• Net asset value was SEK 233.9 per share compared to SEK 323.2 at the beginning of the year, which is equivalent to a reduction of 27.6 per cent.
• Bure’s net asset value was SEK 17,345M compared to SEK 23,964M at the beginning of the year.
• Total return on the Bure share was -29.7 per cent, while the SIX Return Index fell 14.0 per cent.
• Group earnings after tax amounted to SEK6,616M (-259). Earnings per share amounted to SEK -89.33 (-3.59).
• Bure divested Investment AB Bure to Sandahlsbolagen Sweden.
• My Driving Academy acquired Mårtenssons and created Sweden’s largest driving school with around 20,000 pupils a year and a market share of approximately 15 per cent. Bure Growth acquired shares for SEK 13M in My Driving Academy’s rights issue.
• Atle signed agreements for the acquisition of 51 per cent of Health Invest Partners AB. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority approved the acquisition after the balance sheet date

Subsequent events

• Net asset value amounted to SEK 233.5 per share on 20 April 2022, which corresponds to a reduction of 27.8 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Comments from the CEO

We experienced a dramatic shift in events in the first quarter of the year. 2021 ended with a strong stock market, supported by economic stimuli and the expectation of a return to normalcy as the effects of the pandemic began to subside. Accelerating inflation, rising interest rates, disruption to global supply chains and finally the awful war in Ukraine upended momentum and stock markets worldwide fell sharply. So-called growth and tech companies were especially exposed. In the United States, for example, more than one fifth of Nasdaq companies fell by about 75 per cent by mid-March.

Bure’s net asset value per share fell by 27.6 per cent in the first quarter. The SIX Return index fell by 14 per cent during the same period. All listed portfolio companies lost value. Vitrolife was hardest hit, losing as much as 44 per cent of its value. Over the past 12 months, however, Vitrolife’s share price is still up 10 per cent.

A number of transactions were completed during the quarter. In January, Investment AB Bure, Bure’s locomotive leasing business, was sold to Sandahlsbolagen. My Driving Academy merged with rival Mårtenssons Trafikskola, forming Sweden’s largest driving school group. In February, Atle Investment Management acquired 51 per cent of HealthInvest Partners, which is an independent investment company specialising in the healthcare sector.

Since the end of the period, the stock market has recovered somewhat. However, given the course of events during the first quarter, it is not inconceivable that we are moving towards more challenging times. Continued high inflation and rising interest rates may ultimately hit demand and thus dampen the level of industrial activity. Add to that the difficulties in global supply chains affecting the availability of materials and components as well as rising prices for transport, electricity, etc. For Bure as a good owner, it is important to be present and proactively support the portfolio companies.

Bure Equity AB (publ)