NPM Capital delivers strong first half

NPM Capital, the Dutch private equity firm, has announced a 47 per cent increase in profits for the first half of 2001 compared to the same period in 2000. The firm reported that the post-tax profit figure for this first half year had risen to E141m.

The company has either fully or partially exited 19 of its investments in the period, with 4 full realisations coming from listed investments [Delft Instruments, Macintosh Retail Group, Sopheon and Van der Hoop Effektenbank]. NPM also reduced its holdings in two other listed companies, Fugro and Petroplus International. The company also exited seven unlisted companies and saw another six of its investee companies go into liquidation during this first half.

NPM Capital also announced that the amount of new money invested in the same period had increased from E58m to E128m and this was mainly related to buy-outs. E86m was invested in 15 new companies [nine in the UK, five in the Netherlands and one in France] and a further E32m went into existing investee companies. The balance [E10m] was put into
subsidiaries and investment funds.

As confirmation that mid-market buy-outs have been an especially attractive sector, NPM advised that it had allocated E21m of new investment capital to development capital but E85m to buy-outs.

In its statement the company also said that the new technology sector had 'resulted in many disappointments' and of its new investments E12 million had been invested in the sector. A number of investee companies had clearly failed to achieve their targets, with the company reporting that 'there is considerable demand for follow-up finance, while the developments in most cases have been disappointing and require more time than was provided for in their budgets.' NPM added though that there were 'attractive investment opportunities' for those funds, such as itself, which had remained liquid.