REG - Calculus VCT - Half-year Report

Calculus VCTAnnouncement

13/11/2023 17:00

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RNS Number : 2859T  Calculus VCT PLC  13 November 2023

Calculus VCT Plc  (the 'Company')

Interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2023 (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      12 months to      6 months to

31-Aug-23
28-Feb-23
31-Aug-22
                                    pence            pence             pence
 Opening net asset value            65.63            67.90             67.90
 Capital (loss)/gain                (1.04)           1.69              0.65
 Revenue return                     0.11             (0.39)            (0.27)
 Total return(1)                    (0.93)           1.30              0.38
 Dividends paid                     (2.95)           (3.06)            (3.06)
 Impact of share capital movements  (0.20)           (0.61)            (0.31)
 Closing net asset value            61.55            65.53             64.91

 

(( 1 )) Total return per share is a non-GAAP Alternative Performance Measure
("APM"). It is taken from the Income Statement 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.

 

 Total Shareholder value                    Ordinary shares (pence per share)
 Total dividends paid to 31 August 2023(2)  23.88
 Net asset value on 31 August 2023          61.55
 Total shareholder value to 31 August 2023  85.43

(2) total dividends paid include cumulative dividends paid since 2017

 

Total return by shareholder cohort

 

 Investors by calendar year   Issue price (p)*                             NAV at 31 August 2023 (p)              Cumulative dividends paid (p)  Total return**  Total return on net investment ***
 2017 subscription                                      95.7               61.55                                  23.88                          0.89x           1.28x
 2018 subscription                                      84.7               61.55                                  19.63                          0.96x           1.37x
 2019 subscription                                      76.3                                       61.55          15.63                          1.01x           1.44x
 2020 subscription                                      65.2               61.55                                  12.23                          1.13x           1.62x
 2021 subscription                                      65.4               61.55                                  9.03                           1.08x           1.54x
 2022 subscription                                      65.7               61.55                                  6.01                           1.03x           1.47x
 2023 subscription (current)                            64.9               61.55                                  2.95                           0.99x           1.42x

 

 

*     Weighted average in respect of each year

**   Total Return is equal to the sum of NAV at 31 August 2023 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
2023 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
2023.

 

Performance summary

 

 

The NAV at the period end was 61.55 pence per share, which, after paying the
2.95 pence dividend in August 2023, represents a decrease of 1.7% since the
year end. Despite the small NAV decrease, the Board is pleased with the
performance of the Company's portfolio and the positive uplifts in the
valuations of some of the portfolio companies. A number of positive movements
in the qualifying portfolio derived from the company's quoted holdings, such
as Destiny Pharma and C4X Discovery, have increased the NAV by £0.3m.

 

Another strong performer for the company has been Open Energy Market Limited
which has added £0.1m to the NAV in the period to 31 August 2023. In May
2023, Open Energy Market launched ground-breaking proprietary platform, True,
which unites an organisation's real energy procurement costs and Net Zero
strategies in one platform.

 

Some of the AIM quoted holdings have been affected by the volatile economic
climate, such as Scancell plc, losing £0.2m of value from the NAV since the
year end despite promising early indications from its two clinical trials in
progress. Positive further announcements should be beneficial for the share
price. In the one-month period to 30 September 2023 following the half
year-end, Scancell received a £0.2m uplift in NAV, restoring the AIM listed
price back to year-end levels.

 

Similarly, Arecor Therapeutics is another AIM-listed company which suffered a
£0.2m reduction in their NAV in the period. In August 2023, despite Arecor
announcing its collaboration and signed agreement with a top 10 pharmaceutical
company to develop an enhanced antibody formulation, the turbulent market has
meant that the news did not result in an increase in share price.

 

The entertainment industry has been adversely affected by the lengthy US
writers' (WGA) and actors' (SAG-AFTRA) strikes, both now settled, which led to
a global slowdown in commissioning, development and production; thus between
both Brouhaha Entertainment Limited and Raindog Films Limited, there has been
a £0.3m reduction in the NAV. The settlement of both strikes now enables
delayed projects to move forward.

