Delivering meaningful growth
May 2, 2024 - After 5:45pm CET
Regulated information
Results as of March 31, 2024
Agile portfolio management resulting in
value crystallization on the listed portfolio and
further value creation from private assets and GBL Capital; Dividend per share payable in 2025 to be at least stable
- Value crystallization on the listed portfolio generating capital gains1 of €155m
- Ongoing value creation from private assets and GBL Capital totaling + €130m2
- NAV per share increase of + 4.4% to €118.613
- Liquidity profile of €3.7bn to seize attractive opportunities
- Dividend per share payable in 2025 to be at least stable at €2.754
Ian Gallienne, CEO of GBL, stated, "Our teams remained focused throughout the quarter on value creation and long-term growth. We seized market opportunities that resulted in capital gains from our listed portfolio. We also continued to develop our private and alternative asset activities, which generated €130m in value creation. Our balance sheet is strong, enabling us to pursue attractive opportunities and to already propose a dividend per share payable in 2025 of at least €2.754."
- In accordance with IFRS 9, capital gains (losses) do not impact GBL's consolidated net result
- Private assets for + €36m (see page 14) and GBL Capital for + €94m (see page 16)
- Based on 138,400,000 shares as of March 31, 2024, pro forma the cancellation of 8.3m treasury shares approved at GBL's Extraordinary General Meeting on May 2, 2024 and 146,700,000 shares as of December 31, 2023
-
Payable in FY 2025 for FY 2024; as is customary, exact amount to be communicated at the HY 2024 results publication and subject to approval at
GBL's General Shareholders' Meeting
1
Highlights Q1 2024
Listed assets: capital gains1 of €155m
Given the share price rebound of adidas (+ 12% in Q1 2024 and + 44% in FY 2023), GBL crystallized value on its investment through sales of a €258m stake in March 2024. These disposals generated a capital gain1 of €155m. GBL reduced its stake from 7.6% to 6.9% of the capital and remains the largest shareholder.
Private assets: ongoing value creation
Consolidated private assets posted solid double-digittop-line growth, up + 14% on a combined basis.
Consolidated private assets, performance Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2023 | |||
Affidea | Sanoptis2 | Canyon | |
Sales, €m | 249 | 169 | 173 |
Growth, % | 18% | 31% | - 2% |
Organic growth, % | 16%3 | 6% | - 2% |
Source: non-audited company reporting |
Total
591
14%
7%
The healthcare participations, for which sector consolidation is key to their growth strategies, reported significant organic growth, which was complemented by M&A. Continued strong operational performances generated an increase in fair value of + €31m4 for the consolidated private assets. The totality of GBL's private assets (including non-consolidated assets or assets accounted for using the equity method) recorded an increase of + €36m5.
GBL Capital: solid performance and contribution to cash earnings
GBL Capital created + €94m of value across the business. In addition, this activity contributed €37m to the group's cash earnings, a significant increase on the comparable period of the prior year.
Sienna Investment Managers: dynamic commercial synergies
Sienna Investment Managers generated dynamic commercial synergies, recording inflows of €2.1bn, and thereby increasing assets under management to over €36bn.
NAV per share increase
NAV per share increased to €115.87. Adjusted for 8.3m of share cancellations approved at GBL's Extraordinary General Meeting on May 2, 2024, NAV per share of €118.61 represents a + 4.4% increase compared to the published NAV per share at end 20236.
- In accordance with IFRS 9, capital gains (losses) do not impact GBL's consolidated net result
- Includes estimated annualization of closed clinic M&A and clinic M&A projects with signed SPAs at the end of the period, except for organic growth
- Like-for-likegrowth, pro forma for the pre-acquisition figures of acquisitions done in 2024, excluding impact of Covid-19 testing and one-offs
- Affidea (+ €22m), Sanoptis (+ €16m) and Canyon (- €7m)
- Affidea, Sanoptis and Canyon (+ €31m in total), Parques Reunidos (+ €0m) and Voodoo (+ €5m)
- €113.64 based on 146,700,000 shares as of December 31, 2023
2
Strong financial position to seize attractive opportunities
GBL's liquidity profile was €3.7bn as of March 31, 2024. The group's strong liquidity, low leverage and balanced debt maturity profile position GBL to seize attractive investment opportunities going forward.
