Caledonia Investments plc
Half-year results for the six months ended 30 September 2024
Financial highlights
| Six months ended 30th Sept 2024 | Year ended 31st March 2024 | |
| Net asset value per share total return1 | 0.5% | 7.4% |
| Net asset value per share | 5346p | 5369p |
| Net assets | £2,918m | £2,965m |
| Interim dividend per share | 19.69p | 18.93p |
- NAV total return, and investment and pool returns are Alternative performance measures.
Highlights
NAV total return of 0.5%
- NAV of £2,918m (5,346p per share) +0.5% NAV Total Return (‘NAVTR’)
- Overall performance impacted by foreign exchange headwinds of £104m, reducing NAVTR by 3.6% in the period:
- +7.0% return from Public Companies reflecting overall positive movement in global equity markets and careful stock selection.
- -2.8% return from Private Capital with good performance and positive returns from the majority of investee businesses offset by a reduction in the valuation of Cooke Optics, with the valuation reflecting continued uncertainty over the recovery of demand following the 2023 Hollywood actors and writers’ strikes.
- -2.4% return from Funds with continued positive performance from our North American holdings (+5.3% in local currency) and a small positive contribution from our Asia holdings (+0.8% in local currency).
Progressive dividend growth
- Final dividend of 51.47p per share paid to shareholders in August, marking the 57th consecutive year of progressive dividend payments.
- Interim dividend increased by 4.0% to 19.69p per share.
Robust balance sheet with increased liquidity, well positioned to take advantage of investment opportunities
- Net cash of £134.6m.
- New revolving credit facility of £325m, increased from £250m, providing total liquidity of £459.6m.
- £211.6m invested into new and existing investments, including the £55.0m Private Capital investment into Direct Tyre Management (‘DTM’) in August 2024. Proceeds of £162.1m were received from the portfolio including £19.0m from the sale of an Asian fund to the secondary market.
Share buybacks
- £26.3m allocated to share buybacks, with 746,963 of shares repurchased at an average discount of 34.8%, resulting in a 25.6p accretion to NAV per share. Cayzer family concert party hold 49.5% of shares versus a 49.9% cap.
- Circular released on 26 November 2024 seeking approval of an uncapped Rule 9 Waiver, allowing Caledonia to continue to buy back shares.
- Requires the majority of independent shareholders to approve at a General Meeting on 18 December 2024; Cayzer family concert party not permitted to vote on the resolution.
Performance track record to 30 September 2024
| 6 months % | 1 year % | 3 years % | 5 years % | 10 years % | |
| NAV total return | 0.5 | 4.1 | 25.5 | 60.5 | 150.4 |
| Annualised | |||||
| NAV total return | 4.1 | 7.9 | 9.9 | 9.6 | |
| Total shareholder return1 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 7.8 | |
| CPIH2 | 2.6 | 5.9 | 4.3 | 2.9 | |
| FTSE All Share total return | 13.4 | 7.4 | 5.7 | 6.3 | |
1. Alternative Performance Measure
2.Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (‘CPIH’)
Mat Masters, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“This period has shown the value of our diversified, global and long-term portfolio. While there was an impact from foreign exchange headwinds, overall our underlying investment portfolio performed well in the first six months of the year. This includes particularly strong returns from Public Companies, driven by excellent operational performance of businesses in the portfolio.
“I am encouraged by our strategic progress in the first half of the year, which included a £55m investment into DTM, an acquisition which typifies our strategy to invest in high-quality companies with strong cash generation and proven management teams. With a high quality portfolio underpinned by a strong balance sheet, we are well placed to continue to generate long term compounding real returns.
We continue to believe that the share price undervalues the high quality and diverse portfolio, our long-term track record and future prospects. The proposals announced today provide optionality for Caledonia to continue to buy back shares, further enhancing value for our shareholders.“