Final Results Final Results Year Ended 31 March...

Preliminary Announcement Final Accounts of Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No 1 plc for year ending 31 March 2009 Financial Record and Key Performance Indicators As at 31 March 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Net assets less other current liabilities (£'000) 1,987 6,058 6,402 5,827 2,924 Creditors (915) (2,569) (1,925) (1,923) (750) > 1 year (£'000) Shareholder's funds (£'000) 1,072 3,490 4,477 3,904 2,174 Net asset value per share(p) 7.85 25.56 32.86 28.76 16.08 Share price (p) - (Bid) 4.2 15.60 23.00 19.20 11.58 Discount (%) 46.5 39.0 30.0 33.2 28.0 Gearing (%)* 6.5 - 28.9 46.5 28.7 Year to 31 March 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Revenue available for shareholders (£'000)**** 136 13 0 1 16 Revenue return per share (p) 1.00 0.09 0.00 0.01 0.16 Proposed final dividend per share(net)(p) 0.76 - - - 0.225 Dividend yield on our shares (%) 18.1 - - - 1.94 Dividend yield on 5.76 3.42 3.23 3.35 3.51 Benchmark Index (%) Expenses ratio - net basis (%) ** 2.57 3.51 3.38 2.95 3.27 Expenses ratio - gross basis (%) *** 1.44 2.53 2.29 1.72 2.35 The Board believes the above KPI's are of most interest to shareholders in monitoring the performance of the company. * Net debt as a percentage of shareholders' funds ** Net basis - Administrative expenses as a percentage of average net asset value of the Company *** Gross basis - Administrative expenses as a percentage of average gross asset value of the Company **** 2009 Includes VAT recovered of £27,000 Portfolio Information At 31 March 2009 Valuation % of Portfolio (£) 2009 Equities 8,966 BP Global Financials - A Class Eire 359,781 18.4 861,613 URSA Bank Russia 146,342 7.5 44,754 Federal Bank Ltd - IPC India 84,072 4.3 14,264 Bank Vozrozhdenie Russia 74,206 3.8 2,084,563 New Star Asset Management United Kingdom 41,691 2.1 1,329 JP Morgan Chase & Co United States 24,625 1.3 332 Goldman Sachs Group Inc United States 24,575 1.3 4,766 Bank of America Corp United States 22,593 1.2 31,959 South Indian Bank - IPC India 22,563 1.2 1,403 Morgan Stanley United States 22,225 1.1 11,842 Citigroup Inc United States 20,834 1.1 4,319 Banco Santander SA Spain 20,736 1.1 2,787 Axis Bank Ltd - IPC India 15,775 0.8 5,226 Bank of India - IPC India 15,679 0.8 7,724 Union Bank of India - IPC India 15,466 0.8 4,820 LIC Housing Finance - IPC India 14,895 0.7 2,354 DNB Nor ASA Norway 7,381 0.4 915 Banco Bradesco SA - ADR Brazil 6,337 0.3 797 Itau Unibanco Banco - ADR Brazil 6,104 0.3 1,043 Direxion Financial Bull 3X United States 4,005 0.2 549,863 Raiffeisen Bank Aval Ukraine 3,720 0.2 21 BNP Paribas France 605 0.0 82 UBS AG Switzerland 538 0.0 42 National Bank of Greece SA Greece 443 0.0 218 Intesa Sanpaolo SPA Italy 412 0.0 955,603 48.9 Debt Securities 4,900,000 Rosbank 8% Bonds 09/09 Russia 95,719 4.9 3,827,000 Bank Kedr-2 12.30% Bonds 09/09 Russia 71,611 3.7 1,256,000 Rusfinans Bank 4 7.74% Bonds 02/10 Russia 23,760 1.2 30,000 AK Bars 8.25% Bonds 06/10 Russia 19,269 1.0 26,000 Promsvyazbank 9.58% Bonds 05/12 Russia 10,891 0.5 221,250 11.3 Listed Investments 1,176,853 60.2 Cash 778,896 39.8 Total 1,955,749 100.0 At 31 March 2009 the portfolio yield, as reported to the Association of Investment Companies, was 12.09% (2008 - 2.28%) Classification of Portfolio At 31 March 2009 Investment Other Cash Total Total Banks Companies Finance 2009 2008 % % % % % % Russia 22.6 - - - 22.6 18.2 Eire - 18.4 - - 18.4 33.2 United Kingdom 2.1 - - 13.9 16.0 0.2 Europe - - - 11.0 11.0 13.1 India 7.9 - 0.7 - 8.6 0.8 United States 6.0 - 0.2 0.8 7.0 - Norway 0.4 - - 6.5 6.9 8.2 Australia - - - 5.0 5.0 - Ukraine 0.2 - - 2.6 2.8 0.9 Spain 1.1 - - - 1.1 - Brazil 0.6 - - - 0.6 - France 0.0 - - - 0.0 - Switzerland 0.0 - - - 0.0 - Italy 0.0 - - - 0.0 - Greece 0.0 - - - 0.0 11.1 Poland - - - - - 14.0 Austria - - - - - 0.3 Totals 2009 40.9 18.4 0.9 39.8 100.0 Totals 2008 74.0 4.5 2.5 19.0 100.0 Benchmark* 64.2 4.8 31.0 - 100.0 * Our benchmark is the Bloomberg World Financials index (sterling denominated). Chairman's Statement Performance The performance of your Fund in the last year has been very disappointing. This is perhaps not surprising in a year when unprecedented events have rocked the banking industry worldwide. It will be remembered as probably the greatest banking crisis of modern times. Nevertheless, we are unhappy with the Fund's performance. In the year to 31 March 2009, the net