HarbourVest Global Private Equity (HVPE) H1 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Portfolio valued at $4.3bn with over 1,000 private company exposures and a FTSE 250 market cap of £1.7bn as of July 2024.

• NAV per share rose 3.0% to $51.98 in H1 2024, reaching a new high; share price increased 12.7% to £26.10, narrowing the discount to NAV from 42% to 34%.

• Achieved a 3% H1 NAV per share total return, with portfolio resilience and increasing transaction activity.

• Ten-year share price total return reached +268%, with a 13.0% compound annual NAV per share growth rate and 3.6% annual outperformance versus public markets.

• No new fund commitments in the period; Distribution Pool actively used for share buybacks, adding $0.40 to NAV per share.

Financial highlights

• Net gain on investments of $106m in H1 2024, with strongest gains in Private Credit & InfRA, Direct Co-investment, and Europe.

• Net assets at 31 July 2024 were $4.0bn, up from $3.9bn at both 31 January 2024 and 31 July 2023.

• Negative cashflow in H1, with $134m net cash invested, reflecting $270m in capital calls and $136m in distributions.

• Total Expense Ratio for the six months to July 2024 was 1.02%, up from 0.82% in the prior year period, mainly due to increased credit facility costs.

• Portfolio transaction activity is increasing, with expectations for a recovery in distributions in the coming months.

Outlook and guidance

• Management expects improved distributions as IPO and M&A markets recover, with early signs of increased activity and optimism for H2 2024.

• New Distribution Pool mechanism aims to allocate $150–250m across 2024 and 2025 to support share price and total returns.

• The Distribution Pool will continue to be used for share buybacks while shares trade at a wide discount to NAV.

• FY25 marketing budget approved at 1.7x last year, indicating a focus on growth and investor engagement.

• The company remains focused on long-term NAV growth and maintaining a diversified portfolio across strategies, geographies, and stages.