02/28/2018

Alba reached a consolidated net profit of 474.1 M€ in 2017

Corporación Financiera Alba reached a consolidated net profit of EUR 474.1 million in 2017, 16.3% higher than the previous year. This increase was mainly due to the capital gains obtained on the sale of the holding of ACS made during the period.

Net Asset Value (NAV) amounted to EUR 4,049.5 million at 31 December 2017, equivalent to EUR 69.53 per share. Alba’s share price of EUR 48.29 on this same date represents a discount of 30.5% with respect to NAV per share. NAV, both in absolute terms and per share, increased 1.5% with respect to the same date of the previous year.

During the year, Alba invested EUR 547.8 million and made asset sales totalling EUR 943.2 million, raising its net cash position to EUR 761.7 million at 31 December 2017.

In October, Alba distributed a gross interim dividend of EUR 0.50 per share to its shareholders, which was charged to the 2017 profit and loss account, giving rise to a total disbursement of EUR 29.1 million. The total amount of dividends distributed during the 2017 financial year amounted to EUR 58.2 million.

The investments made by Alba in 2017 were the following:

• Acquisition of a 10.00% stake of CIE Automotive for EUR 303.2 million.
• Acquisition of a 9.48% stake of Parques Reunidos for EUR 112.0 million, increasing its stake in this Company to 20.01%.
• Acquisition of a 1.99% stake of Ebro Foods for EUR 62.2 million, increasing its stake in this Company to 12.00%.
• Acquisition of a 1.65% stake of Euskaltel for EUR 24.8 million, increasing its stake in this Company to 11.00%.
• Acquisition of a 0.30% stake of Viscofan for EUR 7.6 million, increasing its stake in this Company to 11.32%.
• Investment, through Deyá Capital, of EUR 38.1 million in the acquisition of a 40.30% stake in Gascan (distribution of piped propane gas in Portugal), 16.83% in Alvinesa (wine by-products management and their transformation into alcohol and other value-added products) and 28.07 % in Satlink (technological solutions for the fishing sector). These are the first investments made by the second fund managed by Artá Capital.

On the other hand, divestitures made during the year were marked by the sale of shares of ACS carried out in the first half of the year:

• Sale of a 7.52% stake of ACS for EUR 743.4 million, resulting in a capital gain of EUR 352.7 million and an annual IRR of 11.5% for more than 19 years.
• Sale, by Deyá Capital, of its 19.75% stake in Flex for EUR 59.3 million, obtaining a return of 3.3 times the initial investment, an IRR of 22.3% over 6 years and a capital gain of EUR 7.1 million. It also sold its stake in EnCampus Residencias de Estudiantes group for EUR 62.7 million, obtaining a return of 2.8 times the initial investment, an IRR of 30.0% over 5 years and a capital gain of EUR 13.8 million.
• At the beginning of August, Alba sold its entire 20% stake in Clínica Baviera for a net amount of EUR 32.7 million, in the context of the take-over launched by Aier Eye.
• Four buildings were also sold in Madrid for a total amount of EUR 45.1 million, with an IRR for each asset ranging between 4% and 15% per year over approximately 25 years.

After December 31, 2017, the following events have taken place:

• On February 22, Alba announced an agreement to indirectly invest EUR 500 million in Rioja Bidco Shareholdings, a company that will acquire, subject to compliance with certain conditions, the 20.072% stake that Repsol currently holds in the share capital of Gas Natural. Should the transaction be competed, Alba will have an indirect stake of approximately 25.7% in Rioja Bidco which, in turn, represents an indirect stake of 5.1% in the share capital of Gas Natural.
• Alba has completed the sale (through Deyá Capital) of its 26.5% stake in Panasa for EUR 88.4 million. As a result of this sale, which was announced in November 2017, since the initial investment in February 2011 Alba has obtained a return of 3.3 times the investment and an IRR of 20%.
• In addition, through Deyá Capital, Alba has acquired a 3.7% stake in MonBake for EUR 9.4 million. MonBake is a new group resulting from the acquisition, by funds managed by Ardian, Panasa and Bellsolá, of two of the leading Spanish companies in the deep-frozen bread and pastry industry. This reinvestment is part of the agreements reached with Ardian in the aforementioned sale of Panasa.

Alba’s portfolio at December 31, 2017 was as follows:

Listed holdings % Unlisted holding %
Acerinox 19,0 Alvinesa 16,8
BME 12,1 Gascan 40,3
CIE Automotive 10,0 In-Store Media 18,9
Ebro Foods 12,0 Mecalux 24,4
Euskaltel 11,0 Panasa 26,5
Indra 10,5 Satlink 28,1
Parques Reunidos 20,0 TRRG Holding LTD 7,5
Viscofan 11,3