Invalda INVL, one of the Baltic region’s leading asset management groups, had equity of EUR 73.5 million at the end of June this year, or EUR 6.29 per share. The figures, after estimating the dividends paid, are about 5% less than at the end of 2019. Dividends paid out to Invalda INVL’s shareholders in May this year (at EUR 0.80 per share) reduced the company’s equity by EUR 9.3 million.
In the second quarter of this year, amid rising global financial markets and good operating results, a large part of Invalda INVL’s investments regained value “trimmed” early in the year by the coronavirus pandemic’s negative effects on markets. Invalda INVL’s unaudited net loss in the first half of 2020 was EUR 4.2 million, whereas in the same period last year the company had a profit of EUR 7.2 million.
“Overall market trends will again have a significant impact on changes in the value of investments. Invalda INVL and our business holdings are adapting to the rapidly changing environment, operating successfully and growing. We have a strong team and adequate financial resources that enable us even in periods of uncertainty to work purposefully and take advantage of the opportunities that arise,” says Invalda INVL President Darius Šulnis.
Despite a successful second quarter this year, the drop in market values early in the year still had an impact on the clients’ asset portfolio managed by the group’s companies; in the first half of 2020 a loss of EUR 43 million was suffered. The total value of assets under management increased to EUR 1054.7 million.
Asset management business
Invalda INVL’s revenue from the asset management business in the first half of this year was EUR 6.46 million and compared with the same period of 2019 increased 37.8%. The company earned EUR 0.45 million from the asset management business, which is 5.4% more than in the same period last year.
“The strategic Invalda INVL asset management business withstood the initial challenges provoked by the pandemic: it is generating positive cash flows and developing resolutely. Our main priority remains the same in times of instability too – to preserve and grow the value of clients’ assets and to perform actions and investments that create the conditions for profit in the future,” the president of Invalda INVL states.
At the start of this year, the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, the largest private equity investment fund in the Baltic region, successfully held its final closing and attracted nearly EUR 165 million from investors. In addition, in late June the fund acquired a controlling stake (52.81% of shares) in Eco Baltia, the largest plastic recycling and waste collection group in the Baltics. The fund is actively working on several potential transactions and continues seeking companies that fit its investment strategy.
The real estate investment company INVL Baltic Real Estate in March sold the IBC Business Centre in Vilnius for EUR 33 million. After the transaction, dividends of EUR 20.4 million were paid out to investors.
According to Darius Šulnis, several investment projects for clients of the group are now in progress, of which at least one – INVL’s second forest and agricultural land fund – should launch in the near future.
Investments
At the end of the June this year, the value of investments in products that the Invalda INVL group manages totalled more than EUR 26 million, while that of other historical investment holdings was over EUR 35 million. A loss of EUR 12.3 million was sustained from the decline in the value of investments during the first half of 2020, but EUR 7.2 million of dividends were received.
“As we had anticipated, companies, which are successfully operating and adapting to market changes, are recovering value – the value of some of them is already higher than it was at the end of 2019. We would expect such trends to continue if global and/or macroeconomic indicators do not sharply deteriorate. To remain competitive and grow in the current environment, it’s vital to be able to quickly change and seize opportunities, which is what we intend to continue doing,” Invalda INVL’s president says.
Invalda INVL, operating since 1991, is one of the leading asset management groups in the Baltic countries. The companies that the group owns in Lithuania and Latvia manage more than 20 mutual and pension funds (2nd and 3rd pillar), individual portfolios, private equity, and other alternative investments. At the end of June 2020, the group’s companies had more than EUR 1 billion of assets under management, entrusted to them by over 200 000 clients in Lithuania and Latvia as well as international investors.
The shares of Invalda INVL have traded on the Nasdaq Baltic securities exchange since 1995.