Mineral & Financial Investments Ltd (AIM:MAFL) (MAFL) has reported its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2022, revealing significant growth in net asset value per share (NAVPS) and net earnings.
The company, in a statement, told investors that NAVPS increased by 18.3% to 22.03p year-over-year, while its first-half net earnings amounted to £702,824 (1.84p per share), up from £141,740 (0.37p) in the same period a year before.
MAFL chief executive Jacques Vaillancourt highlighted a strong cash position at the end of the year, with the company holding £2.28mln at the end of December following a US$2.5mln payment from Ascendant Resources for an earn-in deal at the Lagoa Salgada copper project in Portugal.
Vaillancourt also noted that the NAV growth of 24.8% year-over-year occurred despite a strengthening US dollar, which created headwinds for commodity price appreciation.
He noted that despite the rise in US dollar value, which can depress the value of dollar-denominated commodities, the company saw stronger gold prices during the period - up 5.5% at US$1825 per ounce - meanwhile nickel prices saw the best performance, rising 38.3% to US$28,824 per tonne. The price of copper, however, declined 4.4% to US$9,338/t.
MAFL also noted some caution regarding the impact of inflation, stating that the path to containing inflationary pressure might be longer and more difficult than currently believed. It noted that rising interest rates are expected to have a constricting effect on consumption and economic performance, though according to Vaillancourt this is yet to be fully witnessed.
Overall, he highlighted that MAFL remains debt-free, with a strong cash position and NAV growth performance outperforming several relevant benchmarks.
The firm has a pair of investment strategies, its tactical portfolio and its strategic portfolio, the former aims to protect performance by generating ‘excess returns’ to offset cash holdings and is positioned as a hedge - it provides flexibility to take advantage of short-term opportunities - and, the latter holds longer-term investments which the investment management team believe have unique investment characteristics.
The strategic portfolio intends to give exposure to what MAFL sees as four keystone foundations to successful investment in the natural resource sectors - management, finance, location and geology.