Net asset value (NAV) of Aker ASA and its holding companies (Aker) was NOK 19.4 billion as of 31 December 2011; the figure corresponds to NOK 268.50 per share, compared with NOK 223.80 as of 30 September 2011 and NOK 253.80 as of year-end 2010.
Aker has continued building a solid foundation for value growth and its operating companies reported strong operational performances in the fourth quarter. The Board recommends payment of a NOK 11 per-share dividend for the 2011 accounting year.
Aker ASA's shares rose 30 percent in the fourth quarter, outpacing a 10 percent advance in the Oslo Stock Exchange benchmark index (OSEBX). Year-on-year the stock gained 11 percent, or 18 percent, including dividend. The OSEBX declined 12 percent in the period.
Net asset value (NAV) advanced 20 percent in the quarter to NOK 19.4 billion and rose 5.7 percent from NOK 18.4 billion as of 31 December 2010. The increase is largely attributable to a gain in the value of Aker's investment in Det norske, partially offset by the NOK 724 million paid-out dividend in 2011.
The value of Aker's Industrial Holdings portfolio was NOK 12.4 billion as of the close of the fourth quarter, up NOK 0.3 billion from 30 September 2011.
Share investments in the listed companies Det norske, Aker Solutions and Kvaerner increased in value by a total of NOK 3.2 billion in the fourth quarter, while the value of the investment in Aker BioMarine slipped NOK 173 million.
Aker Drilling was taken out of the Industrial portfolio following the sale of Aker's 41.1 percent ownership interest in the rig company to Transocean. The Aker Clean Carbon shareholding was written down from NOK 147 million to NOK 0 at the close of the third quarter and transferred from Aker's Industrial Holdings to its Financial Investments portfolio as of the fourth quarter.
The Funds portfolio amounted to NOK 1.4 billion as of 31 December 2011, compared to NOK 1.8 billion as of 30 September 2011. Repayment of capital from Converto to Aker amounted to NOK 664 million in the fourth quarter.
Aker's Financial Investments portfolio amounted to NOK 8.9 billion as of 31 December 2011, up from NOK 5.7 billion at the close of the third quarter. As a result of the NOK 2.85 billion settlement received from the sale of Aker's ownership in Aker Drilling to Transocean, cash rose to NOK 4.0 billion from NOK 2.3 billion in the third quarter. Loans to subsidiaries and associated companies totaled NOK 3.2 billion, up NOK 1 billion from the close of the preceding quarter mainly as a result of a draw down facility issued for Fornebuporten AS that was partly replaced by a NOK 440 million bank loan in the first quarter of 2012.
In the fourth quarter Aker bought NOK 76 million of Det norske's outstanding convertible bond with ticker AKX01 in connection with the company's announced sale of bonds held in treasury.
