TVC Holdings increases value of portfolio by 24%

TVC HOLDINGS increased the value of its portfolio by 24 per cent in its last financial year, and reported a gross return of €10.7 million.

The return was mainly attributed to a rise in the value of its stake in UTV Media, a revaluation of an unquoted investment and the disposal of its interest in OpSource.

In the year ended March 31st, 2012, the investment firm said the value of its investment portfolio was €8.1 million higher, with its UTV investment rising by €5.1 million, and a mark-up of €3 million on its unquoted portfolio. Pre-tax profit for the year was €9.2 million, while operating expenses fell by 14 per cent to €2.4 million.

The company sold its investment in OpSource in June last year for €1.3 million as part of its acquisition by NTT Holdings subsidiary Dimension Data.

At the end of the financial year TVC had net assets of €115 million, the majority of which was cash and government bonds, and no debt. Quoted equity investments make up 26 per cent of the firm’s assets, with unquoted investments of €12.2 million accounting for 11 per cent.

TVC said that although it had evaluated a number of investment opportunities during the year it did not make any new investments and was sticking with its more patient approach.

“We’ve seen very low levels of activity,” executive chairman Shane Reihill said. “We have stated in the past that we will wait for the right opportunities.”

The investment firm is sitting on a cash pile of some €72 million, divided between AA-rated Rabobank and government bonds.

“That’s been a consistent policy of ours because we’ve taken the view that we believed it would be a deflationary environment over the last three years,” said Mr Reihill.

“That view has not changed. There is a big difference between the asking price of assets controlled by the banks, which are the type of transactions we are looking to invest in, and the price at which buyers are prepared to buy. That has not been breached, which is why you are seeing so little corporate activity.”

Bloxham Stockbrokers said opportunities in Ireland and the UK had been slow to emerge, but noted the group’s favourable position should the pipeline of deals improve.