Quarterly results for 31 March 2018

RNS Number : 9455M

Apax Global Alpha Limited

03 May 2018

 

(LSE: APAX)

Apax Global Alpha Limited

Quarterly results for the period ended 31 March 2018

Apax Funds valuations as at 31 March 2018

For further information regarding the announcement of AGA's 2018 first quarter results, including the details for today's analyst and investor webcast at 9.30am (UK time), please visit www.apaxglobalalpha.com. 

Key highlights

·     Total NAV Return was -0.7% and +1.0% on a constant currency basis, against the backdrop of volatile markets and continuing strength of the euro against the US dollar

·     Adjusted NAV decreased by €29.1m to €883.3m mainly due to second semi-annual dividend paid in respect of 2017of €23.5m and negative FX impact of €14.8m

·     Adjusted NAV per share of €1.80 (£1.58), compared to €1.86 (£1.65), at 31 December 2017

·     AGA was 97% invested and had a net cash balance of €17.8m

Performance highlights

·     Portfolio delivered a Total NAV Return of +1.0% on a constant currency basis, Private Equity contributed +0.4% and Derived Investments contributed +0.6% before FX impact of -1.7%

·     Derived Debt Investments contributed +0.4% and Derived Equity +0.2% to Total NAV Return

Adjusted NAV movements	Private Equity €m	Derived Investments €m	Cash €m	Facility drawn €m	Other €m	1Q18 Total €m
Adjusted NAV at 31 December 2017	586.1	307.2	19.0	-	0.1	912.4
+ Investments	-	50.9	(43.8)	-	(7.1)	-
- Divestments	(13.8)	(76.8)	75.7	-	14.9	-
+ Interest and dividend income	-	-	6.6	-	(1.8)	4.8
+/- Realised FV movement	-	3.0	-	-	-	3.0
+/- Unrealised FV movement	3.2	(2.1)	-	-	-	1.1
+/- Costs and others	-	-	(2.0)	-	0.3	(1.7)
- Dividends paid	-	-	(21.3)	-	(2.2)	(23.5)
+/- Performance fee reserve	4.1	13.3	(15.4)	-	-	2.0
+/- FX movements	(7.1)	(6.7)	(1.0)	-	-	(14.8)
+/- Revolving credit facility	-	-	-	-	-	-
Adjusted NAV at 31 March 2018	572.5	288.8	17.8	-	4.2	883.3

Investment activity highlights

·      Exposures remained skewed towards Private Equity at 66% and Derived Investments of 34%

·      Private Equity had one new closed investment with one exit, while Derived Investments had five new positions, one add-on, and six divestments

·      FX exposure c.45% in US dollar denominated investments

Invested portfolio analysis	€m	€m	%	%
Private Equity	572.5		66%
-       AMI		14.5		2%
-       AEVI		1.9		0%
-       AEVII		49.0		6%
-       AVIII		373.5		43%
-       AIX		134.1		15%
-       ADF		(0.5)		0%
Derived Investments	288.8		34%
-       Derived Debt		136.2		16%
-       Derived Equity		152.6		18%
Total(1)	861.3	861.3	100%	100%

Private Equity portfolio highlights

·      The Apax Funds returned €13.8m to AGA, of which €5.6m was a return of a call from Apax IX

·      Unrealised gains were €3.2m and adverse FX movements were €7.1m

·      Apax Digital Fund completed one new deal (Wizeline) amounting to €1.4m

·      Apax Europe VII and Apax VIII divested their positions in one investment (Genex)

·      Aggregate Gross IRR generated on fully exited investments was 32%

·      FX exposure of c.44% in US dollar denominated investments

·      Sector exposure spread across all Apax Partners' focus industries. Tech & Telco and Services were the most heavily weighted sectors, accounting for 33% and 31% of the invested portfolio

·      Geographic bias evenly spread between North America and Europe, representing 42% and 41% of the invested portfolio

·      Private Equity portfolio remained relatively young with 83% of Private Equity investments from 2014-2017 vintage

