Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 0117H

Witan Pacific Investment Trust PLC

13 June 2013

 



WITAN PACIFIC INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

Interim Management Statement - 3 months ended 30 April 2013

Introduction

The Company has prepared this Interim Management Statement ("IMS") to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules. The IMS covers the three months to 30 April 2013, together with relevant information up to the date of publication.

Investment Objective

The objective of Witan Pacific Investment Trust plc ("the Company") is to provide shareholders with a portfolio of equity investments in the Asia Pacific region with the aim of outperforming the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Free Index (£). 

The Company's assets are managed by Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited, Matthews International Capital Management LLC and GaveKal Capital Limited. The Executive Manager is Witan Investment Services Limited.

Multi-Manager Structure

Managers	% of Assets 31 January 2013	% of Assets 30 April 2013
Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited	54	53
Matthews International Capital Management LLC	36	37
GaveKal Capital Limited	10	10

Company Information

Epic Code	WPC
Sector	Far East - Including Japan
Trust Type	Conventional
Launch Date	1907
Financial Year End	31 January
Annual Results Announced	25 April 2013
AGM	13 June 2013

Company Statistics

	31 January 2013	30 April 2013
Gross Total Assets*	£182.1m	£196.8m
NAV per ordinary share cum income*	262.89p	285.14p
Share price*	229.25p	254p
Discount*	12.8%	10.9%
Gearing*	4.2%	3.2%
Yield*	1.7%	1.7%

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Performance Statistics

Cumulative Performance	3 months	6 months	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Share Price (Total Return)	10.8	24.9	31.8	40.4	57.8	271.0
Net Asset Value (Total Return)#	8.5	18.7	23.3	30.2	53.6	235.0
Index (Total Return)	9.5	21.8	21.8	20.7	38.0	210.3

Performance Data Source: Datastream and Witan Pacific to 30 April 2013.

 #The Net Asset Value figures value debt at fair value.

The benchmark for the Company's performance is the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Free Index (£). Source: MSCI, for more information please go to http://www.witanpacific.com/legal-information

Quarterly Portfolio Report as at 30 April 2013

The regional benchmark performed well over the quarter, although there was significant dispersion between individual country returns with a very strong performance from Japan offset by weaker returns from China and India.  The Japanese market benefitted from detailed announcements from the Bank of Japan of its plans to end deflation by purchasing government bonds in order to boost the money supply.

Witan Pacific's Net Asset Value increased by 8.5% on a total return basis over the quarter to the end of April 2013, which  was 1% below the benchmark's total return of 9.5%.  The Trust's share price, which increased by 10.8% on a total return basis, outperformed the benchmark by 1.3%.  The share price outperformance was due to a narrowing of the discount from 12.8% at the end of January to 10.9%

The Company's three managers have differing approaches to investment, which are generally complementary and all have borne fruit since inception. Aberdeen's portfolio, amounting to c.53% of the Company's assets, is invested in good quality companies which are expected to grow, while offering resilience in a difficult economic environment. This approach has resulted in a defensive portfolio which has not kept pace recently with rising markets (with growth of 5.9% during the quarter), although the long term record shows substantial outperformance. Matthews looks for companies with the potential for growth in cashflows to pay attractive and rising dividends. It has performed strongly, increasing by 12.2% over the quarter before fees, continuing a strong run of performance since appointment in 2012.  GaveKal invests in growth companies and actively adjusts its asset allocation depending upon its view of the outlook for markets. GaveKal's portfolio grew by 8.2% over the quarter, but has outperformed since appointment last year.

Since the adoption of the multi-manager approach in May 2005 to the end of April 2013, Witan Pacific has delivered a positive NAV total return of 11.4% per annum, 1.7% ahead of the benchmark's 9.7% annual return.

Geographic Breakdown*

	31 January 2013 %	30 April 2013 %
Japan	21	23
Hong Kong	18	17
Singapore	12	12
China	12	12
Australia	8	9
India	6	6
Taiwan	5	5
South Korea	4	4
Other Countries	14	12

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Sector Allocation*

	31 January 2013 %	30 April 2013 %
Financials	29	29
Consumer Staples	11	12
Consumer Discretionary	11	12
Industrials	9	9
Information Technology	8	7
Materials	8	7
Telecommunication Services	6	7
Energy	5	4
Healthcare	3	4
Utilities	3	3
Other (investment funds)	7	6

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Ten Largest Holdings*

31 January 2013	%
GaveKal Asian Opportunities	10.1
Aberdeen Global India Opps Fund	4.3
HSBC Holdings	3.3
Taiwan Semiconductor	2.6
China Mobile	2.5
Japan Tobacco	2.1
QBE Insurance	2.1
Samsung Electronics	2.0
Singapore Tech Engineering	2.0
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	2.0

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

30 April 2013	%
GaveKal Asian Opportunities	10.2
Aberdeen Global India Opps Fund	4.1
HSBC Holdings	3.1
Japan Tobacco	2.7
Taiwan Semiconductor	2.6
China Mobile	2.5
QBE Insurance	2.3
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	2.1
Singapore Tech Engineering	2.0
Samsung Electronics	1.9

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Material Events

There were no material events during the period.

Changes to Share Capital

There were no changes to the share capital during the period.

Capita Company Secretarial Services Limited

Corporate Secretary

 

END

 

 

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