[Music] At TIP, Tamburi Investment Partners, Giovanni Tamburi closes the first 9 months of the year with net assets of 1.510 billion euros and consolidated profit of 65.9 million euros, up 50% compared to last year. A result that includes some important capital gains, such as those realized on Hugo Boss and Alchemi, but which still does not include one of the largest recently monetized gains, the one on Bending Spoon. In the press release accompanying the accounts, the stock's annual performance is highlighted with a 136.6% rise and an average annual total return of 17.3%.
Talking about TIP, however, doesn't just mean talking about financial results. Tamburi's is a company that has always had a focus on the most promising Italian companies in its portfolio, which represents a thermometer of national entrepreneurship and market trends. So, let's have all of this told to us directly by the founder himself, Giovanni Tamburi. Good morning, Tamburi, thank you for being with us.
Good morning, thank you for the invitation.
Tamburi, I already listed some of the main financial results for the first 9 months. Let's start with those and look at the medium-term future. For example, are you planning to raise the dividend? Are there share buybacks, share cancellations? Are there IPOs in your pipeline?
Well yes, you've already said a lot. I believe the most important thing about our results is the fact that we have a very healthy, very solid group of companies that continues to post positive revenue growth. So I believe our satisfaction in these moments comes from the fact that despite the uncertainties we see around us, there is this base of about twenty medium-sized companies, plus another ten smaller but no less important ones, that support us with their numbers and are doing very well. Then during the period we made some capital gains, we did some particular operations, but I'd say the important things you've already mentioned. Regarding the future, you rightly mentioned that we are reflecting on the fact that given such good results and projecting the year positively, assuming nothing strange happens, we could indeed consider a substantially higher dividend. We have always preferred the path of giving a fair but limited dividend, also because, as you rightly cited, the return on our shares has been very, very high for over 20 years, and giving a dividend would have meant taking away growth opportunities from the money we could have invested better.
At this moment we are thinking about simplifying the group a bit and continuing the share buyback program very decisively. By the way, all target prices in recent days have been raised, they're between €12.50 and over €13. The stock is around €8.50, so I believe it's right to do buybacks.
Regarding your portfolio brands, which as I mentioned also give a sense, a thermometer of some of the national economy trends, especially in business, I'd start with some that relate to, so to speak, our textile sector, fashion, which is always one of the most important. From retail brands like OVS, which is going through a relaunch phase especially in retail and digital. The same goes for Moncler at the moment with its store concepts, and then above all Basicnet, where we've also seen important acquisitions in the United States very recently. How is this sector going in your portfolio, Tamburi?
It's going very well. By the way, our biggest investment in this sector is OVS, where together with the CEO and a fantastic top management, we achieved a wonderful turnaround. If we consider that we entered 5 years ago when the stock was under €1, now it's above €4, but above and beyond the stock price, we really changed many things. More beautiful stores, advertising, brands, the entry of Piombo, the entry of Lecopen. Days ago we announced the offer for Casanova. I believe it was and is one of the most beautiful Italian stories in retail, where many said it could be at risk, given Amazon, given international competition, given Shein, given Temu, and so on. At OVS, a truly wonderful journey has been made and we are truly very, very satisfied, also because we actively participated in all this change, all this improvement, because OVS wasn't doing badly, they had a small setback before we entered on an acquisition, but it was always a company that was doing well. With us it did much better because the management knew how to change many things, insert brands, introduce a new line, a new look. Today, entering an OVS store makes you happy, you enter with pleasure. Before it was a little less cheerful.
Moncler is doing excellently. Moncler is another exceptional masterpiece. We've been shareholders in Moncler for almost 15 years. The company always surprises with how well it does, and there's little to say. They are truly very talented, they've demonstrated it in every way. Basicnet, in which we have a small stake, did the Wruch operation, but above all is also pursuing, in the alliance with Permira on Kway, a development model, an activity model that is very interesting, very typical of an Italian multi-brand business, but which values very important brands. We're seeing Superga, we're seeing what they've done with Kway, with the opening of new stores, the modernization of Kway, and so on, and then also Robe di K and many others, so they are three masterpieces of which we are truly very proud.
Tamburi, there's a story about you, about your portfolio, that is particularly, let's say, representative of national innovation: that of Bending Spoon, one of the most interesting unicorns in Italy. You sold 9%, you specified that you remain partners and that an important investment remains in your portfolio, but it's a moment when we see many big players leaving the technology sector internationally. Buffett did it with Google, Peter Thiel with Nvidia, Masayoshi Son with Nvidia — well, the situations aren't comparable — but what was your spirit, let's say, in realizing gains on Bending Spoon?
