Frontier IP Group (AIM:FIPP ) said it has seen a surge in value in its investment portfolio while group profit has soared its FY20 results for the year ended 30 June 2020 following a year of ‘strong commercial and technical progress’ despite the ongoing pandemic.
The investment company reported that the fair value of its portfolio had increased by 47% to £19.3m (FY19: £13.25) while net assets per share by period end rose to 51p (FY19: 41.4p).
Profit before tax soared by 78% to £4.184m (FT19: £2.35m) while total revenue and other operating income increased by 49% to £6.37m (FY19: £4.26m) reflecting a net unrealised profit on the revaluation of investments of £5.973m (FY19: £3.85) throughout the period.
Frontier’s cash balances rose during the year by £1.502m to £2.968m at 30 June 2020.
The company said it had made ‘strong progress’ during FY20 despite the impact of COVID-19 in the final quarter, with several portfolio companies now at inflection points following ‘significant technical and commercial advances’ made by a number of portfolio companies.
Post period end, the group raised £2.3m via an oversubscribed placing and PrimaryBid retail offer to provide ‘firepower and nimbleness through additional investment’ in the Group and enable increased capacity for bridge financing and direct investment in portfolio companies.
Frontier said several portfolio groups have completed ‘much hard toil in developing and validating their technologies’ and are poised to see commercialisation materially accelerate.
Shares in Frontier IP Group have traded strongly within a range of 62p and 67p over the past month to open 3.08% higher this morning at 67p following the announcement.
Amongst these is Exscientia whose artificial intelligence underpinned the first AI-designed drug to enter human clinical trials in partnership with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. Total milestone and other payments potentially due to Exscientia come to more than £500m.
Other successes include the significant progress made by technology company Pulsiv Solar which the group noted is now being paid by a major multinational to incorporate its technology to improve the energy efficiency of power converters into a new product line.
Post period end developments also include portfolio group, Fieldwork Robotics, entering into a collaboration with Bosch, Celerum supporting PlanSea Solutions, and AquaInSilico working with a leading European environmental, water and waste management group.
Outlook
The company believes that its portfolio as a whole is ‘strongly placed’ despite the uncertainties resulting from the virus - and as it explains in our governance statements, its companies are ‘playing their part in tackling some of the most pressing issues of the day.’
"Our team at Frontier IP is strong, and we strengthened it further with several key appointments during the year. I would like to thank our team for an excellent performance in very difficult circumstances,” stated Andrew Richmond, Chairman of Frontier IP Group.
He added, “It has also been a particularly tough environment for our partners and I would like to express my gratitude to our key stakeholders for their resilience and for their support in growing our portfolio, which I am sure will continue to develop and thrive in the years ahead."
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