TMT Investment Net Asset Value in Backblaze Increased By 120%

VC company TMT Investments Plc announced its final results for the year ended 31 December 2019.

Highlights:
• NAV per share of $3.52 (up 13.9% from $3.09 as of December 31, 2018, or 20.4% if the dividend is included)
• Total NAV of $102.8 million (up from $90.3 million as at December 31, 2018)
• $3.5 million of net cash proceeds from full and partial exits during 2019 • $8.6 million of new investments across 10 companies in 2019
• $5.8 million ($0.20 per ordinary share) special dividend paid to shareholders in July 2019
• Diversified portfolio of over 30 companies focused mainly around big data/cloud, e-commerce, marketplaces and SaaS solutions
• Covid-19’s short-term effect on portfolio companies is mixed, with future performance dependent on how the situation unfolds in coming months
• Expectations of both positive and negative revaluations in 2020
• Proposed changes to the company’s investing policy, primarily to enable investment in other funds, as further detailed below
• $10.2 million in cash reserves as at April 15, 2020

Alexander Selegenev, executive director, commented: “2019 was another successful year for the company, with several sizeable positive revaluations across our portfolio. The company’s net asset value benefited from various revaluations during the year including the 120% increase in the value of our investment in Backblaze, the global backup and cloud storage company. These revaluations more than offset the smaller write-downs that we accounted for in order to maintain our portfolio free from poorly performing investments.”

“Our top five portfolio companies (Bolt, Backblaze, Depositphotos, Pipedrive and Scentbird), accounting for approximately 75% of the company’s NAV, are well-established, more mature businesses, with globally diversified revenues, strong cash reserves and tens of thousands of customers. They are operationally nimble, cost conscious companies that have grown rapidly, without undertaking large funding rounds to support expanded cost bases compared to some of their peers, which we believe should therefore enable them to better adapt to the current environment.“

“In the current situation of increased uncertainty, TMT is applying a cautious approach to new investments, whilst continuing to evaluate opportunities and remaining ready to benefit from the opportunities that may emerge in the coming months. With over $10 million in cash reserves, TMT is in a strong position to invest in outstanding opportunities that may emerge as a result of Covid-19. We are also proposing changes to our investing policy, which are primarily designed to allow TMT to benefit from potentially establishing and/or investing in other venture capital investment vehicles.”

“We expect to see a mix of both positive and negative impacts on the value of our investments over the remainder of 2020, and we look forward to keeping shareholders updated on relevant developments.”

About TMT Investments
It invests in growing technology companies across a number of specialist sectors and has a number of Silicon Valley investments in its portfolio. Founded in 2010, it has invested in over 55 companies to date and has net assets of $102 million as of December 31, 2019. Its objective is to generate an attractive rate of return for shareholders, predominantly through capital appreciation. It is traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.