B.P. Marsh (LON: BPM) paid £13.0m in dividends in the six months to the 31st of July, what the company calls a record, and still lifted net asset value to £372.2m. The AIM-listed investor takes minority stakes in small financial services intermediaries, mainly insurance. Profit before tax fell to £22.8m from £32.1m.
The shares were quoted at 684p at 8.46am today, up 2.5% from 667p, with an intraday high of 690p. The unaudited results were published at 7am.
The payout, 36.29p a share, equals 3.5% of net asset value (NAV, the value of the company’s assets after liabilities). It comprised a £2.5m interim, an £8.0m special dividend after the sale of SSRU, and a £2.5m final. The same half last year saw £8.0m paid.
Even after the dividends and £1.2m of share buy-backs, NAV rose £12.0m, or 3.4%, from £360.2m at the 31st of January. NAV per share reached 1,048.5p, against 956.1p a year earlier, and total shareholder return was 7.0%, down from 9.5%.
The cash came from £30.8m of portfolio receipts, including £9.6m from Paladin, US$12.1m from XPT and £2.5m from Amiga. The equity portfolio stood at £296.5m, against £273.8m.
Chief executive Daniel Topping described the half as one of converting value into cash.
The first half of the financial year saw us convert value built up across the portfolio into cash, delivering meaningful returns to shareholders while continuing to invest for future growth.
Daniel Topping, chief executive, B.P. Marsh
Reinvestment included £9.8m in new and follow-on equity and £18.1m in loans. B.P. Marsh raised its stake in Pantheon, its largest holding, to 41.0%, and agreed a deal for Dauntless, a marine hull underwriting agency, after the period end. Cash and treasury funds fell to £37.4m from £49.5m, with no debt.
Operating expenses rose to £8.2m from £4.9m, about 79% of the increase being a one-off £2.6m catch-up charge, according to the company. Net investment gains slipped to £24.0m from £31.3m, and basic earnings per share fell to 66.0p from 85.7p.
The board intends a minimum dividend of £7.0m for the year to the 31st of January 2028. A buy-back of up to £2.0m is under way, with 176,991 shares bought since the period end at an average of £6.68, the company’s figure.