TVC Holdings plc Preliminary Financial Results for the year ended 31 March 2011

corporate news

TVC Holdings plc (“TVC” or the “Company”), the investment holding company, today (Wednesday, 18 May 2011) announces its Preliminary Financial Results for the year ended 31 March 2011. 

Key Performance Highlights:

• Strong gross portfolio return attributable to equity shareholders of €13.7 million in the year to 31 March 2011, driven by the gain realised on the sale of Norkom and the increase in value of the Company’s investment in UTV.
   
• Profit before tax attributable to equity shareholders of €11.6 million.
   
• Sale of investment in Norkom in March 2011, as part of its acquisition by BAE Systems (Holdings) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems plc.  TVC realised cash proceeds of €41.6 million representing a gain of €10.9 million, a 1.4 times return on the valuation of TVC’s investment at 31 March 2010 and a return of 2.8 times original cost. 
   
• Sale of investment in APT Licensing Limited in July 2010 realising proceeds of up to €1.2 million (net of non-controlling interest) which, when combined with the proceeds received from the sale of APT’s hardware division in 2009, represented a 1.5 times total return on the carrying value prior to disposal.
   
• 13% increase in equity value per share (shareholders’ equity of €106.0 million and 101.1 million shares in issue) from €0.93 at 31 March 2010 to €1.05 at 31 March 2011. 
   
• Net assets at 31 March 2011 of €106.0 million mainly comprised of cash at bank and government bonds of €72.0 million (68%), quoted equity investments of €24.8 million (23%) and unquoted investments of €9.2 million (9%).  TVC has no debt.
   
• During the year, TVC’s main focus was on optimising the value of the existing portfolio as well as positioning the business to take further advantage of opportunities as they arise.

 Commenting on the year end Financial Results, TVC Holdings’ Executive Chairman, Shane Reihill, said:

“We are pleased with our performance for the year during which we have continued to work actively with our core portfolio investments to maximise their value.  This was shown by the successful sales of Norkom and APT, generating proceeds of €42.8 million, which contributed to a gross portfolio return attributable to equity shareholders of €13.7 million.    

“The Company had net assets of €106 million and no debt at 31 March 2011.  TVC’s cash plus its quoted investment in UTV represent 91% of our net asset value at 31 March 2011.  Four unquoted investments represent most of the remaining 9% of our net asset value at 31 March 2011. 

“We believe that there will be significant restructuring opportunities in Ireland and the UK where trading companies with excessive debt will need to raise new equity at attractive terms for new investors.  TVC’s management has extensive experience of complex turnaround transactions.  We expect the number of restructuring opportunities to increase over the next 12 months, particularly as banks focus on resolving problems within their corporate portfolios.

“With cash and government bonds increased to €72 million, we believe that TVC is in a strong position to make additional long term investments at what we expect to be attractive valuations, adding further value to our investment portfolio.  We also believe that, given this significant cash balance, the Company is in a very strong position to continue to deliver on its strategy and maximise value for all our shareholders”.