Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4156F

Witan Pacific Investment Trust PLC

14 June 2012

 



WITAN PACIFIC INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

Interim Management Statement - 3 months ended 30 April 2012

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 2012, 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 balanced 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 LLP and MW GaveKal Asia Limited. The Executive Manager is Witan Investment Services Limited.

Multi-Manager Structure

Managers	% of  Assets 31 January 2012	% of Assets 30 April 2012
Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited	56	56
Matthews International Capital Management	n/a	34
MW GaveKal Asia Limited	n/a	10
Nomura Asset Management U.K. Limited	44	n/a

Company Information

Epic Code	WPC
Sector	Far East - Including Japan
Trust Type	Conventional
Launch Date	1907
Financial Year End	31 January
Annual Results Announced	April 2012
AGM	June 2012

Company Statistics

	31 January 2012	30 April 2012
Gross Total Assets*	£162.7m	£165.8m
NAV per ordinary share cum income*	235.60p	240.02p
Share price*	193.63p	199.00p
Premium/Discount*	-17.8%	-17.1%
Gearing*	3.4%	1.5%
Yield*	1.4%	2.0%

*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)	2.8	5.0	-4.0	56.5	28.5	104.4
Net Asset Value (Total Return)#	2.1	6.4	-2.0	51.4	35.0	97.6
Index (Total Return)	-0.1	3.5	-5.0	36.0	20.1	87.3

Performance Data Source: Datastream, the AIC and Witan Pacific to 30 April 2012.

#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 (£).

Quarterly Portfolio Report as at 30 April 2012

The Trust outperformed its benchmark over the quarter to the end of April 2012, with a Net Asset Value total return of 2.1%, compared to -0.1% for the benchmark.  At the manager level, Aberdeen returned 2.9% while Nomura returned 1% over the part of the period when it was managing the Trust's assets.

Over the seven year period from the adoption of the multi-manager approach in May 2005 to 30 April 2012, Witan Pacific has delivered a positive NAV total return of 9.7% per annum, 1.7% per annum ahead of the benchmark's 8.0% annual return.

Market performance over the quarter was mixed with a strong positive performance in February as markets recovered further from the turbulence of 2011.  This was followed by small falls in both March and April which together matched the rise in February giving a flat performance for the benchmark overall.

Our managers are generally reporting positive earnings and dividend momentum in the companies in which they invest.  Economic performance across the region has generally been resilient though with recent mixed growth statistics from China.    However, the Asian markets have recently been impacted by poor news flow from Europe, amidst concerns that the region will not be immune from the fallout.

On April 23^rd, the Trust announced the appointment of two new managers within its multi-manager structure, to replace Nomura.  The announcement followed a formal selection process.  The other manager, Aberdeen, remains and continues to manage approximately 56% of the assets of the trust.  The transition of the portfolio to the new managers was carried out during April and completed at month end.

The two new managers are: Matthews International Capital Management LLC ("Matthews") and MW GaveKal Asia Limited ("MW GaveKal").   Matthews and MW GaveKal manage circa 34% and 10% respectively of the Trust's assets.  Matthews is a leading Asian investment specialist based in San Francisco and currently manages USD 18.0bn in Asia Pacific equities and bonds. Matthews manages its portion of the Trust's assets in accordance with its Asia Dividend Strategy. MW GaveKal is a joint venture based in Hong Kong between GaveKal (an independent investment research provider set up by Charles and Louis-Vincent Gave and Anatole Kaletsky, the well-known economic journalist) and Marshall Wace, an established manager of Absolute Return investment strategies. MW GaveKal takes a more top-down approach, seeking to allocate the assets under its management between Asian equities, bonds and cash, aiming for significant outperformance of the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Free Index. MW GaveKal has assets under management of in excess of USD1.0bn.

In the year to 31^st January 2012, the dividend income from the portfolio increased strongly. In view of this strength and the degree of dividend cover, the Trust announced an increase of 43% in its dividend to 4p/share along with its results for the year to 31^st January 2012. The Trust's policy is to grow its dividend in real terms over time, subject to the underlying trend in the Trust's net income.

Geographic Breakdown*

	31 January 2012 %	30 April 2012 %
Japan	28	22
Hong Kong	13	18
Singapore	9	13
China	7	11
Australia	12	10
Taiwan	6	6
South Korea	8	5
India	6	4
Other Countries	11	11

Sector Allocation*

	31 January 2012 %	30 April 2012 %
Financials	30	27
Consumer Staples	6	12
Consumer Discretionary	12	11
Information Technology	14	10
Materials	13	8
Industrials	11	8
Telecommunication Services	6	7
Energy	5	6
Healthcare	3	4
Utilities	-	3
Other	-	4

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Ten Largest Holdings*

31 January 2012	%
Aberdeen Global Indian Equity Fund	4.2
Samsung Electronics	3.6
Rio Tinto	2.7
BHP Billiton	2.3
PT Astra International	2.3
Nomura India Equity Fund	2.1
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	2.0
Petrochina	1.9
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	1.9
Canon	1.8

30 April 2012	%
MW GaveKal Asian Opportunities	10.1
Aberdeen Global Indian Equity Fund	3.9
QBE Insurance	2.8
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	2.7
HSBC	2.5
China Mobile	2.4
United Overseas Bank	2.2
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	2.1
Samsung Electronics	2.0
Singapore Tech Engineering	2.0

*Source: BNP Paribas Securities Services

Material Events

On 23 April 2012 the Company announced that it had appointed Matthews International Capital Management LLC ("Matthews") and MW GaveKal Asia Limited ("MW GaveKal") to replace Nomura Asset Management U.K. Limited ("Nomura"). 

Changes to Share Capital

During the period 1 February to 7 June 2012, a total of 112,868 Ordinary shares were purchased by the Company and cancelled. At the date of this Interim Management Statement there are 66,122,000 Ordinary shares in issue representing 66,122,000 total voting rights.

Phoenix Administration Services Limited

Telephone - 01245 398950

 

END

 

 

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