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11 Mar 2022
FY 21 results: solid portfolio performance

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FY 21 results: solid portfolio performance
- Published:
11 Mar 2022 -
Author:
Lahmidi Mourad ML -
Pages:
8 -
Good cash earnings growth
GBL posted FY 2021 cash earnings of EUR474m, up 8% thanks to a sharp increase in Sienna Capital interest income, well contained holding costs and good yield enhancement activity, while dividends received from participations were slightly up. Sienna Capital contribution was said to be likely to continue to increase in the coming years.
NAV continues to show above average discount
NAV at end of December stood at EUR144/s up 10% YOY and +3% vs. end of Q3 21, mostly driven by value uplift at private assets (now accounting for notably Webhelp, on the back of earnings growth and re-rating) and Sienna Capital (thanks to fund revaluation). This shows a 32% discount to NAV compared to 25% for the historical average. The direct impact from the current context was said to be limited owing to low exposure of portfolio companies to Russia / Ukraine. The group indicated that it should continue buying back and cancelling shares (one third of the EUR500m program was executed) as long as NAV discount stays elevated.
Room for further capital deployment - TP adjusted to EUR103
We have left our cash earnings estimates unchanged. With LTV of 4.3% (down from 7.3% last year) and liquidity of EUR4.4bn, management indicated that current market conditions would create opportunities to further build up the portfolio on both private and listed assets. Our Spot NAV in figure 1 points to EUR137, showing 35% discount. We have revised our valuation (based on a return to the NAV discount its historical average of 25%) to take into account the recent correction in equity markets. We maintain our Outperform.