In the 6-month period following the year-end, the company invested £3.0m into
liquidity funds. This provides the company with a steady and stable return
from these investments whilst ensuring ready access to cash for future
investments.

 

In the period to 31 August 2023, four follow-on investments were made on
behalf of the qualifying portfolio and three follow-on investments were made
on behalf of the non-qualifying portfolio:

 

 

Follow-on Investments

 

 

 Date of Investment  Name of Investment                    Location          Sector         Amount of Investment  Percentage of ownership by VCT  Percentage of ownership controlled by the Manager
 March - June 2023   WheelRight Limited                    Kent, UK          Industrials    £1,062,000            1.90%                           42.70%
 Mar-23              Quai Administration Services Limited  Peterborough, UK  Technology     £250,000              1.80%                           42.20%
 Mar-23              Blu Wireless Technology Limited       Bristol, UK       Technology     £350,000              1.30%                           11.60%
 Aug-23              Riff Raff Entertainment               London, UK        Entertainment  £450,000              16.00%                          27.80%

Buybacks

 

During the period, the Company bought back and cancelled 334,652 Ordinary
shares. The Company continues to review opportunities to carry out share
buybacks at a discount of no greater than 5% to NAV.

 

Since the period end, the Company has bought back and cancelled a further
1,124,473 shares.

 

 

Change of accounting reference date

 

In June 2023, the Board changed the accounting reference date of the Company
to achieve greater operational efficiency. The accounting reference date
changed from 28 February to 31 March.

 

Accordingly, the Company will look to report as follows:

·     Unaudited half-yearly results for the six-month period ending 31
August 2023 and

·     Audited results for the 13 months ending 31 March 2024

 

 

Dividends

 

As mentioned above, a dividend was paid on 25 August 2023 of 2.95 pence per
eligible Ordinary share. It is expected that, subject to shareholder approval,
the next dividend will be paid in August 2024.

 

Board composition

 

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

 

Appointment of new auditor

 

Following a formal selection process, the Board appointed Moore Kingston Smith
as its new independent auditor in September 2023. The Company elected to
change auditors as it sought a firm more suited to the size of the Company.
The re-appointment of Moore Kingston Smith for the financial year ending 31
March 2025 will be subject to approval by shareholders at the next Annual
General Meeting of the Company to be held in August 2024.

 

Ordinary share issue

 

The offer for subscription for Ordinary Shares that opened on 21 September
2022 and closed on 25 August 2023 received aggregate subscriptions from the
issue of Ordinary shares of £7.3 million. On 22 September 2023 a new
prospectus was launched for a further offer for subscription for Ordinary
Shares, with the shares to be issued in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 tax years.

 

 

Developments since the period end

As mentioned above. since the period end the Company has made a follow-on
investment of £250,000 in WheelRight Limited to support the continued
development of its operations.

Since the period end, the company has invested £744,000 in a new company
called Laverock Therapeutics as part of £10m investment round. Laverock's
platform is engineering the next generation of programmable cell therapies,
which has the potential to halt and reverse disease, restore damaged organs or
even cure life threatening conditions.

 

In October 2023, the company invested £300,000 in Quai Administration
Services Limited as part of a larger investment round.. Quai provides platform
technology combined with back-office administration services for the
high-volume personal savings industry. Quai received its FCA authorisation in
late 2021 which has proven to be a significant milestone, leading to a
material increase in the rate of growth.

 

Markets in the UK and globally are undergoing a period of uncertainty with
geopolitical factors and rising interest rates weighing upon sentiment. The
portfolio's predominant exposure to B2B technology, healthcare, life sciences
and the entertainment sectors is likely to provide some protection against the
impact of adverse political and economic factors. In September 2023,
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said "the UK is strongest in the sectors that will grow
fastest in the 21st century - technology, film and television and life
sciences". We continue to work closely with companies in our portfolio and
maintain our cautious but optimistic outlook.

 

 

Jan Ward

Chairman

13 November 2023

 

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