BioPharma Credit buys back $50 mln shares, reports $72.8 mln profit in first half

Investing.com -- BioPharma Credit Plc (LON:BPCR) on Monday reported a return on ordinary activities after finance costs and taxation of $72.8 million for the first half of 2025, up slightly from $71.8 million a year earlier, while spending $50 million on share repurchases during the period.

The UK-based company posted net income per share of 6.33 cents, nearly matching total dividends of 6.75 cents declared for the half year, which included a 1.5 cent special dividend announced after June 30. 

BioPharma Credit paid two interim dividends of 4.64 cents combined during the six months and a further 1.75 cent dividend on July 31.

At June 30, net assets stood at $1.15 billion compared with $1.18 billion at the end of 2024. 

Net asset value per share rose to $1.0186 from $0.9963 a year earlier, while the share price closed unchanged at 88.4 cents. 

Shares traded at a 13.2% discount to NAV, compared with 11.3% at the end of 2024. The company held $213.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $168.6 million at year-end.

Over the first six months, BioPharma Credit deployed $144.2 million in new loans. These included a $104.2 million refinancing of a facility with Evolus, $25 million invested in Paratek, and $15 million in Alphatec convertible notes. 

The company received $71.5 million in repayment from OptiNose, $30 million in prepayment from BioCryst, and $62.5 million from the Evolus refinancing. 

It also finalized a settlement with Biogen relating to Reata Pharmaceuticals, resulting in $7.3 million net of legal expenses.

Subsequent to the reporting period, BioCryst announced plans to repay its outstanding balance. 

BioPharma Credit said it expects to receive $99.5 million in principal and $5.5 million in accrued interest and fees by October. 

Additional transactions after June included $2.5 million in Celcuity convertible notes, $50 million in a senior secured loan with an option to increase by $12.5 million, and $35 million in Harrow notes.

The company returned $89.5 million through dividends and buybacks during the first half, equal to 7.8% of NAV. 

Buybacks totaled 56.7 million shares at an average price of 88 cents. Ordinary shares in issue fell to 1.13 billion from 1.18 billion at the end of 2024, while treasury shares rose to 244.6 million from 187.9 million.

Portfolio composition at June 30 showed Collegium as the largest holding at $264.6 million, followed by Insmed at $216.6 million and BioCryst at $103.6 million. 

Other key positions included Evolus at $61.9 million, UroGen at $49.7 million, and Geron at $48.9 million. Total investments stood at $952.5 million.

The board announced the appointment of Nigel Reynoldson as chairman effective January 2026. Reynoldson is currently a partner at PwC focusing on transaction services and capital markets. 

Chairman Harry Hyman said the company’s half-year performance reflected resilience across its diversified portfolio, noting that 76% of the loan balance, or $685.4 million, was tied to floating interest rates.