KUALA LUMPUR: Ekuiti Nasional Bhd’s (Ekuinas) total cumulative investment stood at RM4.4bil in FY21, comprising 70 investments covering 47 direct investments and 23 outsourced programmes which consequently generated a total economic deployment of RM5bil, together with private sector partners.

       In a statement, the government-linked private equity (PE) fund management company, Ekuinas said its consolidated revenue grew 12.1% and earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) growth of 28.0%, well above FY20’s performance of -12.8% and -14.9% respectively.

       Ekuinas Direct (Tranche II) Fund recorded a gross portfolio return of RM654mil, generating a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 12.1%per annum and a net IRR of 8.6%.

       In a statement, the government-linked private equity (PE) fund management company, however, said the Ekuinas Direct (Tranche III) Fund recorded a gross portfolio loss of RM125.3mil, translating to a negative gross IRR of -4.3% per annum.

       “The Ekuinas Direct (Tranche IV) Fund is still in the early stages of investment and is expected to perform well backed by the strong performance of its underlying asset, Medispec (M) Sdn Bhd, a leading distributor and marketer of local pharmaceutical and supplement products,” Ekuinas said.

       It added that the investment which was made in February 2021 marked its maiden foray into the pharmaceutical space.

       Meanwhile, the Ekuinas Outsourced (Tranche I) recorded a gross portfolio return of RM60.5mil, achieving a gross IRR of 3.3% per annum and a net IRR of 2.5% per annum whilst Ekuinas Outsourced (Tranche II) fund recorded a gross portfolio loss of RM4.4mil, translating to a negative gross IRR of -0.8% per annum.

       “Whilst 2021 tested Ekuinas’ resilience as a company and as a PE investor given the uncertain and challenging economic environment brought on by the pandemic and resulting lockdowns, Ekuinas remained active in efforts to preserve our portfolio performance in a volatile environment and create long term value for our investors, companies, people and the wider community,” chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda said.

       “As we marked our 13th anniversary, we were grateful that with industry support and hard work put in by our employees and that of our portfolio companies, the year proved our ability to successfully navigate through this environment with the implementation of robust business continuity plans focused on building resilience, maximising operations under various restrictions and leveraging cost containment structures that were perfected in 2020,” he said.

       He noted that in FY21, Ekuinas successfully increased the total Bumiputera equity ownership in its portfolio companies to RM5.9bil, or 1.5 times of capital invested, as compared to RM5.6bil in 2020.

       “We also helped to increase the pool of Bumiputera managers and employees by 19.4% for Bumiputera managers and 12.3% for Bumiputera employees, up from 13.3% and 10.5% respectively in 2020.

       “These have contributed towards increasing the total shareholders’ value for portfolio companies to RM7.7bil, or 2.0 times of the invested capital as compared to RM7bil in the previous year, reflecting Ekuinas’ success in leveraging on the PE business model to promote wealth creation for Bumiputeras and all Malaysians,” Raja Arshad said.

       Meanwhile, chief executive officer Syed Yasir Arafat said: “2021 has certainly been a year of continued change and adaptation – one that demanded resilience, agility, discipline and saw the accelerated push for greater digitalisation, and with that, enhanced innovation in all industries including the PE space.”

       “The PE market’s performance in Malaysia was relatively subdued despite growth in funds and asset allocation with the pandemic situation mid-2021 delaying broad-based recovery in economic activity. However, with the steady and gradual rebound that we see, we are ready to capitalise on opportunities that are aligned to our investment strategies,” he said.

       Commenting on the outlook for 2022, Syed Yasir said, “Ekuinas expects 2022 to be the year we truly emerge from the pandemic. We anticipate that economic activity will improve for many of our portfolio companies as the economy bounces back gradually and the country opens its borders. In 2021, digitalisation was an impactful theme for us with almost all our portfolio companies undergoing digitalisation enhancement as a critical core of business operations and will continue to be a guiding force as we move forward.”