REG - Foresight Group Hldg - TRADING UPDATE - THREE MONTHS TO 31 DECEMBER 2023

Foresight groupAnnouncement

09/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0196Z  Foresight Group Holdings Limited  09 January 2024

LEI: 213800NNT42FFIZB1T09

9 January 2024

 

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UNLAWFUL

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2023

 

Diversified and resilient business model continues to deliver profitable
growth

 

Foresight Group Holdings Limited ("Foresight", the "Group"), a leading
infrastructure and private equity investment manager, is pleased to announce a
trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2023 ("Q3 FY24", "the
quarter", "the period").

 

Financial and Operational Highlights(1)

 

Profitability

 

 ●    Full year core EBITDA pre-Share Based Payments ("SBP") is on track to strongly
      outperform the prior year, in line with market expectations(2) and driven by:

      ○                                         Successful prior year and year-to-date fundraising into higher margin and
                                                longer tenure vehicles
      ○                                         Annualisation of FY23 acquisition activity
      ○                                         Maintenance of firm cost discipline in an inflationary environment
      ○                                         Performance fees from successful realisations, contributing £1.9 million in
                                                the quarter

 

AUM/FUM(3)

 

 ●    In the period, Assets under Management ("AUM") increased by 1% to £12.4
      billion and Funds under Management ("FUM") remained at £8.8 billion (H1 FY24:
      £12.2 billion AUM and £8.8 billion FUM)

      ○                                         On course to deliver record annual retail fundraising into higher margin
                                                vehicles, with Q3 FY24 inflows of £104 million driven by Foresight's in-house
                                                sales team
      ○                                         The private equity division raised £60 million of institutional funds in the
                                                period by expanding its footprint with the first close of two funds in Wales
                                                and Northern Ireland, as previously announced
      ○                                         Foresight Capital Management ("FCM") AUM decreased by £52 million during the
                                                period. This movement included net outflows of £124 million, as well as
                                                positive NAV performance of £72 million following early signs of an improving
                                                macroeconomic environment

 

Revenue

 

 ●    High quality revenue visibility maintained, with recurring revenue within our
      target range of 85-90%

 

Dividend

 

 ●    As previously announced and in line with our dividend policy, an interim
      dividend of 6.7 pence per share, a 46% uplift on the prior year (H1 FY23: 4.6
      pence), will be paid on 26 January 2024, with an ex-dividend date of 11
      January 2024 and a record date of 12 January 2024

 

Bernard Fairman, Executive Chairman of Foresight Group Holdings Limited,
commented:

 

"Foresight finished 2023 strongly, against the backdrop of a challenging
macroeconomic environment. During the period, we delivered robust inflows into
higher margin retail vehicles, successful institutional fundraising, and
profitable exits from our private equity business. Our pre marketing
discussions have also shown signs of improving sentiment in the institutional
infrastructure fundraising market.

 

As we enter 2024, we continue to believe that the energy transition is the
largest investment opportunity of our generation and remain confident that the
Group will continue to deliver against our strategic growth targets as our
three business divisions combine to extend our consistent track record of
profitable growth."

 

FY24 Announcement

 

The next scheduled market update for Foresight Group will be a FY24 trading
update in April 2024.

 

Notes:

   1.  Please note that all figures contained in this announcement are unaudited and
       subject to change.
   2.  As at 1 December 2023, the consensus estimate for FY24 core EBITDA pre-SBP was
       £59.3 million.
   3.  AUM and FUM movement:

 

 

                               Last 3 months          Last 9 months          Constant currency basis

 (£ billion)   31 Dec 2023     30 Sep 2023  Change %  31 Mar 2023  Change %  31 Dec 2023   Change %
 AUM           12.4            12.2         +1%       12.2         +2%       12.4          -1%
 FUM           8.8             8.8          -1%       9.0          -3%       8.8           0%

Percentage movements are calculated on underlying numbers.

 

 AUM (£ billion)   Q3 FY24  H1 FY24  Change %
 Infrastructure    10.0     9.8      +1%
 Private Equity    1.5      1.4      +4%
 FCM               0.9      1.0      -5%

 

                                                      Citigate Dewe Rogerson

 Foresight Group Investors
 Liz Scorer / Ben McGrory                             Caroline Merrell / Toby Moore
 +44 (0) 7966 966956 / +44 (0) 7443 821577            +44 (0) 7852 210329 / +44 (0) 7768 981763
 ir@foresightgroup.eu (mailto:ir@foresightgroup.eu)   caroline.merrell@citigatedewerogerson.com
                                                      (mailto:caroline.merrell@citigatedewerogerson.com) /
                                                      toby.moore@citigatedewerogerson.com
                                                      (mailto:toby.moore@citigatedewerogerson.com)

 

 

About Foresight Group Holdings Limited

Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading listed infrastructure and
private equity investment manager. With a long-established focus on ESG and
sustainability-led strategies, it aims to provide attractive returns to its
institutional and private investors from hard-to-access private markets.
Foresight manages over 400 infrastructure assets with a focus on solar and
onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling
projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core
infrastructure projects and sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity
team manages an extensive footprint of regionally focused investment funds
across the UK and Ireland. This team reviews over 3,000 business plans each
year and currently supports more than 250 investments in SMEs. Foresight
Capital Management manages four strategies across seven investment vehicles.

Foresight operates in eight countries across Europe, Australia and United
States with AUM of £12.4 billion*. Foresight Group Holdings Limited listed on
the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in February 2021 and is a
constituent of the FTSE250 index. https://www.foresightgroup.eu/shareholders
(https://www.foresightgroup.eu/shareholders)

*Based on unaudited AUM as at 31 December 2023.

 

Disclaimer - Forward-looking statements

This announcement, prepared by Foresight Group Holdings Limited (the
"Company"), may contain forward-looking statements about the Company. Such
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology, including the terms "believes", "projects", "estimates", "plans",
"anticipates", "targets", "aims", "continues", "expects", "intends", "hopes",
"may", "will", "would", "could" or "should" or, in each case, their negative
or other various or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which
are beyond the Company's control and are based on the Company's beliefs and
expectations about future events as of the date the statements are made. If
the assumptions on which the Company bases its forward-looking statements
change, actual results may differ from those expressed in such statements.
There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements, including those set out under "Principal Risks" in the Company's
annual report for the financial year ended 31 March 2023. The annual report
can be found on the Company's website (https://www.foresightgroup.eu/).
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as
required by applicable law and regulation, the Company undertakes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Nothing in this
announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

 

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