REG - Calculus VCT - Half-year Report

Calculus VCTAnnouncement

18/10/2022 12:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20221018:nRSR2807Da&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 2807D  Calculus VCT PLC  18 October 2022

Calculus VCT Plc  (the 'Company')

Interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2022 (unaudited)

 

For the full half yearly unaudited financial report, please refer to the
Investor Information section on https://www.calculuscapital.com/calculus-vct/
(https://www.calculuscapital.com/calculus-vct/)

 

 

 Financial Highlights                    6 Months to      6 Months to      12 Months to

                                         31 August 2022   31 August 2021   28 February 2022
 Dividends paid per new Ordinary share   3.06p            3.02p            3.02p
 Total return per new Ordinary share 1   0.38p            0.54p            4.83p
 Net asset value per new Ordinary share  64.91p           64.01p           67.90p

 

As expected, following the dividend of 3.06 pence per share paid in July 2022,
the NAV was adjusted by the same margin. However, some positive performance in
the qualifying portfolio meant that there was some uplift to the NAV to 64.91
pence per share at the reporting date.

 

Total return by shareholder cohort

 

 Investors by calendar year   Issue price (p)*              NAV at 31 August 2022 (p)  Cumulative dividends paid (p)  Total return**  Total return on net investment ***
 2016 subscription                          102.7           64.91                      20.93                          0.84x           1.19x
 2017 subscription                            95.7          64.91                      16.33                          0.85x           1.21x
 2018 subscription                          84.7            64.91                      12.68                          0.92x           1.31x
 2019 subscription                            76.3          64.91                      11.34                          1.00x           1.43x
 2020 subscription                            65.2          64.91                      7.21                           1.11x           1.58x
 2021 subscription                            65.4          64.91                      6.08                           1.08x           1.55x
 2022 subscription (current)                  65.7          64.91                      4.18                           1.05x           1.50x

 

*     Weighted average in respect of each year

**   Total Return is equal to the sum of NAV at 31 August 2022 and
cumulative dividends received, divided by the average issue price

*** Total Return on net investment is equal to the sum of NAV at 31 August
2022 and cumulative dividends received, divided by the average issue price
less 30% tax relief

 

 

CHAIRMAN'S UPDATE

 

I am pleased to present your Company's results for the 6 months to 31 August
2022.

 

Performance summary

 

The war in Ukraine and resultant energy crisis have dominated the news in the
six months to 31 August 2022. The portfolio has managed to gain value in the
period despite these challenges, in part because the Company has few
investments in the most 'at risk' sectors such as industrials and
manufacturing.

 

The Company is pleased to announce the successful exit of Park Street Shipping
in the period. In October 2021, Park Street Shipping sold its only asset, the
MV Nordic London - a 2010 South Korean built, 35,000 deadweight Handysize
ship, providing an overall return of 1.8x. The sale of the ship was the
initial step of the exit process. In order to distribute the proceeds, the
company entered Member Voluntary Liquidation on 1st April 2022 and on 5 August
2022, shareholders including Calculus VCT received 92% of the proceeds with
the remainder being held by the liquidator until the liquidation has been
completed.

 

Despite the ongoing economic challenges, the Board is pleased with the
performance of the Company's portfolio and the positive uplifts in the
valuations of some portfolio companies. The most significant movement in the
qualifying portfolio on the upside was Wazoku which increased the NAV by
£0.3m. The company has shown strong growth and in September 2022 raised
£8.3m to develop its software and strengthen its team.

 

Another strong performer has been Oxford Biotherapeutics ("OBT") which has
added £0.3m of value to the NAV in the period to 31 August 2022. In June
2022, the company announced a multi-year collaboration with Immunogen,
receiving an upfront payment and is eligible to receive milestone payments and
tiered royalties.

 

Home Team Content, a UK-based independent production company enjoyed an uplift
in share value since February 2022, improving the NAV by £0.2m. The company
has been making strong progress on its slate and has a range of film and TV
projects at the pre-production stage.

