Scandinavian Credit Fund I AB (publ) reports a NAV rate for December of 73.71. It is down by 0.16%.
No new lending took place to external borrowers during December. To the majority-owned companies, the fund has lent 3.5 MDK to the electricity trading company b.energy, while Global Scanning amortized its loan of 2.2 MUSD.
During December, the fund closed additional currency hedges and will close all of them in January. This is to reduce the fund's costs. Volatility in the fund's NAV will therefore increase somewhat in the future.
Pledged assets
The Norwegian loan brokerage company Scoopr has increased its market share in 2023. However, the rising interest rate situation has had a negative impact on the business. However, Scoopr has been cash flow positive since the summer. The decided change in strategy from growth focus to cash flow focus has had an effect.
The Danish electricity distributor b.energy has been adversely affected by fierce price competition and has lost customers. The fund has decided to wind down operations under orderly conditions. The subsidiary Blue for Sure, which sells insurance, was wound up in December. The shareholding in b.energy is almost completely written down.
The third shareholding in which the fund is the majority shareholder is Global Scanning. They have a world market share of around 70% in industrial scanners. The company has developed positively during the year and was thus able to amortize USD 2.2 million in December. The Huthi rebels' attacks in the Suez Canal mean that Global Scanning's deliveries now go around the Cape of Good Hope. This results in 3-4 weeks of increased delivery time and thus tied up capital.
The fund has sold the properties in Kopparberg corresponding to the NAVet value. The rental rate has increased for the properties in Norrtälje. Two of the cottages in Björnrike have now been sold and there will therefore not be a need for further lifting to finance the operation. The cottages that are not sold will be rented out https://idetfjallby.se/
The distribution of the portfolio
The distribution of the portfolio regarding the mortgaged assets looks according to the table below. The rest of the portfolio is loans that have not been mortgaged and are running as before. It is important to point out that the pledged assets consist of companies in category 1-3, i.e. category 1 are companies that pay their interest and amortization according to agreements and here are the largest holdings.
Management strategy
The fund works actively to manage and refine the assets. Hans Westerberg is now chairman of the board of the three shareholdings. What these companies have in common is to lower the cost mass to get a lower break-even level and thus become less sensitive to loss of revenue.
Refund
The fund receives many questions regarding when the next repayment will take place. As previously communicated, it will happen in Q1 2024 at the earliest and the fund will return when it becomes relevant.
Repayments are made via Euroclear as repayment of capital. No withholding tax is therefore deducted. Taxation of the shares is done according to current taxation rules, depending on which form of savings was used. The fund cannot answer questions regarding taxation as the fund does not have insight into individual investors' savings, but it is a matter between the investor and its advisers and custodian institutions.
Repayment takes place when the fund has accumulated enough cash for the payment to be meaningful. This is because the repayments are associated with administrative work and costs.
The settlement date for payments will in future take place on the same day as the monthly NAV, i.e. the last day of the month. And published on the first working day of the month. Refunds are made five working days later.
The payment is paid pro rata to the Fund's shareholders. More information about repayment is communicated on the fund's website: https://kreditfonden.se/