Private Equity - operational metrics		31 March 2018		31 December 2017
Portfolio year-over-year LTM revenue growth(2)	12.9%		12.8%
Portfolio year-over-year LTM EBITDA growth(2)	14.8%		17.9%
Enterprise Value / EBITDA valuation multiple(2)	14.2x		13.8x
Net debt / EBITDA multiple(2)	4.2x		4.3x
Number of new investments in the quarter (3)	1		6
Number of exits in the quarter (3)	1		2

Derived Investments portfolio highlights

·     Realised gains were €3.0m, unrealised losses were €2.1m, income of €4.8m, offset by adverse FX movements of €6.7m

·     AGA completed one new investment in debt (Genex), four new equity investments (Civitas, Dignity, Greencore and Mitie) and one add-on investment in equity (Repco Home Finance), amounting to €50.9m

·     AGA fully exited three debt investments and three equity investments, generating proceeds of €76.8m

·     Aggregate Gross IRR generated on fully exited investments was 9.1%⁽⁴⁾

·     FX exposure of c.46% in US dollar denominated investments

·     Sector exposure spread across all Apax Partners' focus industries. Tech & Telco was the most heavily weighted sector, accounting for 31% of the invested portfolio

·     Geographic bias towards North America representing 53% of the invested portfolio

·     Portfolio split between Derived Debt and Derived Equity was 47% and 53% respectively

Derived Investments - operational metrics		31 March 2018	31 December 2017
Debt year-over-year LTM EBITDA growth(5)		12.7%	6.2%
Debt average income yield to maturity(5)		12.9%	11.6%
Debt average years to maturity		6.1	6.2
Debt average income yield(7)		12.1%	10.8%
Equity year-over-year LTM earnings growth(6)		7.0%	12.0%
Equity price-to-earnings ratio(6)		23.3x	29.0x
Number of investments in the quarter (8)		6	6
Number of full exits in the quarter(8)		6	8

Commenting on AGA's investment focus, Ralf Gruss, COO of Apax Partners, said:

"Performance in the first quarter was positive on a constant currency basis however overshadowed by the continuing strengthening of the euro against the US dollar and the backdrop of volatile markets. AGA's Private Equity portfolio continues to demonstrate strong operational performance. Derived Investments continued to have a steady flow of Derived Debt income and the Derived Equity portfolio outperformed broader market indices."

Sector mix	€m	Invested portfolio %	Private Equity %	Derived Investments %
Tech & Telco		33%	33%	31%
Services		30%	31%	27%
Healthcare		19%	18%	21%
Consumer		17%	16%	20%
Digital		0%	1%	0%
Other		1%	1%	1%
Total	861.3	100%	100%	100%

Geographic analysis	€m	Invested portfolio %	Private Equity %	Derived Investments %
North America		45%	42%	53%
Europe		32%	41%	13%
United Kingdom		8%	5%	14%
Israel		3%	5%	0%
India		6%	4%	9%
China		5%	2%	11%
Rest of World		1%	1%	0%
Total	861.3	100%	100%	100%

