Skip to content

3i Half-Year Return Falls to £1,618m as Second £750m Buyback Launches

3i Group's half-year total return fell to £1,618m from £3,291m, hit by a currency loss and slower gains at Action. Net asset value per share still rose, and a second £750m buyback follows.

Asktraders News Team Asktraders News Team
Add as a preferred source on Google
Stacks of white Action-branded reusable shopping bags with blue Action logos on display in a store

3i Group (LON: III), the investment company whose largest holding is discount retailer Action, reported a half-year total return of £1,618m today, against £3,291m a year earlier. That is 5% of opening shareholders’ funds, down from 13%, in results released at 7am.

III.LSE

Sterling strengthened 2% against the euro over the six months to the 30th of September, producing a £474m translation loss against a £771m gain a year earlier. Action’s gross investment return, its profit before 3i’s own costs, was £1,337m, or 6% of its opening value, compared with £2,847m.

Net asset value per share, assets minus liabilities per share, still rose to 3,154p from 3,030p at the 31st of March, an increase of 4.1%. That came after a 48.0p dividend was paid in July. A year earlier it stood at 2,857p.

Line chart showing 3i net asset value per share rising across three reporting dates
3i diluted net asset value per share, in pence, at period ends. Source: 3i Group half-year results.
Measure Six months to 30 Sep 2026 Six months to 30 Sep 2025
Total return £1,618m £3,291m
NAV per share 3,154p 2,857p
Net debt £1,307m £772m

Net debt of £1,307m compares with £547m at the 31st of March, more than double, and took gearing, net debt as a share of net assets, to 4% from 2%.

Action’s sales rose 14% and operating EBITDA, profit before depreciation and amortisation, rose 11% in the nine periods to the 27th of September, to €12,761m and €1,730m. Like-for-like sales growth, from existing stores only, was 3.4% in that span against 6.3% a year earlier, but reached 3.7% year to date by the 8th of November. Management guides to full-year like-for-like growth of about 4%.

3i raised its Action stake to 67.5% from 65.4%, paying £764m in 24.4m new shares priced at its 3,131p net asset value. Its first £750m buyback ends today, with about 29.5m shares bought for about £742m by yesterday. A second, also up to £750m, runs to the end of May.

The first dividend for the new financial year will be 42.25p, against 36.50p, payable on the 8th of January. Simon Borrows, Chief Executive of 3i Group, said of Action:

We regard Action as an exceptional business, distinguished by its strong and consistent growth, attractive store economics and continued opportunity for significant international expansion.

Simon Borrows, 3i Group

Asktraders News Team
Asktraders News Team
Team Member

The AskTraders Analyst Team features experts in technical and fundamental analysis, as well as traders specializing in stocks, forex, and cryptocurrency.

Stay ahead of the markets

Sign up to our free Morning Markets email, every weekday before the open.