 

The AIM quoted holdings have been affected by the economic climate,
collectively losing £0.6m of value from the NAV since the year end. It is our
view that this value will be regained when the global economic and political
situation stabilises and markets can recover.

 

Other than the quoted holdings, the only portfolio company to lose value in
the period was Arcis Biotechnology Holdings. The company has been facing
trading issues for some time and went into administration in August 2022.

 

In the period to 31 August 2022, four new investments and four follow-on
investments were made on behalf of the qualifying portfolio:

 

New Investments

 

 Date of Investment  Name of Investment               Sector         Amount of Investment  Percentage of ownership by VCT  Percentage of ownership controlled by the Manager
 March 2022          Destiny Pharma PLC               Biotech        £500,000              1.4%                            1.4%
 June 2022           Riff Raff Entertainment Limited  Entertainment  £424,000              9.3%                            22.0%
 June 2022           Notify Technology Limited        Technology     £628,100              8.7%                            25.8%
 August 2022         Optalitix Limited                Technology     £1,065,000            10.6%                           14.3%

 

 

Follow-on Investments

 

 Date of Investment  Name of Investment           Sector           Amount of Investment  Percentage of ownership by VCT  Percentage of ownership controlled by the Manager
 March 2022          Arcis Biotechnology Limited  Life science     £50,000               11.2%                           25.4%
 March 2022          Censo Biotechnologies Ltd    Pharma Services  £400,000              3.7%                            17.2%
 June 2022           Rota Geek Limited            Technology       £750,000              2.4%                            6.7%
 August 2022         Thanksbox Limited            Technology       £400,000              4.7%                            12.9%

 

We believe the portfolio is well positioned to continue to provide long term
growth to shareholders and that our Investment Manager is similarly positioned
to exploit these opportunities.

 

Further information can be found on new investee companies Destiny Pharma PLC,
Riff Raff Entertainment Limited, Notify Technology Limited and Optalitix
Limited in the Investment Manager's Report.

 

Buybacks

 

During the period, the Company bought back and cancelled 846,270 Ordinary
shares. The Company continues to review opportunities to carry out share
buybacks at a discount of no greater than 5% to NAV.

 

Dividends

 

As mentioned above, a dividend was paid on 31 July 2022 of 3.06 pence per
eligible Ordinary share.

 

Board composition

 

The board consist of four Directors, three of which are independent from the
Manager.

 

Ordinary share issue

 

The offer for subscription for Ordinary Shares that opened on 13 September
2021 and closed on 26 August 2022 received aggregate subscriptions from the
issue of Ordinary shares of £6.7 million. On 21 September 2022 a new
prospectus was launched for a further offer for subscription for Ordinary
Shares, with the shares to be issued in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 tax years.

 

I invested £5,000 under the offer that closed in August 2022 and had 7,077
shares allotted in June 2022. These shares were acquired on the same terms as
the shares subscribed for by other investors in the offer.

 

Developments since the period end

As mentioned above. since the period end the Company has made a follow on
investment of £300,000 in Wazoku to support the development of its software.

 

Future prospects

 

It is generally accepted that the UK is heading towards more challenging
markets however the Board is optimistic that the portfolio's predominant
exposure to B2B technology, healthcare, life sciences and entertainment
sectors will mean the Company is shielded to some extent. Your Board continues
to keep a watchful brief over developments and our Investment Manager is
working closely with our portfolio companies. We maintain our cautious but
optimistic outlook.

 

Jan Ward

Chairman, 18 October 2022

 1  Total return per share is a non-GAAP Alternative Performance Measure
("APM"). It is taken from the Income Statement on page 12 and is calculated by
taking the total profit or loss for the period and dividing by the weighted
average number of shares. This has been selected to provide better
understanding of the Company's performance over the period on a per share
basis.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  DOCGPGPCUUPPGUR