FinLab — Benefiting from its fintech focus

FinLab (DB: A7A)

Last close As at 11/10/2024

EUR9.45

−0.15 (−1.56%)

Market capitalisation

118m

More on this equity

Research: Financials

FinLab — Benefiting from its fintech focus

FinLab delivered a NAV total return of c 18% in FY20, primarily assisted by the share price of Heliad Equity Partners (HEP), in which FinLab holds a c 45% stake, more than doubling. HEP’s share price was mostly driven by the acquisition of DEGIRO by flatex (HEP’s main portfolio holding) with the favourable market conditions for online brokers in 2020 further supporting the share price performance of the combined entity (flatexDEGIRO). We note that recently, Bernd Förtsch acquired Christian Angermayer’s stake in FinLab, which makes him the controlling shareholder.

Milosz Papst

Written by

Milosz Papst

Director, Financials

Financials

FinLab

Benefiting from its fintech focus

Financials

Scale research report - Update

30 March 2021

Price

€24.0

Market cap

€127.8m

Share price graph

Share details

Code

A7A

Listing

Deutsche Börse Scale

Shares in issue

5.3m

Last reported net cash as at end-2020

€6.1m

Business description

FinLab is an incubator and builder of fintech companies based in Germany. It also has holdings in two relatively mature asset management businesses, Heliad and Patriarch, which gives it stable cash flows and a strong balance sheet. In March 2018, FinLab expanded its asset management portfolio with the Finlab EOS VC Fund.

Bull

HEP’s 2020 performance will trigger a sizeable dividend from Heliad Management to FinLab.

Exposure to various fintech themes.

Beneficial positioning of selected companies amid COVID-19 (eg nextmarkets, Authada).

Bear

Limited visibility on HEP’s strategy going forward.

Small free float and low liquidity.

Fintech investments are inherently high risk and the portfolio is relatively concentrated.

Analysts

Milosz Papst

+44 (0)203 077 5700

Anna Dziadkowiec

+44 (0)203 077 5700

FinLab delivered a NAV total return of c 18% in FY20, primarily assisted by the share price of Heliad Equity Partners (HEP), in which FinLab holds a c 45% stake, more than doubling. HEP’s share price was mostly driven by the acquisition of DEGIRO by flatex (HEP’s main portfolio holding) with the favourable market conditions for online brokers in 2020 further supporting the share price performance of the combined entity (flatexDEGIRO). We note that recently, Bernd Förtsch acquired Christian Angermayer’s stake in FinLab, which makes him the controlling shareholder.

Positive contribution from unlisted holdings

FinLab’s unlisted holdings were written up slightly by c €5.9m in FY20. Based on a discussion with the management, we understand that key drivers were Deposit Solutions, Heliad Management and Vaultoro. In March 2021, nextmarkets completed a US$30m Series B funding round led by existing investors, including Alan Howard and Christian Angermayer with his Cryptology Asset Group. FinLab’s new investments in 2020 were exclusively made through the Finlab EOS VC Fund.

Strong dividend from Heliad Management in H121

HEP performed a partial exit from flatex (announced on 2 July 2020), generating gross proceeds of c €21.5m and a sizeable gain on the average acquisition costs (c €17.9m according to our estimates). We note that the transaction and subsequent increase in value of HEP’s remaining 5.2% stake in flatexDEGIRO means that FinLab is likely to receive a sizeable dividend from Heliad Management (HEP’s investment manager, fully owned by FinLab), which should be paid in H121. Heliad Management generated a higher management fee in FY20 (based on HEP’s year-end NAV) and also charged a performance fee on HEP’s realised gains, which (based on our discussion with management) stood at c €3.0m.

