitments amounted to USD 35.2 million. A
revolving credit line of USD 75 million is in place thus the liquidity
situation remains solid. Capital calls of USD 0.9 million and new
investments of USD 21.2 million (at cost), paid during the last quarter,
outweighed distributions for the same period, which stood at USD 10.2
million.
The Company recorded a net profit for the quarter of USD 7.4 million
(Q3 2014: net profit of USD 18.4 million (restated)) and a net profit
YTD of USD 6.4 million (1 January – 30 September 2014: net profit of USD
28.6 million (restated)).
Gross portfolio return was USD 8.4 million or 25.2% (not annualized)
of average invested capital for the quarter and USD 11.8 million or
54.4% (not annualized) of average invested capital YTD. These
contributions result in an overall portfolio performance since inception
of 1.27x (TVPI) and 55.5% (IRR). Net portfolio return (after
considering operating expenses) was USD 6.9 million or 20.5% of average
invested capital for the quarter and USD 6.0 million or 27.6% of average
invested capital YTD. These results are significantly above
expectations for the Company’s current position in the investment cycle.
The Interim Report Q3 2015 is available on the Company's website (http://www.spice-private-
equity.com/userfiles/file/Download%20Center/Interim%20Reports/Spice%20PE%20Interim%20Report%
20Q3%202015.pdf).
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Guido Cornella
Investor & Media Relations
GP Advisors Ltd, Zurich
Phone: +41 44 578 50 50
Email: investor.relations@spice-private-equity.com
Web: www.spice-private-equity.com
Download PDF
