LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in Dolphin Capital, a global investor in the residential resort sector in emerging markets, rose on Thursday after the company announced a placing of shares at a tiny discount.

The company is to raise €50m through shares placed at 19.5p per share, a halfpenny below the mid-market closing price on the day before the fund raising was announced.

The maximum number of shares that can be issued in the placement, based on a fixed euro exchange rate of 79.73p, is just over 204.4m shares. The proceeds will be used to ensure that the company has adequate cash balances to execute its development programme over the next two years.

The fund raising plans accompanied the release of interim results, which revealed that total group net asset value (NAV) at June 30th was €683m before deferred income tax liabilities (DITL) and €613m after, which is equal to a decrease of €406m (37%) and €371m (38%), respectively, from the first quarter of 2012.

Of the €406m decrease, around 90% was due to the revaluation of its 49% stake in Aristo Exchange and the remaining €46m was due to a decrease in the valuation of certain Greek and Cypriot assets and regular operational expenses.

In sterling, NAV per share before DITL was 126p and after DITL was 113p, a decrease of 8% and 9% versus 136p and 123p, respectively, as at March 31st. House broker Panmure Gordon had forecast a pre-DITL NAV per share of 135p.

The firm said that during the six month period it executed around €53.3m of asset sales and divestments, with the value of these transactions to Dolphin totalling €43.5m, representing a 48% premium over the corresponding net asset value of €29.5m and a 91% premium over the corresponding cost basis of €22.8m.

At the period end, gross assets totalled €909m, while total debt was €140m the group total debt to asset value ration was 15%. Its current cash balance is around €10m.

The company is currently in discussions relating to a number of other transactions that include: the sale of other components of the Porto Heli Collection; the sale of a number of Amanzoe Villas; a joint venture for the Ritz Carlton Reserve phase of Pearl Island; and a joint venture for the Aman phase of Playa Grande.

Andreas Papageorghiou, Chairman of Dolphin, said: "Although the macro-economic environment continues to present challenges, significant value is being generated by the company on the ground. We are confident that the momentum gained through the opening of the Amanzoe resort at Porto Heli will be sustained throughout the year. We expect that the completion of the equity raising will ensure that Dolphin enters a new cycle of significant growth and the realisation of returns for shareholders."

The Amanzoe hotel's opening at the start of August marked the first of its luxury resorts to come to market. At that time Dolphin received a conversion notice from Archimedia to convert 6.43% of its shares in Amanzoe in exchange for an Aman Villa, which it is in the process of finalising.

Dolphin's guarantee on the €33m Amanzoe construction loan and €8m VAT facility was lifted on September 14th and replaced with a corporate guarantee by Dolphin Capital Holdings.

Dolphin's share price rose 16.25% to 23.25p by 13:28.


NR

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