Increases in valuation and a stronger British pound and Australian dollar helped Somers Limited to a $74.6 million profit in its first quarter, which ended on December 31.

The financial services investment holding company has reported its results, only days after it was announced that regulatory and government approvals have been received for the sale of Bermuda Commercial Bank Ltd, which it owns.

Alisdair Younie, director of ICM Ltd, Somers’ investment advisor, said: “Post the quarter end we were delighted to announce that all material regulatory and government approvals had been received for the sale of BCB. We expect the sale to complete shortly and will advise shareholders of the anticipated use of the proceeds upon completion.”

Somers’ net income of $74.6 million, or $3.61 per share, compares to a loss of $16.8 million for the same period in 2018.

The company said the improvement was primarily due to valuation increases at Resimac and PCF, and the strengthening of sterling and the Australian dollar against the US dollar. About 80 per cent of Somers’ investment portfolio is exposed to foreign currencies, mostly British and Australian.

Warren McLeland, chairman of Somers, said: “The first quarter of the year included buoyant global stock markets, clarity on Brexit and an agreement on phase one of the US/China trade war. This had a positive impact on Somers’ two main foreign currency exposures, sterling and the Australian Dollar.

“On top of this, Resimac announced strong financial results during the quarter providing a significant increase to the valuation. This gain at Resimac, the positive move in the global markets and stronger foreign currencies enabled Somers to announce a record profit for the quarter of $74.6 million and an increase in the company’s net asset value to $20.41.

“Importantly, our underlying investments continue to perform strongly with their core fundamentals continuing to provide excellent growth.”

Resimac Group Holdings is Somers’ largest investment with a value of $227.8 million and assets under management of A$14.2 billion ($9.3 million) at the end of December.

Other investment highlights for Somers during its first quarter was Waverton Investment Management Ltd completing the acquisition of Timothy James & Partners, and MJ Hudson Group plc completing its initial public offering on the London Alternative Investment Market, raising $30 million and valuing Somers; investment at $10.4 million.

Somers’ total borrowings at December 31 were $73.6 million, up from $67.9 million three months earlier due to increased shareholder loans to fund investments.