Edge Performance swings to loss, portfolio company in administration

(Alliance News) - Edge Performance VCT PLC said on Tuesday it swung to a loss while its portfolio company Festicket entered administration.

The London-based investment company said it swung to a pretax loss in the six months that ended August 31 of GBP13.0 million from a profit of GBP2.1 million a year earlier. This included a swing to a loss in investment valuations to GBP9.8 million from a profit of GBP2.3 million, while its net asset value total return per share fell 44% to 144.45 pence on August 31 from 259.38p on February 28.

Edge Performance said one of its portfolio companies Festicket entered administration after experiencing trading headwinds in August, prompting its value to be written down to zero and reduce Edge Performance's investment valuation by GBP4.8 million since the end of the last financial year on February 28.

It said this reflected declining technology stocks across the world, as high inflation and faltering consumer confidence affected business performance.

Other portfolio companies such as Audioboom, Mirriad and Unity were also hit significantly in terms of share prices. During the half year period, both Audioboom and Mirriad's share price fell by 69% to GBP4.3 million and GBP172,000 in portfolio value respectively, while Unity fell by 54% to a portfolio value of GBP356,000.

"Edge Performance contains a portfolio of highly regarded creative economy companies and the closing NAV total return of 144.45 pence continues to show a healthy return from inception. During these times of global macro-economic uncertainty, the Investment Manager is paying particular attention to helping the portfolio navigate challenging trading conditions," said Chair Terry Back.

Shares in Edge Performance last traded at 48.00p in London on Tuesday afternoon. It paid a special interim dividend of 35.00p on May 6.

By Greg Rosenvinge; [e-mail]

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