Solid balance sheet enabling visibility on the dividend payable in 2025
GBL reiterates its commitment to a strong balance sheet as well as shareholder returns. Due to cash earnings and capital gains generated in Q1 2024, the group is confident in its ability to pay a dividend per share in 2025 of at least €2.751.
1 Payable in FY 2025 for FY 2024; as is customary, exact amount to be communicated at the HY 2024 results publication and subject to approval at
GBL's General Shareholders' Meeting
3
Net asset value
As of March 31, 2024, GBL's net asset value amounts to €17.0bn (€115.87 per share) compared to €16.7bn (€113.64 per share) at year-end 2023. Relative to the share price of €70.06, the discount as of end March 2024 stood at 39.5%.
March 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
% in | Stock | (€m) | Variation | % in | Stock | (€m) | ||||||||||||
capital | capital | price (€)1 | ||||||||||||||||
Listed assets | 11,350 | - 0% | 11,360 | ||||
SGS | 19.31 | 89.60 | 3,242 | + 14% | 19.31 | 78.34 | 2,835 |
Pernod Ricard | 6.73 | 149.95 | 2,580 | - 6% | 6.73 | 159.75 | 2,749 |
adidas | 6.91 | 207.00 | 2,576 | + 2% | 7.62 | 184.16 | 2,526 |
Imerys | 54.64 | 31.58 | 1,466 | + 11% | 54.64 | 28.48 | 1,322 |
Umicore | 15.92 | 20.00 | 784 | - 20% | 15.92 | 24.90 | 977 |
Concentrix | 13.38 | 61.25 | 5512 | - 32% | 13.17 | 88.88 | 8072 |
Ontex | 19.98 | 7.84 | 129 | + 3% | 19.98 | 7.61 | 125 |
TotalEnergies | 0.01 | 63.47 | 17 | + 3% | 0.01 | 61.60 | 16 |
GEA | 0.06 | 39.19 | 4 | + 4% | 0.06 | 37.69 | 4 |
Private assets | 3,103 | + 1% | 3,067 | ||
Affidea | 99.10 | 1,216 | + 2% | 99.15 | 1,195 |
Sanoptis | 83.34 | 845 | + 2% | 83.36 | 829 |
Canyon | 48.723 | 454 | - 1% | 48.653 | 460 |
Parques Reunidos | 23.00 | 296 | + 0% | 23.00 | 296 |
Voodoo | 15.57 | 292 | + 2% | 15.90 | 287 |
GBL Capital | 3,009 | + 2% | 2,951 | ||
Sienna Investment Managers4 | 113 | + 3% | 110 | ||
Portfolio | 17,575 | + 0% | 17,488 | ||
Treasury shares | 1,234 | + 2% | 1,206 | ||
Gross debt | (3,578) | - | (3,578) | ||
Concentrix note | 478 | + 0% | 476 | ||
Gross cash | 1,289 | + 19% | 1,080 | ||
Net asset value | 16,998 | + 2% | 16,671 | ||
Net asset value (€ p.s.)5 | 115.87 | + 2% | 113.64 | ||
Stock price (€ p.s.) | 70.06 | - 2% | 71.22 | ||
Discount | 39.5% | + 220 bps | 37.3% |
- Share price converted in € based on the ECB fixing of (i) 0.9766 CHF/€ as of March 31, 2024 and 0.9260 CHF/€ as of December 31, 2023 for SGS and (ii) 1.0811 USD/€ as of March 31, 2024 and 1.1050 USD/€ as of December 31, 2023 for Concentrix
- Including the market value of earn-out shares at March 31, 2024, i.e., €14m, and at December 31, 2023, i.e., €27m
- GBL's ownership in Canyon, excluding shares held by GBL Capital (additional indirect ownership of 1.34% as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023)
- Valued at the acquisition cost of the management companies less any impairment in value
- Based on 146,700,000 shares as of March 31, 2024 and as of December 31, 2023
4
Portfolio composition and investment strategy
Investment category | % of | Investment | Strategy | ||
portfolio | |||||
• Leading companies in their sector, with | • NAV growth | ||||
Listed | a clear and sustainable business model | • Diversification within this | |||
assets | • Majority or minority shareholdings | investment category | |||
with influence, enabling a position as a | • Cash flow generation to ensure | ||||
reference shareholder and an engaged | the GBL dividend | ||||
role in the governance | |||||
2012 | • Equity investments between | ||||
€250m and €2bn | |||||
START OF THE | |||||
PORTFOLIO | |||||
REBALANCING | |||||
• Leading companies in their sector, with | • NAV growth | ||||
