Key Highlights

• NGE is a small listed Investment company with a deliberately concentrated portfolio.

• Its first-half result slipped into a loss.

• Buy-backs and tax losses are part of the story.

• Concentration risk is a central issue to weigh.

NGE Capital (ASX:NGE) Limited is a small listed investment company that runs a deliberately concentrated portfolio, and in 2026 that concentration has cut both ways. Its first-half result slipped into a loss, yet the portfolio still sits well above the Market Price of its shares.

What NGE is

NGE Capital (ASX:NGE) has been quoted on the ASX since 28 December 2007 and became a listed investment company on 30 November 2016. The ASX describes it simply as a listed investment company.

Its stated aim is to hold a concentrated, high-conviction portfolio of financial Assets for medium to long-term risk-adjusted returns. It says it will only invest in a compelling opportunity and otherwise hold cash.

The first-half result

For the half-year to 30 June 2026, NGE reported a loss after tax of A$1.483 million, against a profit of A$4.630 million a year earlier. Basic Earnings Per Share were a loss of 4.35 cents, compared with a gain of 13.30 cents.

The swing came almost entirely from valuations. Investment income rose to A$549,000, made up of A$380,000 of dividends and A$169,000 of interest, but fair-value movements on investments were a A$1.288 million loss, after a A$4.827 million gain in the first half of 2025.

Net assets were A$57.547 million at 30 June, down from A$59.843 million at 31 December 2025. Net Tangible Assets (NTA) per share before tax were A$1.590, down 1.7 per cent over the six months.

What the portfolio holds

NGE's 30 September 2026 update shows how unusual the book is for a company of this size. The largest positions were Yellow Cake plc at 13.0 per cent of NTA, K92 Mining at 10.2 per cent, MLG Oz at 7.9 per cent, Carnarvon Energy at 7.7 per cent and Alliance Aviation Services at 6.6 per cent. Sprott Physical Uranium Trust added 5.1 per cent, so uranium exposure is considerable.

Net cash and other assets were 8 per cent. In September NGE opened new positions in Iress and Servcorp and added to Embark Early Education and Humm Group.

At that date NTA per share was A$1.584 before tax and A$1.703 after tax, with the shares at A$1.250 and a Market Value of A$42.0 million on 33,631,211 shares. That is a discount of 21 per cent to pre-tax NTA, on our arithmetic.

Buy-backs and tax losses

NGE has been repurchasing its own shares. In the first half it bought 672,012 shares for A$813,000, including brokerage, compared with 1,128,495 shares for A$1.161 million a year earlier. It also lodged further buy-back notices in August and October 2026. No Dividend was paid or provided for in the half-year.

Buying shares below NTA lifts the NTA attributable to each remaining share, although it also shrinks an already small company.

The after-tax NTA includes a deferred tax asset. NGE reports about A$20 million of unused Australian tax losses, a potential benefit of about A$5 million, of which about A$4.0 million, or A$0.120 per share, is recognised. Using those losses depends on meeting the continuity of ownership test under Divisions 165 and 166 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.

Risks and what to watch

Performance has been uneven.

Concentration means a few holdings, several of them in commodity-linked businesses and overseas-listed securities, can swing results. The portfolio is small, and the discount to NTA can persist.

Investors should watch the monthly NTA updates, usually released around the second week of the following month, and the 2026 annual report. NGE's financial year ends on 31 December.