2015-07-16 13:45:00 CEST
2015-07-16 13:45:03 CEST
REGULATED INFORMATION
Norvestia - Interim report (Q1 and Q3)
INTERIM REPORT OF NORVESTIA FOR JANUARY–JUNE 2015
Helsinki, Finland, 2015-07-16 13:45 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Norvestia Oyj Interim Report 16 July 2015 at 14:45
INTERIM REPORT OF NORVESTIA FOR JANUARY-JUNE 2015
In January-June 2015, the result of the Group amounted to EUR 10.9 million (EUR
5.8 million in the same period previous year).
Earnings per share were EUR 0.71 (0.38).
Trading gains were EUR 13.4 million (6.7).
Net Asset Value (dividend-adjusted) increased during the period by 8.0% (4.0%).
Amended Net Asset Value (dividend-adjusted) increased during the period by 7.7%
(3.9%).
In April 2015 EUR 0.30 per share was distributed as dividend (0.35).
CAPMAN NORVESTIA'S LARGEST SHAREHOLDER
On 12 May 2015 the Finnish private equity fund management Group CapMan bought
21.7% of Norvestia Oyj's shares from Kaupthing hf. As a result of the
transaction Norvestia became an associated company of CapMan Group whose parent
company CapMan Plc is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information on CapMan
Group can be found at www.capman.fi.
Additionally CapMan and Kaupthing have agreed that in the second phase of the
transaction, to be completed around October 2015, CapMan has the right, and at
Kaupthing's demand an obligation, to buy 7.0% of Norvestia's shares from
Kaupthing at a predetermined price. After the second phase of the transaction
and as a result of the combination of the share classes CapMan will own 28.7%
and Kaupthing 4.0% of Norvestia's shares and votes.
CapMan and Kaupthing requested Norvestia convene an Extraordinary General
Meeting to decide upon a combination of share classes and the composition of
the Board of Directors. The Extraordinary General Meeting was held 12 June
2015.
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
Norvestia Oyj's Extraordinary General Meeting adopted the proposal by the
shareholders CapMan Plc and Kaupthing hf. for the combination of the share
classes of the company by way of amending the Articles of Association so that
the provisions on the class A and class B shares were removed from the Articles
of Association. Following the combination of the share classes Norvestia Oyj
has a single share class consisting of a total of 15,316,560 shares. Each of
the shares will convey one vote at a General Meeting of Shareholders and equal
rights in every respect. Trading with the new share began on the main list of
NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Oy on 23 June 2015 with a ticker symbol NORVE.
The following persons were elected to the Board:
Heikki Westerlund, Chairman
Hannu Syrjänen, Vice Chairman
Georg Ehrnrooth, member
Niko Haavisto, member
Arja Talma, member.
In the organizing meeting of the Board Arja Talma was elected as Chairman of
the Audit Committee, Georg Ehrnrooth continues as a member of the committee.
The Board of Directors has begun a strategy work with one of the central parts
being the development of Norvestia's industrial investment activities.
CAPITAL MARKETS
The second quarter of the year was challenging for those investing in European
capital markets. The risk level of the stock markets increased markedly
compared to the first quarter and share prices generally declined. The value of
the OMX Helsinki CAP Yield Index decreased by 5.5% during the quarter. The last
time the value of the index decreased this much in one quarter was in the
summer of 2012. Viewed this way, the development of the stock markets during
the second quarter was a clear deviation from the upward trend of recent years.
Events in Greece were largely to blame for the turbulence on the stock markets.
The size of the Greek national economy in relation to the economy of Europe is
only a couple of percent. Nevertheless, the problems in Greece have led to
volatility in share prices in recent years.
Greece's economic situation and debt negotiations came to a head during the
second quarter of the year. Greece now finds itself saddled with debts that are
simply too large in relation to the size of its economy. Greece can no longer
negotiate its way out of its distress by increasing austerity measures. Instead
it is forced to rely solely on external financing which is currently difficult
to attract. From Europe's perspective the situation is sensitive because Greece
is part of the euro zone, and it is politically unacceptable that a euro zone
country would default on its debt payments. One possible solution being floated
is Greece's exit from the euro and the re-introduction of its own currency. In
reality this would not solve the problem but would merely multiply Greek debt
whilst introducing a weak currency. There is no easy solution to the problems
in Greece and finding a satisfactory compromise will not be easy.
Other economic news has been somewhat overshadowed by the situation in Greece.
The risk level of the low-risk euro countries is still at an all-time low
although interest rates have risen somewhat in long maturities. In line with
its strategy, the European Central Bank (ECB) has continued its massive support
purchases on the markets. The purpose of this is to boost the economy of the
euro zone and indeed, there have been some indications that the ECB's strategy
might now begin to bear fruit, as the euro zone's industrial and service
sectors grew faster in June than at any time in the last four years. The German
and French economies in particular seem to be picking up. If the positive
development in these European power economies continues until the end of the
year, it will have a positive influence on the future development of the entire
euro zone.