a clear and sustainable business model | • Consolidation opportunities | ||||
Private | • Mainly majority shareholdings | • Attractive returns thanks to | |||
• Equity investments from | agile structures | ||||
assets | €250m and €2bn | • Less replicable portfolio | |||
2019 | |||||
START OF ACTIVITY | |||||
• Fund commitments and | • NAV growth | ||||
co-investments alongside funds | • Portfolio diversification | ||||
in which GBL is invested | • Downside protection | ||||
• Private equity funds typically, but also | • Meaningful contributor to | ||||
other strategies (e.g., private credit, | GBL's cash earnings | ||||
2013 | structured equity, secondaries, | ||||
value-add infrastructure) | |||||
START OF ACTIVITY | • Exposure to venture capital, growth | ||||
equity and hedge funds | |||||
(FORMERLY | • Commitments/investments of | ||||
SIENNA CAPITAL) | up to €50m, with flexibility to | ||||
invest higher amounts in | |||||
exceptional circumstances | |||||
• Platform for third-party asset | • Generation of recurring | ||||
management | revenues | ||||
• Over €36bn under management at the | • Regular fundraising across | ||||
end of March 2024 | strategies | ||||
• Synergy of expertises gathered | |||||
in a single platform | |||||
2021 | • Benefits from GBL's network | ||||
START OF ACTIVITY | |||||
5
Portfolio evolution
As of March 31, 2024, listed assets accounted for 65% of the portfolio, while private assets and GBL Capital represented 18% and 17%, respectively. The investment to establish Sienna Investment Managers, the core activity of which is third-party asset management (with more than €36bn in AuM at end March 2024), represents €113m, or less than 1% of GBL's NAV.
Total portfolio by asset category
€bn
25
20
15
10
5
0
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | |||
'18 | '19 | '20 | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Listed | Private | GBL Capital | Sienna Investment Managers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
GBL share
Given the discount of the share price to NAV (an average of 37.7% in Q1 2024), the group continued to take advantage of attractive market opportunities to buy back shares. Over the period, GBL acquired, directly and through its subsidiaries, 0.7m GBL shares, corresponding to 0.46% of the shares representing the capital as of March 31, 2024, for a total consideration of €47m. These buybacks were realized as part of the group's seventh share buyback envelope (the allocated amount of which is €500m).
6
Net debt and cash flow
Net debt decreased from €2.0bn as of December 31, 2023 to €1.8bn as of March 31, 2024. This decrease mainly reflects divestments and distributions of €402m and cash earnings of €149m, somewhat offset by adjustments of - €235m1 (part of which will be reversed in Q2 2024) and investments of - €105m (including share buybacks for - €47m).
€m | Gross cash and | Gross debt | Net debt | ||||||||
Concentrix note | |||||||||||
Position as of December 31, 2023 | 1,556.0 | (3,577.9) | (2,021.9) | ||||||||
Cash earnings | 148.7 | - | 148.7 | ||||||||
Investments | (104.6) | - | (104.6) | ||||||||
GBL (share buybacks) | (47.4) | - | (47.4) | ||||||||
GBL Capital | (38.7) | - | (38.7) | ||||||||
Sienna Investment Managers | (18.0) | - | (18.0) | ||||||||
Other | (0.6) | - | (0.6) | ||||||||
Divestments/Distributions | 402.0 | - | 402.0 | ||||||||
adidas | 258.2 | - | 258.2 | ||||||||
GBL Capital | 143.8 | - | 143.8 | ||||||||
Other | (235.2)1 | - | (235.2)1 | ||||||||
Position as of March 31, 2024 | 1,767.0 | (3,577.9) | (1,811.0) | ||||||||
of which gross cash | 1,289.4 | ||||||||||
of which Concentrix note | 477.5 |
The LTV2 stood at 10.1%. This compares to 11.4% at the end of December 2023.
