Frontier IP Group PLC (AIM:FIPP, OTC:FGPPF) chief executive Neil Crabb has described the company’s first half as a period of “significant commercial and technical progress across our portfolio” of investments.
However, the top line numbers probably don’t reflect this with the downward adjustment of unrealised profits on its portfolio leading to a pre-tax loss of £500,000.
More importantly for a company such as Frontier, which helps fund and develop smaller innovative businesses, it ended the six months to December 31, 2023,in a strong cash position with £5.8mln in the bank.
Its coffers were boosted by the sale of a further tranche of Exscientia, the AI-driven drugs development group, which brought in £3.4mln.
It highlighted a number of investee companies it expects to prosper as it moves forward.
In the half-year results, investors were told Pulsiv’s efficient power solutions had “near-universal applicability”, while Alusid, the sustainable surfaces specialist, had made an important technical breakthrough.
"The first half of the year can be summed up as a time of significant commercial and technical progress across our portfolio, while the overarching financial results reflected difficult market conditions for technology firms and early-stage companies, as anticipated at our year-end results,” said CEO Crabb in the statement.
“We supported our portfolio in developing the industry partnerships they need to prosper, strengthened management teams, and ensured our pipeline of opportunities remains attractive by incorporating two new portfolio companies.”
Frontier's net assets per share at the period-end were 88.2p, a significant premium to the current share price of 65p.