Apax Global Alpha Ltd on Wednesday said net asset value declined in the first half alongside its customary 5% dividend, but with a positive return after a dramatic fall the year before.

The Guernsey-based investor - which backs technology, services, healthcare, internet and consumer-focused firms - said its NAV at June 30 was €2.65 or £2.28 per share, down from €2.83 at the same time one year prior.

Shares in AGA were up 0.5% at 167.40 pence in London on Wednesday morning.

For the first six months of 2023, AGA made a positive 2.4% NAV total return compared with its negative 3.5% return the previous year. This had followed a positive 17.4% return in the first half of 2021, with AGA attributing the drop to public equity markets falling more than 20%.

This year, Apax Global said the main drivers of the positive return were value creation across its private equity portfolio, in addition to a ‘strong’ positive 5.3% total return from its debt portfolio. Companies in the private equity portfolio achieved average last 12-month earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation growth of 14.1%.

Apax Global also declared a 5.70p per share dividend for the period, down from 6.00p the prior year and in line with AGA’s policy of distributing 5.0% of its NAV per year.

‘Against an uncertain market backdrop, AGA’s performance remained resilient,’ said Chair Tim Breedon. ‘Over the last five years AGA has delivered a total annualised return of [around] 12% and returned nearly €300 million in dividends to shareholders.

‘This is testament to the strength of AGA’s portfolio and the Apax Funds’ ’all-weather’ investment strategy.’

Looking ahead, Breedon commented: ‘Whilst no investment strategy can be totally immune to the current macroeconomic headwinds, we believe that the Apax Funds’ focus on driving alpha through operational improvement, coupled with our prudent approach to balance sheet management, positions AGA well for the second half of 2023.’

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