FTSE 250-listed investment trust HarbourVest (LSE:HVPE) said on Thursday that it will consult with its board and shareholders about giving shareholders a cash dividend, which would be the first in its history.
Richard Hickman, managing director at HarbourVest Global Private Equity Ltd, told Proactive that the trust will carry out the consultation in the fourth quarter of this year, adding that the dividend plan would be funded by realisations.
The listed trust posted a new high in net asset value (NAV) for the first half of fiscal 2023 and announced a further US$25 million share repurchase initiative.
It posted a new NAV per share of just over US$50 for the first six months of the year, as of 31 July.
“That’s five times the NAV per share at IPO in 2007,” Hickman told Proactive, adding that its NAV has since been "slightly below" that.
He attributed the peak in its NAV to “resilience” and a “diversified portfolio”, adding: “We’re seeing more and more exits at underlying company level.”
Bucking a difficult market for initial public offerings (IPOs), the trust made a slew of exits through IPOs in Asia, according to Hickman, making 153 exits in total during the period, including 132 portfolio sales across the portfolio in six months.
Although analysts said the distributions from exits during the first half of the year were lower than the annual run-rate, the trust said in its trading statement that “the weighted average uplift on carrying value at exit was 32%”.
Peel Hunt rated the trust as ‘outperform’ in a broker note, stating that “diversification has been a key strength”.
Analysts said the trust’s NAV returns delivered “5pp annualised outperformance of the FTSE All World TR index”, highlighting its US$150 million of new commitments in the period.
Jefferies reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation on a target price of 2,160p per share, describing the trust's "flexible approach".
HVPE shares are currently trading at a discount to NAV of more than 40%.