Summary of top 30 investments in Private Equity and Derived Investments	Valuation €m	NAV %
Top 30 Private Equity portfolio (look-through basis) - AGA's indirect exposure
Azelis	57.9	7%
Assured Partners	50.3	6%
Exact	34.0	4%
GlobalLogic	32.2	4%
Engineering	30.4	3%
Unilabs	29.0	3%
Idealista	27.8	3%
EVRY	23.6	3%
Wehkamp	20.2	2%
Vyaire Medical	19.3	2%
ThoughtWorks	19.2	2%
Cole Haan	18.8	2%
NuPharm	17.7	2%
Duck Creek Technologies	16.2	2%
MATCHESFASHION.COM	15.9	2%
Acelity	15.8	2%
Quality Distribution	15.4	2%
Shriram City Union	14.8	2%
Safetykleen	13.2	1%
Syneron Candela	10.0	1%
ECi	9.4	1%
Guotai Junan Securities	8.1	1%
Psagot	7.8	1%
Tivit	7.7	1%
Tosca	7.0	1%
One Call	6.8	1%
Attenti	6.7	1%
Boats Group	6.6	1%
Zensar Technologies	6.6	1%
Kepro	6.2	1%
Other (Other investments, carried interest, facility & NCA's)	17.9	2%
Total Private Equity	572.5	65%
Derived Investments portfolio
KRKA	20.0	2%
Syncsort	20.0	2%
Vipshop	17.3	2%
Quality Distribution	16.2	2%
Aptos	15.8	2%
Sinopharm Group	14.4	2%
ECi	12.2	1%
Sophos	11.7	1%
Rentpath	11.6	1%
Safetykleen	11.2	1%
Greencore	11.0	1%
Strides Shasun	10.9	1%
Development Credit Bank	9.3	1%
Dignity	9.3	1%
Repco Home Finance	9.3	1%
Civitas Solutions	9.3	1%
Mitie	8.8	1%
FullBeauty	8.6	1%
Vertafore	8.3	1%
Legal Zoom	8.3	1%
PDC Brands	8.2	1%
Advantage Sales & Marketing	7.9	1%
TAKE Solutions	6.1	1%
Genex	6.0	1%
Answers	5.9	1%
EVRY	3.8	0%
Rue21	3.8	0%
Cengage Learning	2.5	0%
Banca Farmafactoring	1.1	0%
Total Derived Investments	288.8	32%
Total Investments	861.3	97%
Cash	17.8	2%
Net current assets	4.2	1%
Total NAV	883.3	100%
Performance fee reserve	-
Total Adjusted NAV	883.3

For more information, the Company's quarterly results presentation is available to view at: www.apaxglobalalpha.com 

Apax Funds valuations as at 31 March 2018

AGA is pleased to announce it has received the Apax Funds' valuations as at 31 March 2018. These valuations are set out below at an individual fund level (net of relevant fees and carried interest estimates). AGA holds exposures to the Apax Funds via various individual holdings which also have different fee structures.

Details on the composition and valuation of the AGA portfolio as at 31 March 2018 are set out above and in AGA's 1Q 2018 quarterly results. These differ to those shown in the table below due to the various holding structures through which AGA invests.

Valuations for the Apax Funds to which AGA has an exposure to, have reported the following movements for the period from 31 December 2017 to 31 March 2018:

	Valuation at 31 December 2017(9)	Capital Calls	(Distributions)	Unrealised Gain / (Loss)	Valuation at 31 March 2018(9)	Like-for-like % change(10)
Apax Europe VI €m	789	-	-	(27)	762	-3%
Apax Europe VII €m	2,675	-	(209)	(288)	2,178	-11%
Apax VIII €m	3,028	-	(39)	4	2,993	0%
Apax VIII $m	4,325	-	(56)	101	4,370	2%
AMI $m	295	-	(7)	11	299	4%
Apax IX EUR €m	1,036	(41)	(10)	(15)	970	-2%
Apax IX USD $m	3,385	(133)	(34)	33	3,251	1%
Apax Digital $m	(15)	-	-	3	(12)	NM11

Footnotes

1.    Invested portfolio excludes cash and cash equivalents and net current assets, including these the NAV is €883.3m. Adjusted NAV excludes the estimated performance fee of €Nil and is €883.3m at 31 March 2018

2.    At March 2018 and December 2017 nine investments were respectively excluded as they were financial services companies often valued on book value, growth investments where EBITDA multiples are not relevant or for which clean earnings financials are not available e.g. complex carve-outs, recent acquisitions or write-offs

3.    Wizeline acquisition closed in March 2018 and Genex sale closed in March 2018

4.    Gross IRR on fully exited Derived Investments in 1Q18 (Genex, Misys, Riemser, Altair, China Cinda Asset Management and Talend)

