The investment and asset manager MPC Capital presented a new growth strategy at the presentation of strong half-year figures.
In future, the company will focus more strongly on infrastructure projects. The focus will be on the Maritime and Energy Infrastructure segments. Due to the accelerated demand in connection with the energy transition, MPC Capital sees attractive investment opportunities in these areas, as CEO Constantin Baack recently explained in detail on HANSA PODCAST. Real estate, on the other hand, will no longer play a role in new business.
“With this approach, we are evolving from a multi-asset manager into a company with a focus on maritime and energy infrastructure,” says Constantin Baack, the new CEO of MPC Capital since mid-June.
In the first half of 2024, MPC Capital’s assets under management (AuM) rose by €0.7 billion from €4.1 billion to €4.8 billion, which corresponds to an increase of around 17%. A good third of this is currently attributable to assets in the two future core segments.
Zeaborn acquisition generates more income for MPC
The company generated income of € 17.1 million from management services in the first half of 2024 (H1 2023: € 13.9 million). The 23% year-on-year increase is attributable to the acquisition of the Zeaborn Group.
At € 3.3 million, income from transaction services in connection with the purchase and sale of assets was around 7% higher than in the previous year (H1 2023: € 3.1 million). In the Maritime Infrastructure segment, the total value of purchases initiated amounted to around USD 150 million. In addition to opportunistic transactions carried out with international family offices, the focus was on projects to decarbonize maritime transport. This included both new ships and the optimization of existing fleets.
The total transaction volume amounted to €1.1 billion in the first half of 2024 (H1 2023: €0.4 billion). Income from co-investments amounted to € 17.2 million in the first half of the year (H1 2023: € 8.8 million). It was characterized in particular by current income from the investment in MPC Container Ships and exit proceeds resulting from the delivery of new container ships.
MPC Management Board raises forecast
The carrying amount of the company’s own co-investment portfolio was €88 million as at June 30, 2024. The market value of the portfolio is significantly higher at around €155 million. The cash position decreased to € 31.4 million (December 31, 2023: € 61.1 million). At € 34 million, the increase in the stake in MPC Container Ships from 7% to 14% was the most significant investment in this period. At 84.1%, the equity ratio remained at a very healthy level (December 31, 2023: 85.2%).
In a volatile market environment, earnings before taxes (EBT) almost doubled in H1 2024 by 80% to € 16.5 million (H1 2023: € 9.2 million), outperforming sales. The Executive Board has therefore raised the forecast for the full year 2024. EBT is expected to be in a range between € 23 million and € 25 million. Group sales are now expected to amount to around € 40 million.
