Pires swings to £1.5m profit in final FY2021 update
Financial report:
(PIRI ), a holding company focused on next-generation technology, announced this morning a final results update for the year ended 31 Dec 2021 (FY2021). The company had a strong rebound in FY2021 with a £1.49m profit achieved and a NAV of 7.2m, a 147% increase from FY2020, and a 100% increase in NAV per share.
Pires ' strong performance in 2021 resulted in a £14.9m takeover bid from (TERN ), announced two weeks ago. The acquisition should result in enhanced liquidity and more efficient management, potentially unlocking even faster growth.
Portfolio update:
Pires also updated today on its portfolio. It increased its interest in (, referred to in disclosure as SVV) to c.20%. SVV is a holding company currently invested in 14 next-generation technology companies. It recently acquired Virtex (immersive entertainment platform), PreCog (smart security) and Smarttech247 (AI-based cyber security). Smarttech247 is actively pursuing an IPO.
Pires' initial investment in SVV quickly paid off after Artomatix (which develops AI-driven 3D modeling), one of its portfolio holdings, was sold at a 500% profit.
In FY2021, Pires successfully raised money for its portfolio companies:
- US$25 for Admix (monetisation platform for 3D/VR games)
- £11m for VividQ (3D holographic displays)
- €7.9m for CameraMatics (intelligent driver and fleet safety systems)
- €3m for Ambisense (automation and quantification of environmental risk assessment)
- €1.1m for Getvisibility with a further €10m announced in March 2022 (AI-based software for data structuring)
Funding for the aforementioned companies, both those held directly by Pires and through SVV, has come from a wide range of third party investors such as EQT, University of Tokyo, Foresight Williams Technology, Business Growth Fund, Puma Investments, Japanese Miyako Capital, Austrian APEX Ventures, Silicon Valley's R42 Group, Northwell Holdings & Ventures, and Alpha Intelligence Capital.
Outlook:
The company's bold investment strategy, focus on disruptive companies, and intelligent portfolio management has paid off in a big way in 2021, resulting in the announced acquisition by Tern. Recent aforementioned investments are expected to continue the trend. Nicholas Lee, director, commented:
"...Our investment strategy is focused on next generation technology businesses with significant potential for accelerated growth across sectors such as AI, IoT and Immersive Technologies, as well as the digital assets sector. We remain encouraged by the progress made to date by our investments and the outlook for the respective sectors in which they operate.
...We expect that in the coming months we will see some additional realisations or liquidity events from the investment portfolio...
...We believe that our investment strategy in the technology sector has already proven to have been successful. Going forward, the Company is very well positioned to become a leading next generation technology investment company with an exciting portfolio of technology companies held either directly or indirectly through its interests in SVV that have the potential for significant growth and the ability to deliver real returns for shareholders."
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