Loan To Value
25% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
20% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
15% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
10% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
5% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
0% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q1 |
'18 | '19 | '20 | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 |
Target Range | Upper Limit | Loan To Value | ||
- Includes mainly (i) the SGS dividend approved by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on March 26, 2024 but paid in April 2024 (€126m), (ii) some fund distributions received by GBL Capital in Q1 2024, but upstreamed to GBL in April 2024 (€71m) and (iii) the elimination of the dividend received from GBL Capital presented both in cash earnings and distributions (€32m). Items (i) and (ii) will be reversed in Q2 2024
- Includes gross cash and Concentrix note
7
Balance sheet management
€m | March 31, 2024 | December 31, 2023 |
Institutional bonds | (2,500) | (2,500) |
Exchangeable bonds into Pernod Ricard shares | (500) | (500) |
Convertible bonds into GBL shares | (500) | (500) |
Other | (78) | (78) |
Gross debt | (3,578) | (3,578) |
Gross cash (excluding treasury shares) | 1,289 | 1,080 |
Concentrix note | 478 | 476 |
(Net debt)/Net cash | (1,811) | (2,022) |
The weighted average maturity of the gross debt is 3.8 years at the end of March 2024 (4.0 years at the end of December 2023).
The gross debt does not include the external investment commitments of GBL Capital, which total €749m at the end of March 2024 (€752m at the end of December 2023).
The Concentrix note entitles GBL to receive approximately €510m in cash on the second anniversary of the Closing (September 25, 2025) and is estimated at its present value for an amount of €478m at the end of March 2024 (€476m at the end of December 2023).
As of March 31, 2024, committed credit lines amount to €2,450m, fully undrawn, and mature over the 2027-2028 period.
The liquidity profile (gross cash and undrawn committed credit lines) amounts to €3,739m at the end of March 2024, compared to €3,530m at the end of December 2023.
Finally, as of March 31, 2024, the 17.6m treasury shares correspond to 12.0% of the shares representing the capital on this date and are valued at €1,234m.
8
Listed assets
Listed assets include stakes in SGS, Pernod Ricard, adidas, Imerys, Umicore and Concentrix, among others. As an engaged long-term investor, GBL seeks to invest in high-quality companies that are primarily investment grade and with a leading sector position. GBL contributes to value creation through its involvement in the key governance bodies of its portfolio companies. Listed assets represent 65% of GBL's portfolio at the end of March 2024.
NAV of Listed assets 3/31/2023
GEA 4% | Ontex 1% | |||
TotalEnergies 0% | ||||
Holcim 4% | ||||
Umicore 9% | Pernod Ricard 28% | |||
NAV of Listed assets 3/31/2024 | ||||
€13.0bn | Ontex 1% | TotalEnergies 0% | ||
Imerys 14% | ||||
Concentrix 5% | GEA 0% | |||
Umicore 7% | ||||
SGS 22% | SGS 29% | |||
adidas 17% | Imerys 13% | |||
NAV of Listed assets 12/31/2023 | €11.3bn | |||
TotalEnergies 0%
Ontex 1% | GEA 0% | adidas 23% | |
Concentrix 7% | |||
Umicore 9% | Pernod Ricard 23% | ||
SGS 25% | |||
Imerys 12% | €11.4bn | ||
adidas 22%
Highlights
Pernod Ricard 24%
- GBL crystallized value on its adidas shares through €258m of disposals in March 2024. These sales generated a capital gain1 of €155m. GBL reduced its stake from 7.6% to 6.9% of the capital and remains the largest shareholder
- GBL continues to support its portfolio companies. Operational progress continues to be made across the portfolio, with several companies having communicated positive expectations2 for FY 2024 and beyond:
o SGS: mid-term objectives include, among other elements, a significant improvement of at least 1.5% in adjusted operating income margin by 2027. In addition, the new CEO, who officially began in Q1 2024, has announced a streamlined Executive Committee to improve efficiency and effectiveness
- In accordance with IFRS 9, capital gains (losses) do not impact GBL's consolidated net result
- Please refer to company-specific publications for more detail
9
- Pernod Ricard: remains confident in its mid-term financial framework, aiming for the upper end of + 4% to + 7% organic net sales growth and + 50 to + 60 bps organic operating margin
improvement
- adidas: expects currency-neutral sales to grow at a mid- to high-single-digit rate in FY 2024
10
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Disclaimer
GBL - Groupe Bruxelles Lambert SA published this content on 02 May 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 02 May 2024 15:51:04 UTC.