5.    GAV weighted average of the respective metric across the Derived Investments Debt portfolio

6.    GAV weighted average of the respective metric across the Derived Investments Equity portfolio. (Cengage, Answers and Rue21 have been excluded from the analysis above)

7.    GAV weighted average of the current full year income (annual coupon/clean price as at the respective date) for each debt position in the Derived Debt portfolio as at the respective date

8.    There was one new investments in Derived Debt (Genex), whereas there were four new Derived Equity investments (Civitas, Dignity, Greencore and Mitie) and one Derived Equity add-on position (Repco Home Finance)

9.    Where relevant, the valuations are expressed net of any estimated carried interest payable should the funds hypothetically be liquidated as at 31 March 2018 or 31 December 2017

10.  The like for like change represents the change in valuation from the prior to the current reporting date, adjusting for changes due to calls and distributions. Any calls made during the period are added to the prior valuation and distributions are added back to the current valuation

11.  NM as Apax Digital has drawn down on the capital call facility as a bridge to the first capital call for fund costs and investments in the fund.

Contact details

Investor enquiries Media enquiries Sarah Wojcik IR Manager - AGA Andrew Kenny Head of Communications Telephone: [phone] Telephone: [phone] Email: [e-mail] Email: [e-mail]

Notes

1.    Note that references in this announcement to Apax Global Alpha Limited have been abbreviated to "AGA" or "the Company". References to Apax Partners LLP have been abbreviated to "Apax Partners" or "the Investment Adviser"

2.    Please be advised that this announcement may contain inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) NO. 596/2014 ("MAR")

3.    This announcement is not for release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, into or within the United States or to "US persons" (as defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act")) or into or within Australia, Canada, South Africa or Japan. Recipients of this announcement in jurisdictions outside the UK should inform themselves about and observe any applicable legal requirements in their jurisdictions. In particular, the distribution of the announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions

4.    The information presented herein is not an offer for sale within the United States of any equity shares or other securities of Apax Global Alpha Limited ("AGA"). AGA has not been and will not be registered under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Company Act"). In addition, AGA's shares (the "Shares") have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States. Consequently, the Shares may not be offered or sold or otherwise transferred within the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, US Persons, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and under circumstances which will not require AGA to register under the Investment Company Act. No public offering of the Shares is being made in the United States

5.    This announcement may include forward-looking statements. The words "expect", "anticipate", "intends", "plan", "estimate", "aim", "forecast", "project" and similar expressions (or their negative) identify certain of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding AGA's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, AGA's results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth and strategies. The forward-looking statements in this presentation are based on numerous assumptions regarding AGA's present and future business strategies and the environment in which AGA will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of AGA to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond AGA's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behaviour of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other factors such as AGA's ability to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs, changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which AGA operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions. Past performance should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of future results, and no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made regarding future performance. AGA expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect any change in AGA's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based after the date of this announcement, or to update or to keep current any other information contained in this announcement. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement

About Apax Global Alpha Limited

AGA is a Guernsey registered closed-ended collective investment scheme incorporated as a non-cellular company that listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15 June 2015. It is regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

AGA's objective is to provide shareholders with capital appreciation from its investment portfolio and regular dividends. The Company is targeting an annualised Total Return, across economic cycles, of 12-15% (net of fees and expenses) including a dividend yield of 5% of Net Asset Value.

The investment policy of the Company is to make Private Equity investments in Apax Funds, and Derived Investments which are investments in equities and debt derived from the insights gained via Apax Partners' Private Equity activities. The Company's portfolio is expected to be allocated in approximately equal proportions between Private Equity and Derived Investments, although the investment mix will fluctuate over time due to market conditions, investment opportunities, cash flow requirements, the dividend policy and other factors. Further information regarding the Company and its publications are available on the Company's website at www.apaxglobalalpha.com.

About Apax Partners LLP

Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm and over its more than 35-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of over €42billion as at 31 March 2018. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long‐term equity financing to build and strengthen world‐class companies. For further information about Apax Partners, please visit www.apax.com.

Apax Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

 

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