Valuation: 25% discount to last reported NAV

Following solid share price growth in 2020 (up c 42%) and 2021 ytd (up c 14%), FinLab’s discount to NAV narrowed from c 45% at end-2019 to c 25% currently (versus the five-year average of c 17%). HEP now trades at a 22% discount to NAV at end-2020 despite c 87% of its assets being attributable to listed flatexDEGIRO and cash. HEP’s discount may be at least partially attributable to lack of clarity in terms of its prospective investment strategy and the management fee paid to Heliad Management. Having said that, if FinLab’s stake in HEP was accounted for at HEP’s NAV, FinLab’s discount would stand at c 33%.

Historical financials

Year
end

Total income
(€m)

PBT
(€m)

EPS
(€)

DPS
(€)

P/E
(x)

Yield
(%)

12/17

4.4

14.5

2.85

0.00

8.4

N/A

12/18

4.7

17.1

3.14

0.00

7.6

N/A

12/19

4.6

40.3

7.33

0.00

3.3

N/A

12/20

4.1

6.3

1.11

0.00

21.6

N/A

Source: FinLab accounts

Edison Investment Research provides qualitative research coverage on companies in the Deutsche Börse Scale segment in accordance with section 36 subsection 3 of the General Terms and Conditions of Deutsche Börse AG for the Regulated Unofficial Market (Freiverkehr) on Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (as of 1 March 2017). Two to three research reports will be produced per year. Research reports do not contain Edison analyst financial forecasts.

FY20 results: NAV increases by c 18%

FinLab reported an 18% increase in NAV per share to €32.02 in FY20, assisted primarily by the 108% share price appreciation of its only listed holding, Heliad Equity Partners (HEP), which represented 22% of FinLab’s total assets at end-2020. This was driven by HEP’s partial exit from the listed online broker flatex completed last year (discussed in detail in our update note on HEP published in September 2020) and the increase in value of its remaining 5.2% stake in the combined flatexDEGIRO business. This led to an uplift in HEP’s NAV to €13.28 at end-2020 from €7.39 at end-2019 (HEP published its FY20 results on the same day as FinLab). We estimate that at end-2020, the flatexDEGIRO stake made up c 68% of HEP’s total asset value (with a further 19% in cash and equivalents).

FinLab’s revenues from services provided to its subsidiaries and unlisted holdings went up by 6.9% y-o-y to €1.5m in FY20, while income from investments reached €2.0m compared to €2.7m in FY19. The company recorded a lower dividend from Heliad Management (HM), the fully owned investment manager of HEP. This was due to HM’s lower management fees amid HEP’s declining NAV in FY19 vs FY18, as FinLab normally receives distributions from HM in the first half of the following year. In line with FY19, FinLab did not receive any dividends from HEP. The company has also received a c €0.5m distribution from the fully owned, multi-asset manager Patriarch (which has a profit and loss transfer agreement with FinLab) and generated a management fee from the Finlab EOS VC Fund (which stands at around €1.0m pa).

We note that on the back of HEP’s flatexDEGIRO realisation, HM had to charge a higher management fee for FY20 (we estimate it to be c €3.2m), as well as a c €3.0m performance fee on HEP’s realised profits (driven primarily by this partial exit). This should support FinLab’s results in H121 through a dividend from HM (although we note that FinLab also charges HM on a monthly basis for certain operating costs incurred on behalf of HM). Heliad Management (HEP’s investment manager) has recently recommended not to pay a dividend from HEP’s FY20 earnings.

FinLab’s NAV was further supported by net write-ups on unlisted securities and financial assets of €5.9m (which on a pre-tax basis added c 4pp to FinLab’s NAV TR in FY20). Key contributors include Deposit Solutions, Heliad Management and Vaultoro. While this is visibly below FY19 (€37.8m), the latter was largely the result of the revaluation of Deposit Solutions following the funding round with Deutsche Bank in September 2019 (see our flash note published in September 2019). Nevertheless, COVID-19 has likely made it harder for early-stage businesses to conduct new funding rounds, which may also have had an impact on the extent of write-ups in FinLab’s portfolio last year. It is worth noting that FinLab’s unlisted holdings are revalued based on recent funding rounds rather than on the multiples of comparable listed businesses. Consequently, FinLab’s short-term NAV TR comparability to the performance of public equity markets is relatively limited.

