3i Group plc (LON:III) will be holding a Capital Markets Seminar via webcast today, involving presentations on our Services and Software sector approach and on Audley Travel. In addition, Simon Borrows, our Chief Executive, will provide an update on the portfolio more broadly, the key elements of which are outlined below. The seminar will start at 10:00 and the joining details are provided at the end of this press release. The presentation materials and a recording of the webcast will also be made available on our website.
We have completed our September semi-annual portfolio company reviews for Private Equity and Infrastructure against a weak macroeconomic backdrop across the UK and continental Europe. We are seeing good overall performance across both the Private Equity and Infrastructure portfolios.
Action’s impressive performance has continued with very strong sales and EBITDA growth. Year-to-date sales (at 22 September 2024) of €9.3 billion are 21% ahead of the same period last year. Like-for-like (LFL) sales growth over the same period was 9.6%. The LFL sales growth was driven by customer transactions and strong sales of everyday necessities. We expect operating EBITDA for the 12 months to the end of P9 2024 to be circa €1,880 million compared to €1,530 million at the end of September 2023, an increase of 23%. Cash generation has continued to be strong, with cash balances at 22 September 2024 at €779 million. Action has now added 179 net new stores in the year to date and remains on track to deliver or exceed 330 net new stores in 2024.
In the broader Private Equity portfolio, Royal Sanders and European Bakery Group continue to perform well. Customer demand is also driving a recovery across the healthcare assets. Audley has continued to see very strong growth and the software and IT related assets in the portfolio are showing positive momentum. 3i Group are also seeing an improving trend across some of the discretionary consumer assets and MPM continues to perform well. A number of the assets which experienced challenging operating conditions last year have been returning to improving trading trajectories. WilsonHCG has however yet to see any material upturn in the recruitment process outsourcing market.
To register for the webcast, please visit https://www.3i.com/investor-relations/
