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Georgia Capital PLC (LSE:CGEO) has released its half-year report for the period ending 30 June 2024, revealing notable developments in its financial performance and strategic activities.
NAV and Portfolio Performance
- Net Asset Value (NAV) per Share: The NAV per share decreased by 12.8% in the second quarter of 2024. This decline reflects the impact of regional geopolitical volatility on portfolio asset valuations.
- Private Portfolio Companies: Despite the drop in NAV, the company reported strong performance from its private portfolio companies. Aggregated quarterly revenue and EBITDA increased by 6.0% and 17.7% year-over-year, respectively. This robust performance led to a significant improvement in net operating cash flow.
Share Buybacks
- Increased Share Buyback Programme: GCAP has expanded its existing share buyback programme by US$ 15 million. The total amount allocated to the share buyback programme under the GEL 300 million (approximately US$ 110 million) capital return package now stands at US$ 40 million.
- Repurchased Shares: Since the announcement of the capital return package in May 2024, the company has repurchased 1.3 million shares at a cost of US$ 16.6 million. This brings the total number of shares repurchased since the demerger to 9.2 million shares, costing US$ 103.3 million, which represents 19.3% of the issued share capital at its peak.
- Buyback Details for 1H24: In the first half of 2024, 1,419,678 shares were bought back at a total consideration of GEL 50.0 million. This includes:
- 1,299,150 shares repurchased under GCAP's share buyback and cancellation programmes, costing US$ 16.5 million (GEL 45.4 million).
- An additional 510,885 shares were repurchased in the third quarter of 2024 for GEL 18.9 million (US$ 6.9 million).
- 120,528 shares were bought back for GEL 4.7 million as part of a tax-related statutory buyback for the management trust.
Dividends
- Dividend Collection: GCAP collected GEL 50.3 million in dividends during the first half of 2024. This amount includes:
- GEL 25.9 million from buyback dividends from BoG.
- GEL 10.0 million in cash dividends from the Retail (Pharmacy) sector.
- GEL 9.7 million from P&C Insurance.
- GEL 4.6 million from the beer business.
- Subsequent Dividend Income: Following the first half of 2024, GCAP received an additional GEL 43.4 million in final dividends from BoG, GEL 6.8 million from P&C Insurance, and GEL 4.1 million from Renewable Energy. As a result, the total dividend income for 2024 to date is GEL 104.6 million.
