Pantheon International H2 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• NAV rose 4.3% for the year ended May 31, 2026, supported by underlying valuation gains, investment income and £118 million in share buybacks. Pantheon’s share price gained 37.5%, narrowing its discount to NAV to 21% from 40%.
• Pantheon sold a targeted asset portfolio for £224 million, with at least 80% of the proceeds earmarked for further buybacks. The transaction also helped reduce its underlying manager roster to 62 from about 90, concentrating on consistently strong performers.
• The trust is refocusing its portfolio toward direct investments, North American exposure and small- and mid-market buyouts. Its balance sheet remained supported by a refinanced £400 million credit facility, with net debt at 9.2% of NAV and £25 million in net available cash.

Pantheon International LON: PIN reported a 4.3% increase in net asset value for the year ended May 31, 2026, as the private-equity investment trust advanced a portfolio-reset strategy that included asset sales, share repurchases and a narrower roster of underlying managers.

The company said private equity continues to operate against a backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, describing the environment as one of the industry’s most significant “macro resets” in decades. Pantheon said its manager selection process emphasizes firms able to navigate volatile markets while identifying opportunities created by dislocation.

Asset Sale Supports Buybacks and Portfolio Refocus

In May, Pantheon announced the sale of a targeted portfolio of assets that generated net proceeds of £224 million. The company said at least 80% of those proceeds will be allocated to share buybacks.

The disposal was intended both to provide additional liquidity for repurchases and to rotate capital away from investments Pantheon views as having limited upside. The company said it intends to remain an active seller in the secondary market, while noting that private-equity secondary transactions operate differently from public-market sales processes.

The transaction also supported efforts to consolidate the company’s manager base. Pantheon said the number of underlying managers in its portfolio fell to 62 from roughly 90 as of Nov. 30, 2025, with the company focusing on managers that have demonstrated consistent first- and second-quartile performance.

During the period, Pantheon spent £118 million on share buybacks, which contributed 2.2% to NAV, according to the company. Underlying valuation gains and investment income added 3.8%, while foreign-exchange movements contributed another 0.7%. Expenses and taxes partially offset those gains, and the secondary asset sale also affected NAV during the year.

Share Price Rises as Discount Narrows

Pantheon’s share price rose 37.5% in the 12 months through May 31, outperforming the MSCI World and FTSE All-Share indices over the same period, the company said. The improvement narrowed the shares’ discount to NAV to 21% from 40% at the end of May 2025.

The trust said it has made progress on actions agreed with its board to improve long-term NAV performance and reduce the discount at which its shares trade.

Portfolio Targets Direct Investments and North American Mid-Market

As of May 31, approximately 53% of Pantheon’s portfolio was invested directly in private companies, with the remainder including primary fund investments. The company said its longer-term objective is to achieve an equal mix of direct investments and funds.

Pantheon said direct investments provide more fee-efficient access to high-conviction businesses and enable it to conduct due diligence and target companies based on size, geography and industry. For primary fund investments, it said manager quality, operational value-creation capabilities and sector expertise remain central considerations.

The company said it plans to further increase its exposure to North America and to small- and mid-market buyouts. Pantheon cited the depth of the North American private-equity market and said mid-market managers can focus more heavily on operational improvements rather than relying on a single return driver.

It also said smaller and mid-sized companies may attract strategic buyers and larger buyout managers, reducing the portfolio’s reliance on public markets as an exit route.

Balance Sheet and Sector Positioning

Pantheon refinanced and extended its £400 million revolving credit facility by one year to October 2029, on improved commercial terms. At May 31, it had drawn £112 million under that facility and had £111 million, sterling equivalent, of private placement loan notes outstanding. Net available cash was £25 million.

Net debt represented 9.2% of NAV at period-end. Pantheon reported financing cover of 4.5 times and an undrawn coverage ratio of 92%, saying it regularly stress tests its liquidity and commitments against different market scenarios.

Information technology remained the portfolio’s largest sector, followed by healthcare and consumer. Pantheon acknowledged concerns over artificial intelligence’s potential effect on software businesses but said its specialist managers have been assessing AI-related risks and opportunities for some time.

The company said its analysis of the Directs portfolio showed continued strong revenue and EBITDA growth despite some negative value drivers. It added that the effects of a slower macroeconomic environment over the past three years have already been reflected in NAV, while the underlying operating trajectory of the portfolio remains intact.

About Pantheon International (LON:PIN)

Pantheon International Plc (PIN) is an investment trust that provides investors with differentiated access to a global, diversified portfolio of private equity-backed companies through a flexible and active investment approach. Through its commitments to some of the world's best private equity managers that might otherwise be inaccessible to individual investors, PIN makes the private, public. Launched in 1987 and a constituent of the FTSE 250, PIN is a company of scale and one of the longest established private equity funds on the London Stock Exchange.

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