Whitestone Group FY24: NAV Up 209% Thanks To Steadfast Execution Of Strategy

FY24 was a year during which Whitestone bulked up its portfolio with NAV rising ~209% from €34.3m to €106.0m. On a per-share basis, NAV stood at €15.2ps (vs €15.06 during FY23-end) – this implies that NAV growth has offset the dilutive impact of capital raises during FY24. The 1st placement was a CiK in which 1.3m shares were issued to Multifin SA for participations in Energy Solutions Group, Clay Capital, Sibelco & Abbove. The 2nd placement was for €41.9m during which ref. investor (FAMO NV, Axel Moorkens' family) established a 10% stake in Whitestone. Organic NAV growth was mainly driven by GFIN which benefitted from higher market multiples for gold trading platforms, increased cashflow thanks to the 30%+ rally in gold prices during FY24 and from the increase in stake from ~57% to 100%. Net cash position at group level was at €4.0m with additional financial flexibility of €11.0m. We think that management's steadfast approach to both fundraising and investing will continue over the medium-term and despite Whitestone's portfolio having already significantly grown, we think that there might be similar sized capital raises to come, helping further grow the portfolio in a short period of time. We currently estimate TEVps to be €15.5, implying a discount of ~23%. We reiterate our BUY rating and €14.2 TP.