TIDMCLC
RNS Number : 0092Q
Calculus VCT PLC
25 October 2021
Calculus VCT Plc (the 'Company')
Interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2021
(unaudited)
For the full half yearly unaudited financial report, please
refer to the Investor Information section on
https://www.calculuscapital.com/calculus-vct/
Financial Highlights 6 Months to 6 Months 12 Months to
31 August 2021 to 28 February 2021
31 August
2020
====================== ================ =========== ==================
Dividends paid per
new Ordinary share 3.02p 3.20p 3.20p
---------------- ----------- ------------------
Total return per new
Ordinary share [1] 0.54p (2.29p) 0.98p
---------------- ----------- ------------------
Net asset value per
new Ordinary share 64.01p 64.27p 67.08p
---------------- ----------- ------------------
CHAIRMAN'S UPDATE
I am pleased to present your Company's results for the 6 months
to 31 August 2021.
Performance summary
The dominant story for investors has been the continued impact
of Brexit and the Covid-19 Delta variant which has spread more
widely in recent months, leading to further disruption in labour
markets and supply chains. However, the Company has been shielded
to a degree by a combination of holding a significant portion of
its assets in cash and through carefully selected investments which
have shown to be resilient against the ongoing pandemic.
The Company is pleased to announce the successful exits of three
life sciences companies in the period, in which all contributed
towards the fight against Covid-19.
The Company's remaining holding in Genedrive, a molecular
diagnostics company which developed the Genedrive 96 SARS-COV-2
Kit, was sold in March 2021. The total sale resulted in a 2.8x
return since its acquisition from the Neptune-Calculus Income and
Growth VCT plc in September 2017.
Open Orphan, a contract research organisation (CRO) was sold in
May 2021 for a total return of 1.8x. Open Orphan worked in
collaboration with US biotech Codagenix to conduct a Phase 1 study
of a needle free, intranasal Covid-19 vaccine, COVI-VAC.
In July 2021, the Company divested its holdings in Mologic
Limited, a world leading innovator in lateral flow and rapid
diagnostic technologies. The sale generated a 3.6x return for the
Company's investors since the initial investment in 2018 together
with repayment of loan notes and associated interest. In addition,
further consideration is payable in the event of strong sales of
certain Mologic products.
Despite the ongoing economic challenges, the Board is pleased
with the performance of the Company's portfolio and the positive
uplifts in the valuations of some portfolio companies. The most
significant movement in the qualifying portfolio on the upside was
Cloud Trade Technologies (CloudTrade) which increased the NAV by
GBP0.5m. CloudTrade's software automates invoice handling for large
enterprises, saving time, improving accuracy and reducing costs.
With the rise of robotic process automation (RPA) systems,
Cloudtrade's addressable market is expected to expand
significantly. The Company's shares in CloudTrade were sold after
the year end.
Home Team Content, a UK-based independent production company
enjoyed an uplift in share value since February 2021, improving the
NAV by GBP0.2m. Home Team Content was co-founded by experienced
producers, Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee, both of whom have
established reputations in the industry. Home Team will harness the
reputations of its two producers in identifying and working with
under-represented creatives and new voices through interactive as
well as traditional film and television platforms.
Arecor Therapeutics plc, a biopharmaceutical products company,
announced its admission to trading on AIM, a market operated by
London Stock Exchange on 3 June 2021. Admission followed a
successful oversubscribed placing by Panmure Gordon, raising gross
proceeds of GBP20 million at a price of 226 pence per share. The
Company decided to invest an additional GBP200,000 prior to the
company's successful IPO. Since then, the company has seen its
share value increase which resulted in strengthening the NAV by
GBP0.1m.
In April 2021, a follow-on investment of GBP50,000 was made in
Arcis Biotechnology Limited to help the company further develop
commercial opportunities.
Although several companies in the portfolio showed strong
growth, the Company also experienced a number of write-downs. The
merging of the Department for International Development (DFID) with
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) resulted in reduced
funding for international development projects, and as a result
Every 1 Mobile was written down in full. The impact was a GBP0.2m
reduction on the NAV.
C4X Discovery plc, a drug discovery and development company saw
its share price fall resulting in a decrease of GBP0.2m on the NAV.
The fall is a result of AIM listed market fluctuations and we
remain positive on the company.
During the period, Arcis Biotechnology's (a DNA and RNA
extraction company) portfolio did not transition into material
commercial opportunities. As a result, the Company has prudently
reduced the NAV by GBP0.2m. The Company continues to monitor Arcis
closely and will revalue the company on a
periodic basis when other commercial prospects arise.