Index yields on various exchanges for the first six months of 2015 were as
follows:
Finland/OMX Helsinki Index 6.8%
Finland/OMX Helsinki CAP Yield Index 11.9%
Sweden/OMX Stockholm Index 6.5%
Norway/OBX Index 8.5%
Denmark/OMX Copenhagen Index 21.3%
USA/Nasdaq Composite Index 5.3%
USA/S&P 500 Index 0.2%
Bloomberg European 500 Index 10.0%
MSCI World Index 1.5%
Japan/Nikkei 225 Index 16.0%
Norvestia's share price (dividend-adjusted) 9.1%
Norvestia's Net Asset Value (dividend-adjusted) 8.0%
Norvestia's Amended Net Asset Value (dividend-adjusted) 7.7%
NORVESTIA'S INVESTMENTS
Norvestia's investments excluding cash and other liquid assets were 83% (91%)
of total assets at the end of June. The market value breakdown of the
investments was as follows:
30/6/2015 30/6/2014
MEUR % MEUR %
Listed shares and share funds* 80.4 51.2 76.3 51.9
Industrial investments 15.4 9.8 13.3 9.0
Hedge funds 18.7 11.9 23.3 15.8
Bonds and bond funds 16.0 10.2 21.0 14.3
Cash and other liquid assets 26.5 16.9 13.3 9.0
In total 157.0 100.0 147.2 100.0
* of which share funds EUR 14.7 million (14.5).
79% of the Group's assets were in euros, 14% in Swedish krona, 6% in US dollars
and 1% in other currencies.
The second quarter of the year constituted a challenging investment
environment. The values of listed shares and share funds declined in line with
the market. The values of bonds declined somewhat as well, as interest rates
rose. Industrial investments yielded positively mainly due to an increase in
the value of a private equity fund. The values of hedge funds rose slightly.
Dividends received during the second quarter amounted to approximately EUR 2.9
million.
Norvestia's Net Asset Value fluctuated less month on month than the stock
market in general. The portfolio was hedged during the second quarter by
selling Euro Stoxx index futures and by increasing the amount of cash. The
hedge was effective as the value of Norvestia's portfolio declined clearly less
than the stock market in general. Approximately half of the Swedish krona
currency risk was hedged with a currency future.
FUTURE PROSPECTS
Exceptionally low interest rates and the ECB's support activities will remain
in place for the time being and will continue to support the capital markets.
At the moment, investors have few investment alternatives with positive return
expectations other than shares.
It seems that the situation in Greece will remain very confused. It is unlikely
that any permanent and effective solution to Greece's problems will be found
but that a resolution to the problem will be continuously postponed. In essence
the situation in Greece is bound to the performance of the entire euro system.
A stand on this will probably need to be taken at some point at the European
level.
The problems in Greece have overshadowed the fact that there are also positive
signals to be seen in the European economy. The results of Europe's 500 biggest
companies from the first quarter were slightly better than expected. If the
situation in Greece is resolved satisfactorily in the near future, and if
companies' second quarter results exceed expectations, there may well be margin
for growth on the stock market.
In this sensitive investment environment, Norvestia aims to take into account
various possible scenarios in the economy and on the stock market, based on the
latest economic figures. Investment levels between shares, funds and
interest-yielding investments are assessed on the basis of the prevailing
situation.
KEY FIGURES
1/1-30/6/ 1/1-30/6/ 1/1-31/12/
2015 2014 2014
Earnings per share, EUR 0.71 0.38 0.35
30/6/2015 30/6/2014 31/12/2014
Equity ratio, % 97.4 98.7 99.0
Shareholders' equity per share, EUR 10.06 9.59 9.59
Net Asset Value per share, EUR 10.06 9.59 9.59
Amended Net Asset Value per share, EUR 10.18 9.69 9.73
Net Asset Value, EUR million 154.0 146.9 146.9
Amended Net Asset Value, EUR million 155.9 148.4 149.0
Share price, EUR 7.77 7.30 7.40
Number of shares 15,316,560 15,316,560 15,316,560
DISCLOSURE PROCEDURE
This stock exchange release is a summary of Norvestia's January-June 2015
interim report. The full interim report including tables is available as an
attachment to this release and on Norvestia's web pages at
www.norvestia.fi/en/investors.
The interim financial information has been reviewed by Norvestia's auditor.
Helsinki 16 July 2015
NORVESTIA OYJ
Board of Directors
On behalf Juha Kasanen
Managing Director
Tel. +358-9-6226 380
DISTRIBUTION
Nasdaq Helsinki
Main media
www.norvestia.fi
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