FinLab’s personnel expenses stood at €2.2m in FY20 vs €0.9m, with the rise largely attributable to valuation changes from the stock option programme (which had a negative earnings impact in FY20 but a positive effect in FY19). Non-personnel expenses increased by 9.3% y-o-y to €1.7m on the back of higher consulting and audit costs, among other things. Consequently, net income came in at €6.1m vs €39.5m in FY19 and does not account for HEP’s revaluation, which is recognised directly in equity through changes to revaluation reserve (€19.8m increase vs a €2.9m reduction in FY19). At end-2020, FinLab had cash and cash equivalents of €6.1m (vs €6.8m at end-2019) and we understand that further cash reserves may be held across its fully owned subsidiaries.

Exhibit 1: FinLab’s FY20 results highlights

€000s

FY20

FY19

y-o-y change

Revenue

1,542

1,443

6.9%

Income from investments

2,001

2,678

(25.3%)

Other operating income

601

499

20.4%

Total income

4,144

4,620

(10.3%)

Personnel expenses

(2,204)

(892)

147.1%

Non-personnel expenses

(1,686)

(1,542)

9.3%

EBIT

254

2,186

(88.4%)

Financial result, of which:

6,023

38,082

(84.2%)

Income from the sale of securities and financial assets

260

318

(18.2%)

Retirement of securities and financial assets

(203)

(149)

36.2%

Write-ups and write-downs of securities and financial assets

5,864

37,800

(84.5%)

Interest and similar income

130

152

(14.5%)

Interest and similar expenses

(27)

(38)

(28.9%)

Pre-tax profit

6,277

40,268

(84.4%)

Taxes on income

(183)

(744)

(75.4%)

Net result for the period

6,095

39,525

(84.6%)

EPS (diluted, €)

1.11

7.33

(84.8%)

Overall result (including change in revaluation reserve)

25,848

36,636

(29.4%)

Source: Company data, Edison Investment Research

Christian Angermayer selling his stake in FinLab

In early January 2021, FinLab published an ad hoc release disclosing that Bernd Förtsch, one of the company’s main shareholders, had further increased his share in the company to more than 50% by acquiring the entire stake held by FinLab’s second key shareholder, Christian Angermayer (which he held directly and through his family office, Apeiron Investment). It remains to be seen whether this triggers any change in FinLab’s strategy. Irrespective of this, it is likely to result in a more streamlined and smooth strategic decision-making process going forward. At the same time, we note that Christian Angermayer continues to be involved as an investor in several companies in FinLab’s portfolio.

Nextmarkets completes new Series B funding round

In March 2021, the commission-free online broker, nextmarkets (one of FinLab’s holdings in which it had a 31.4% stake at end-2020), raised US$30m in a Series B funding round led by existing investors, including Alan Howard and Christian Angermayer with his Cryptology Asset Group. No details on FinLab’s participation or the valuation of nextmarkets implied by the funding round were disclosed.

The company will use the proceeds for European expansion and broadening its product offering (which at present consists of around 7,000 stocks and 1,000 ETFs). Nextmarkets is currently active in eight European countries which, apart from Germany and Austria, include six markets that the company entered at the end of 2020 (the UK, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy). The company went live with its platform in June 2018 and in 2020 was able to increase the number of transactions several times (to more than one million processed during the year), as well as managed client funds and the number of customers. This has likely been supported by strong market volatility and increased retail investor activity in 2020. In FY19 (last available data), nextmarkets posted a net loss of €2.8m.

Other recent relevant FinLab’s portfolio developments include:

Authada, a provider of digital identity solutions, attracted a new investor, the Italy-based TMT company Tinexta (discussed in detail in our previous update note).

