Bure Equity

• Net asset value was SEK 217.6 per share compared to SEK 196.3 at the beginning of the year, corresponding to an increase of 10.8 per cent.
• Bure’s net asset value was SEK 16,135M compared to SEK 14,559M at the beginning of the year.
• Total return on the Bure share was -10.8 per cent compared to the SIX Return Index which rose 4.6 per cent.
• Group earnings after tax amounted to SEK 1,776M (-11,644). Earnings per share amounted to SEK 23.9 (-157.2).

Interim report July – September 2023

• Net asset value was SEK 217.6 per share compared to SEK 236.4 at the beginning of the quarter, corresponding to a decrease of 8.0 per cent.
• The merger between ACQ Bure and Yubico was completed. From the merger between ACQ Bure and Yubico, Bure received a merger consideration of 7,851,942 shares in ACQ Bure and SEK 564M. Bure acquired an additional 190,000 shares in ACQ Bure’s placement of shares and new issue for SEK 19M. ACQ Bure was subsequently renamed Yubico AB and listed on First North. Bure’s holding in Yubico amounts to 15,041,943 shares, which corresponds to 17.5 per cent of the total number of shares. For further details, please see: www.yubico.com.
• Bure acquired 126,000 shares in Xvivo’s rights issue for SEK 35M.
• Bure Growth acquired shares in BioLamina for SEK 62M and increased its holding to 51.7 per cent. The holding in BioLamina was revalued by SEK 353M.

Events after the end of the period

• Net asset value amounted to SEK 219.7 per share on November 8, 2023, which corresponds to an increase of 11.9 per cent since the beginning of the year.
• After the balance sheet date, Bure sold 3.7 million shares in Mycronic for SEK 870M. After the share sale, Bure’s shareholding amounts to 23.1 percent.

Comments from the CEO

The Swedish stock market lost ground during the third quarter of the year. The Six Return Index fell by a total of 6 per cent. Bure’s net asset value per share also decreased 8 per cent during the period. Share price performance was weak for the majority of the listed portfolio companies. Both of Bure’s core holdings – Mycronic and Vitrolife – decreased by 15 and 30 per cent, respectively. For the first nine months of the year, however, Bure’s net asset value per share increased 11 per cent.

Yubico was listed on the Stockholm stock exchange on September 20th. The share was well received by the market and increased 20 per cent in the quarter. Following the merger with ACQ, Yubico is Bure’s third largest holding and in conjunction with the listing the holding was moved from Bure Growth.

In September, Xvivo carried out a rights issue with a total value of SEK 440 million. This decision was based on the fact that the company’s commercial success now makes it possible to accelerate regulatory processes in the US. The company wants to advance its positions in a number of ways, including with the launch of a clinical trial for its Liver Assist technology and expanding its ongoing Heart Preservation study in the US. Bure participated in the rights issue with a total of SEK 35 million.

Mycronic reported another strong quarter with higher turnover and improved earnings. Vitrolife reported stable results in Europe and Asia but continues to face challenges in the US. Bronwyn Brophy O’Connor took over as CEO on August 1st and I would like to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to her.

The increases in interest rates we have seen in the past year are now expected to be longer lasting than perhaps many initially expected. Lower growth and rising capital costs are challenging. The fact that a large majority of Bure’s portfolio companies are profitable and have relatively low debt is therefore very encouraging. Since the end of the quarter, the share prices of several portfolio companies have recovered somewhat, which hopefully can also be part of a more general recovery on the stock market as interest rate rises level off.