Technology sector investor Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI) shares are up 3% at $1.20 in morning trade after the company released its FY24 results.
Let's find out what this ASX small-cap technology-focused investment company reported today!
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FY24 results highlights
Key financial highlights from Bailador's FY24 reports include:
- Net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 282% from a year ago to $20.7 million.
- Net tangible asset (NTA) was up 7 cents to $1.59 at the end of June 2024.
- NTA at the end of July was $1.62.
- The company deployed and committed a total investment of $53 million in Updoc, DASH Technologies and Hapana.
- Bailador holds $52 million in net cash at the end of July 2024.
- The company declared a final dividend of 3.4 cents per share.
Bailador estimated it has delivered a 9.2% return to its shareholders, including post-tax NTA growth and dividends paid during the reporting period.
The company's total investment grew from $16 million in FY23 to $40.5 million in FY24, largely due to asset value increases in Siteminder Ltd (ASX: SMD) and Access Telehealth.
The final dividend of 3.4 cents per share is part of the company's commitment to pay 4% of pre-tax NTA per annum as dividends. The company offers 100% franking credits on its dividends and a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) at a 2.5% discount to the average share price between 19 and 22 August.
Bailador co-founder and managing partner David Kirk had this to say:
We are pleased to have achieved another solid result for shareholders in FY24, delivering an after-tax Portfolio Return of 9.2% and declaring a Final Dividend of 3.4 cents per BTI share, which represents a grossed-up annualised yield of 7.8%.
Deploying its cash balance into new investments
While a high dividend yield wouldn't hurt, the highlight of the results was Bailador's active investment in new companies.
In May 2024, the company invested $20 million in Updoc, a digital healthcare platform. Shortly after in June 2024, Bailador announced a total investment of $20 million into DASH Technology Group, a financial advice and investment management software platform provider.
In addition, Bailador announced a $7.7 million investment in the healthcare platform Hapana just this week.
It is encouraging to see that Bailador is deploying its ample cash balance, which has increased substantially as the company successfully exited several previous investments.
The large cash holding poses a dilemma for Bailador as holding too much cash could restrict future opportunities for asset growth.
Trading at a large discount to its asset value
The Bailador Technology share price has traded between $1.1 to $1.4 over the past year. Even with today's rise, the share price fell approximately 5% over the period.
This is a nearly 25% discount compared to the company's latest NTA of $1.62 at the end of July 2024.
As the company resumes active investment in technology companies, investors hope this large discount on its asset value will decrease.