Deposit Solutions launched savings portal savebetter.com in the US in September 2020 and exceeded the US$30bn mark for brokered deposit volumes.

Patriarch introduced the Liontrust Managed Portfolio Service in Germany with 22 growth, income and dynamic beta strategies and the Fondsdepot Bank acting as liable asset manager. The company was also commissioned as a sales partner in Germany by Mediolanum International Funds.

The Finlab EOS VC fund completed a number of new investments, including most recently a seven-digit million amount in AlgoTrader (in December 2020), which offers a platform for algorithmic trading in both traditional and digital assets, as well as an investment in Spark Change, a provider of investment products allowing for direct exposure to the value of physical carbon emission allowances (as part of a US$4.5m seed funding round led by Barclays in November 2020).

Valuation

FinLab’s performance is driven by its ability to increase its NAV. Earnings in any given year can be volatile and depend on the timing of revaluations and exits, which are reflected in the income statement on recognition. FinLab’s NAV per share was up 18.1% in FY20, largely driven by the revaluation of its stake in the listed HEP, as discussed above. This was coupled with a 42% increase in FinLab’s share price during the period. Following a further c 14% share price increase since end-2020 to 29 March 2020, FinLab’s discount to NAV at end-2020 stands at c 25%.

While it is typical for investment companies to trade at a discount, it is instructive to consider the impact on FinLab’s NAV if its investment in HEP was valued in line with HEP’s NAV (especially given a large part of its portfolio represents the listed shares in flatex) instead of the stock market pricing of HEP. If HEP’s discount (which now stands at c 22%) were removed, FinLab’s NAV (at end-December 2020) would increase to €35.97 per share and the current share price would represent a discount to the last reported NAV of c 33%.

Exhibit 2: FinLab’s share price and NAV performance

Exhibit 3: FinLab’s discount/premium to NAV

Source: FinLab, Edison Investment Research

Source: FinLab, Edison Investment Research

Exhibit 2: FinLab’s share price and NAV performance

Source: FinLab, Edison Investment Research

Exhibit 3: FinLab’s discount/premium to NAV

Source: FinLab, Edison Investment Research

General disclaimer and copyright

Any Information, data, analysis and opinions contained in this report do not constitute investment advice by Deutsche Börse AG or the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse. Any investment decision should be solely based on a securities offering document or another document containing all information required to make such an investment decision, including risk factors. This report has been commissioned by Deutsche Börse AG and prepared and issued by Edison for publication globally.

Edison Investment Research standard fees are £49,500 pa for the production and broad dissemination of a detailed note (Outlook) following by regular (typically quarterly) update notes. Fees are paid upfront in cash without recourse. Edison may seek additional fees for the provision of roadshows and related IR services for the client but does not get remunerated for any investment banking services. We never take payment in stock, options or warrants for any of our services.

Accuracy of content: All information used in the publication of this report has been compiled from publicly available sources that are believed to be reliable, however we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this report and have not sought for this information to be independently verified. Opinions contained in this report represent those of the research department of Edison at the time of publication. Forward-looking information or statements in this report contain information that is based on assumptions, forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable, and therefore involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of their subject matter to be materially different from current expectations.

Exclusion of Liability: To the fullest extent allowed by law, Edison shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential losses, loss of profits, damages, costs or expenses incurred or suffered by you arising out or in connection with the access to, use of or reliance on any information contained on this note.

No personalised advice: The information that we provide should not be construed in any manner whatsoever as, personalised advice. Also, the information provided by us should not be construed by any subscriber or prospective subscriber as Edison’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect, any transaction in a security. The securities described in the report may not be eligible for sale in all jurisdictions or to certain categories of investors.

Investment in securities mentioned: Edison has a restrictive policy relating to personal dealing and conflicts of interest. Edison Group does not conduct any investment business and, accordingly, does not itself hold any positions in the securities mentioned in this report. However, the respective directors, officers, employees and contractors of Edison may have a position in any or related securities mentioned in this report, subject to Edison's policies on personal dealing and conflicts of interest.

