Georgia Capital’s first-quarter update is one of those results where the headline and the underlying picture are slightly different. On the surface, net asset value, or NAV, per share was basically flat at GEL 154.82, up just 0.1% quarter-on-quarter. Underneath that, though, the private portfolio had a very good quarter, Lion Finance Group reached the FTSE 100, and buybacks kept doing their job.
That matters because Georgia Capital is really two stories in one: a large listed stake in Lion Finance Group and a collection of private businesses in areas like pharmacy, healthcare and insurance. In 1Q26, the private businesses were strong. The listed piece was the drag during the quarter, even though it has improved sharply since the period end.
Georgia Capital 1Q26 results: the key numbers retail investors need to know
| Metric | 1Q26 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| NAV per share | GEL 154.82 | +0.1% |
| NAV per share | GBP 43.34 | +2.1% |
| Net asset value | GEL 5,152.1 million | -0.8% |
| Total portfolio value creation | GEL 48.8 million | -85.8% |
| Adjusted net income | GEL 29.9 million | -91.0% |
| Total private portfolio revenue | GEL 594.3 million | +13.5% |
| Total private portfolio EBITDA | GEL 95.1 million | +22.4% |
| Shares bought back | 589,034 | GEL 76.0 million spent |
| NCC ratio | 3.9% | +1.6 percentage points |
| Post-period NAV per share as at 27 April 2026 | GEL 168.92 | +9.2% YTD |
One important wrinkle: the company also says IFRS net income was GEL 26.0 million, while adjusted IFRS/APM net income was GEL 29.9 million. That is not unusual in investment holding companies, but investors should know which profit number they are looking at.
Why Georgia Capital NAV per share was flat despite strong private portfolio growth
The private portfolio created GEL 78.0 million of value in the quarter. That is the good bit. The problem was that the listed portfolio, which is basically Lion Finance Group, saw a GEL 29.2 million value reduction.
The main reasons were a 2.0% quarter-on-quarter appreciation of the GEL against sterling and a largely flat Lion Finance Group share price, down 0.2% quarter-on-quarter. In plain English, the private assets were working hard, but currency moves and the listed stake stopped that from showing up properly in quarter-end NAV.
There were also other drags. Management platform costs and net interest expense had a combined negative 1.2 percentage point impact on NAV per share. On top of that, emerging and other businesses suffered a GEL 25.7 million value reduction, largely tied to a one-off write-down in renewable energy after two pipeline projects were discontinued.
My read is that this is a decent result dressed up as a flat one. If you only look at quarter-end NAV, you miss the fact that the operating businesses had a strong quarter and the post-period move has already improved the picture.
Lion Finance Group FTSE 100 promotion is a big deal for Georgia Capital shareholders
This is arguably the biggest strategic headline in the RNS. Lion Finance Group was promoted from the FTSE 250 to the FTSE 100 in March 2026, becoming the first Georgian company in the index.
Why does that matter? Because FTSE 100 membership tends to improve visibility, liquidity and institutional investor interest. For Georgia Capital, which had 47.2% of its portfolio in Lion Finance Group at 31 March 2026, that matters a lot.
Even better, the company says that after the quarter end, NAV per share rose to GEL 168.92 and GBP 46.50 as of 27 April 2026, mainly because Lion Finance Group’s share price appreciated significantly. So the listed portfolio weakness in 1Q26 already looks dated.
There is a flip side, though. Concentration risk is real. If Lion Finance Group is nearly half the portfolio, Georgia Capital shareholders are still heavily exposed to what happens there.
Retail pharmacy, healthcare and insurance drove Georgia Capital private portfolio growth
The private portfolio numbers were properly solid. Large portfolio company revenue rose 13.7% year-on-year to GEL 489.4 million, EBITDA – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – rose 26.9% to GEL 72.6 million, and net operating cash flow increased 29.8% to GEL 55.9 million.
Retail pharmacy delivered strong growth and better margins
The pharmacy business was excellent. Revenue rose 8.3% to GEL 244.4 million, gross profit margin improved to 34.0%, EBITDA increased 20.5% to GEL 29.1 million, and net profit jumped 40.3% to GEL 23.6 million.
This looks like healthy growth rather than financial engineering. Same-store revenue growth was 4.5%, average bill size rose 11.0%, and five new pharmacies were added in the quarter.
Healthcare services kept growing, but cash conversion was softer
Healthcare revenue rose 13.9% to GEL 131.4 million and EBITDA increased 15.6% to GEL 27.0 million. That is good, especially given growth across hospitals, clinics and diagnostics.
The softer point was cash conversion. EBITDA to cash conversion was 44.9%, down from 50.1%, because of the seasonality of state cash collections. Management says that should improve later in the year, but it is still something to watch.
Insurance was the standout performer in 1Q26
Insurance revenue rose 27.0% to GEL 113.6 million and pre-tax profit surged 78.0% to GEL 15.7 million. That is the kind of jump that grabs attention.
The combined ratio – claims plus expenses as a percentage of premiums, where below 100% is good – improved to 85.7% in P&C insurance and 91.2% in medical insurance. That tells you the growth was profitable, not sloppy.
Georgia Capital share buybacks remain central to the investment case
Georgia Capital bought back 589,034 shares for GEL 76.0 million in 1Q26. Of that, 475,000 shares costing US$ 22.0 million, or GEL 59.8 million, were repurchased under its buyback and cancellation programmes.
That matters because the share count fell 0.9% quarter-on-quarter, which helped NAV per share even when total NAV edged down. Since the demerger, the company says it has returned US$ 268 million to shareholders through the repurchase of 16.3 million shares, equal to 33.9% of issued share capital at its peak. That is serious capital return, not token stuff.
The NCC ratio, which measures net capital commitments against portfolio value, rose to 3.9% from 2.3%. That was mainly because of the newly launched US$ 50 million buyback programme. I would not call that alarming from this RNS alone, but it does show more cash has been earmarked.
What looks less good in the Georgia Capital RNS
- Total portfolio value creation fell sharply to GEL 48.8 million from GEL 343.5 million a year earlier.
- Adjusted net income fell 91.0% year-on-year to GEL 29.9 million.
- Emerging and other businesses took a hit from discontinued renewable energy projects, including a GEL 12 million write-down.
- Operating expenses at the holding company rose 36.4% to GEL 13.3 million.
Some of that is timing and comparatives rather than deterioration. Dividend income jumped because Lion Finance Group moved to quarterly dividends, while the fair value movement in the listed portfolio was much weaker than last year. Even so, rising central costs are not ideal, and the renewable write-down is a reminder that not every private investment line will behave neatly.
What this Georgia Capital update means for investors now
I think this RNS is more positive than the flat NAV headline suggests. The private businesses are growing well, insurance was especially strong, and Lion Finance Group’s FTSE 100 entry strengthens the listed side of the story. The post-quarter rise in NAV per share backs that up.
The main thing to understand is this: Georgia Capital’s near-term valuation can still swing around with Lion Finance Group’s share price and FX moves, even when the private portfolio is doing well. For long-term investors, that can be frustrating. It can also create opportunity.
At 31 March 2026, the discount to NAV had narrowed to a record low of 16.2%, versus an all-time high of 66.6% in September 2022. That says the market has already started giving the company more credit. Even so, management still sees a 30.2% discount to private portfolio NAV, which helps explain why buybacks remain a priority.
Bottom line: this was a good operational quarter, a mediocre quarter for reported NAV, and a very encouraging setup into the second quarter. If Lion Finance Group stays strong and the private businesses keep compounding, the case for Georgia Capital still looks intact.
