Ethos Capital has reported a 19.2% surge in its net asset value per share for the second half of 2024 with its share price climbing 43% in the same period.
The growth comes as SA’s economy begins to show signs of recovery, coupled with a reduction in load-shedding, which has improved business sentiment and market conditions, the group said on Wednesday.
Ethos Capital’s unlisted portfolio posted a 15% return, driven largely by the strong performance of Optasia, which grew revenue by 11% and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) by 24%. Other companies including Vertice, E4 and Primedia also contributed positively, helping to offset weaker performances in Echo and Kevro, the group said.
The listed portfolio, which makes up about 9% of the portfolio, grew 21%, it said.
Ethos Capital said it had made progress in reducing debt, more than halving it from R522m to R223m.
The group generated R492m in proceeds from asset sales, including Synerlytic and Adumo, and partial sales of Brait exchangeable bonds. Part of these funds were used to buy back 4.1-million shares, with the rest used to reduce debt.
The company said it would continue to focus on realising value from its investments and returning capital to shareholders, as part of its strategy announced in late 2023.
“A key contributor to the strong performance over the past six months was the earnings growth from the underlying portfolio. This growth is a result of the hard work and dedication of our portfolio and private equity managers over several years,” CEO Anthonie de Beer said.
“The narrowing market capitalisation discount to NAV reflects the enhanced confidence from our shareholders,” he said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.