Copyright: Copyright 2021 Edison Investment Research Limited (Edison).

Australia

Edison Investment Research Pty Ltd (Edison AU) is the Australian subsidiary of Edison. Edison AU is a Corporate Authorised Representative (1252501) of Crown Wealth Group Pty Ltd who holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (Number: 494274). This research is issued in Australia by Edison AU and any access to it, is intended only for "wholesale clients" within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of Australia. Any advice given by Edison AU is general advice only and does not take into account your personal circumstances, needs or objectives. You should, before acting on this advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument.

New Zealand

The research in this document is intended for New Zealand resident professional financial advisers or brokers (for use in their roles as financial advisers or brokers) and habitual investors who are “wholesale clients” for the purpose of the Financial Advisers Act 2008 (FAA) (as described in sections 5(c) (1)(a), (b) and (c) of the FAA). This is not a solicitation or inducement to buy, sell, subscribe, or underwrite any securities mentioned or in the topic of this document. For the purpose of the FAA, the content of this report is of a general nature, is intended as a source of general information only and is not intended to constitute a recommendation or opinion in relation to acquiring or disposing (including refraining from acquiring or disposing) of securities. The distribution of this document is not a “personalised service” and, to the extent that it contains any financial advice, is intended only as a “class service” provided by Edison within the meaning of the FAA (i.e. without taking into account the particular financial situation or goals of any person). As such, it should not be relied upon in making an investment decision.

United Kingdom

This document is prepared and provided by Edison for information purposes only and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation for investment in any securities mentioned or in the topic of this document. A marketing communication under FCA Rules, this document has not been prepared in accordance with the legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research.

This Communication is being distributed in the United Kingdom and is directed only at (i) persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments, i.e. investment professionals within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "FPO") (ii) high net-worth companies, unincorporated associations or other bodies within the meaning of Article 49 of the FPO and (iii) persons to whom it is otherwise lawful to distribute it. The investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to such persons. It is not intended that this document be distributed or passed on, directly or indirectly, to any other class of persons and in any event and under no circumstances should persons of any other description rely on or act upon the contents of this document.

This Communication is being supplied to you solely for your information and may not be reproduced by, further distributed to or published in whole or in part by, any other person.

United States

Edison relies upon the "publishers' exclusion" from the definition of investment adviser under Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and corresponding state securities laws. This report is a bona fide publication of general and regular circulation offering impersonal investment-related advice, not tailored to a specific investment portfolio or the needs of current and/or prospective subscribers. As such, Edison does not offer or provide personal advice and the research provided is for informational purposes only. No mention of a particular security in this report constitutes a recommendation to buy, sell or hold that or any security, or that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.

Frankfurt +49 (0)69 78 8076 960

Schumannstrasse 34b

60325 Frankfurt

Germany

London +44 (0)20 3077 5700

280 High Holborn

London, WC1V 7EE

United Kingdom

New York +1 646 653 7026

1185 Avenue of the Americas

3rd Floor, New York, NY 10036

United States of America

Sydney +61 (0)2 8249 8342

Level 4, Office 1205

95 Pitt Street, Sydney

NSW 2000, Australia

More on FinLab

View All

Latest from the Financials sector

View All Financials content

Research: Financials

Numis — A further very strong period

A favourable market background has contributed to a record performance for Numis in its first half that also confirms the strength of the franchise it has built across its investment banking and equities businesses. Recent activity has been focused on areas benefiting from the acceleration of secular trends prompted by the pandemic. Numis’s exposure to clients in these areas, including through its private markets activities, is valuable currently but should also prove a long-term strength.

Continue Reading

Subscribe to Edison

Get access to the very latest content matched to your personal investment style.

Sign up for free