Hipgnosis Touts 24.7% Gross Revenue Gain in Annual Report
variety.comGeoff Mayfield Although Hipgnosis Songs Fund was unusually quiet in the last six months of its fiscal year, the company that helped propel the value of music catalogs in recent years saw its value grow by nearly 5.5%, and picked up a 24% gain in gross revenue, according to its just-issued annual report.The outside evaluator cited in the report, Barry Massarsky, partner at New York-based Massarsky Consulting, stakes London-based Hipgnosis’ value at $2.69 million in U.S.
dollars, a gain of $140 million for the fiscal year that closed March 31. That’s despite taking a half-year off from its practically non-stop shopping spree, which over the years landed the assets of such composers and artists as Nile Rogers, Barry Manilow, the Chainsmokers, Neil Young, Shakira, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
The report reveals not just a 24% gain in gross revenue, to $22.4 million, but a 9.5% improvement in the value of its portfolio to $2.7 billion, while its operative net asset value (NAV) came in at $1.8491 per share, above the projected yield of $1.751.
The operative value reflects a total return of 9.2% in the second half of Hipgnosis’ fiscal year, and 14.2% over the entire year.While its acquisition pace quieted in the second half of the year, the company still landed eight key assets during the fiscal year, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Rhett Akins, the Monsters & Strangerz (Stefan and Jordan Johnson), Elliot Lurie, Heart’s Ann Wilson and Kaiser Chiefs.
Read more on variety.com