In August 2021 the Company sold its holding in Cornerstone FS
Plc, a fintech company focusing on providing foreign exchange
trading services. Since April 2021, its share price had steadily
declined, and it was decided to sell the Company's holding.
The priority of the Board is to give support to the existing
portfolio where it is needed and appropriate, whilst also taking
advantage of new business ideas which are proving resilient to the
current pandemic.
In the period to 31 August 2021, four new investments and two
follow-on investments were made on behalf of the qualifying
portfolio:
New Investments
Date of Name of Investment Location Sector Amount Percentage Percentage
Investment of Investment of ownership of ownership
by VCT controlled
by the Manager
============= ====================== ============= ============ ================ ============== ================
March Edinburgh,
2021 Invizius Limited UK MedTech GBP375,000 3.3% 5.5%
============= ====================== ============= ============ ================ ============== ================
April Censo Biotechnologies Midlothian,
2021 Limited UK Healthcare GBP651,000 2.9% 15.6%
============= ====================== ============= ============ ================ ============== ================
June 2021 Spectral MD Texas, US MedTech GBP500,000 0.6% N/A
Holdings Limited
============= ====================== ============= ============ ================ ============== ================
Brouhaha
Entertainment London and
July 2021 Limited Sydney Media GBP501,000 11.31% 5.62%
============= ====================== ============= ============ ================ ============== ================
Follow-on Investments
Date of Name of Location Sector Amount Percentage Percentage
Investment Investment of Investment of ownership of ownership
by VCT controlled
by the Manager
============= ================ ================= ============== ================ ============== ================
Arcis
April Biotechnology Daresbury,
2021 Limited UK Life science GBP50,000 9.8% 18.9%
============= ================ ================= ============== ================ ============== ================
Arecor
Therapeutics Saffron Walden,
June 2021 Limited UK Healthcare GBP200,000 1.6% 7.2%
============= ================ ================= ============== ================ ============== ================
We believe the portfolio is well positioned to continue to
provide long term growth to shareholders and that our Investment
Manager is similarly positioned to exploit these opportunities.
Further information can be found on new investee companies
Invizius Limited, Censo Biotechnologies Limited, Spectral MD
Holdings Limited and Brouhaha Entertainment Limited in the
Investment Manager's Report.
Buybacks
During the period, the Company bought back and cancelled no
Ordinary shares. The Company continues to review opportunities to
carry out share buybacks at a discount of no greater than 5% to
NAV.
Dividends
As mentioned above, a dividend was paid on 30 July 2021 of 3.02
pence per eligible Ordinary share.
Board composition
The board consist of four Directors, three of which are
independent from the Manager.
Ordinary share issue
The offer for subscription for Ordinary Shares that opened on 8
September 2020 and closed on 27 August 2021 received aggregate
subscriptions from the issue of Ordinary shares of GBP7 million. On
13 September 2021 a new prospectus was launched for a further offer
for subscription for Ordinary Shares, with the shares to be issued
in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 tax years.
Claire Olsen invested GBP5,000 under the 2020/21-2021/22 offer
and had 7,812 shares allotted in September 2021. Claire's shares
were acquired on the same terms as the shares subscribed for by
other investors in the offer.
Developments since the period end
The Company is pleased to confirm a GBP138,000 follow-on
investment into Home Team Content, completed in October 2021.
As of October 2021, as mentioned above, CloudTrade was acquired
by Advance, one of the UK's leading providers of business and
software services. The sale represents a 4x return for the Company
since its investment from July 2018.
Future prospects
The pandemic continues to cause disruption in labour markets and
supply chains, which has resulted in some downgrading of immediate
growth prospects although, a full recovery is generally deemed to
be delayed rather than cancelled. Your Board continues to keep a
watchful brief over developments and our investment manager is
working closely with our portfolio companies. In terms of the main
focus of our current investment strategy, B2B technology,
healthcare, life sciences and media, all of these sectors have
shown robustness despite the economic climate and are all key
growth areas of the UK economy. We look forward with a combination
of caution and optimism.
Jan Ward
Chairman
25 October 2021
[1] Total return per share is a non-GAAP Alternative Performance
Measure ("APM"). It is taken from the Income Statement on page 12
of the Half Yearly Financial Report and is calculated by taking the
total profit or loss for the period and dividing by the weighted
average number of shares. This has been selected to provide better
understanding of the Company's performance over the period on a per
share basis.
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END
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