asset value per share ("NAV") of the Fund provided a negative total return of 69.3% ending the period at 7.85p per share, or 78.5p per Share Unit. Our performance benchmark, the Bloomberg Worldwide Financials Index, fell 52.6% in US Dollar terms, but due to the weakness of Sterling relative to the dollar, in Sterling terms the index fell by only 34.1%. The price of the Share Unit of your Fund has fallen 73.1% over the year and ended March 2009 at a bid price of 42p a share. This larger fall in the share price, relative to the NAV, widened the discount to NAV to 46.5% by the end of the year. As of the end of April 2009 the share price increased to 50p, up by almost 20%. In the past year equity prices have plummeted, corporate bond values have plunged, commodity prices have collapsed and currencies have experienced huge volatility, whilst interest rates around the world have been slashed as recession has bitten. A year ago we believed that the falls that had already been experienced by the financial sector, would minimise the future downside risks for these stocks. This has not been the case. When Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail in September 2008, this started a new wave of panic and risk aversion, further eroding confidence in banks. In the US, the UK and Western Europe it was only a matter of weeks before governments were rushing to shore up banks with huge loans. These unprecedented circumstances quickly led to the partial nationalisation of many banks. The effect on the equity and bond prices of banks throughout the world was devastating. Despite the efforts of Governments and Central Banks to support the banking system, sentiment remains tentative. We believed that we had constructed a defensive portfolio but in hindsight, it was not defensive enough. In addition to the general weakness of financial equities and bonds that affected all regions of the world, we experienced some specific problems within the portfolio. URSA Bank, our largest equity holding at the start of the reporting period, suffered from rumours regarding its financial position. This drove the share price down, until it announced a merger with MDM Bank in Russia in December 2008. In addition, the general corporate bond sell-off in October 2008 adversely affected the prices of the bonds we held, and this was compounded by a specific problem with the Fund's holding in Eurokommerz. The bank failed to pay its bond coupons on time, or meet a redemption option on one of its bonds. Bonds from this company were also held by the Blue Planet Global Financials Fund. Finally, the rapid depreciation of the Russian rouble against sterling at the start of 2009, negatively impacted the NAV of the Fund, despite some hedging that was in place. Share Trading From time to time we receive investor queries regarding the wide bid-offer spread (the difference between the price at which shares may be sold or bought), particularly for the Blue Planet Financials Growth and Income Investment Trust Number 1. Although the Blue Planet Growth and Income Investment Trusts numbers 1 through to 10 are each separate legal entities, to all intents and purposes each is an identical company. The Blue Planet Financials Growth and Income Share Unit was created to trade the shares in the ten trusts as one unit. The volume of trading in the Financials Growth and Income Share Unit (Ticker: BPFU) is considerably higher than for any of the individual trusts and historically the spread on the Unit has been much narrower than that of the No.1 Trust's shares. In other words, it has been significantly easier to buy or sell the Share Unit and this has been accomplished at keener prices. Portfolio We have ended this financial year with a similar level of equity investments to our holding at the start of the year. The exposure is less than 50% of the portfolio. During the year, as reported in the interim accounts, investments in equities were much higher. Bond holdings have increased over the financial year and the remainder of the portfolio is held in cash. Figure 1 shows the geographical movements in the portfolio over the period (including cash holdings). Figure 2 shows the movement in the security types. Figure 1: Portfolio movements 2008 to 2009 - by geography Country 2009 2008 Russia 22.6 18.2 Republic of Ireland 18.4 33.2 UK 16.0 0.2 Other Europe 11.0 13.1 India 8.6 0.8 USA 7.0 0.0 Norway 6.9 8.2 Australia 5.0 0.0 Ukraine 2.8 0.9 Spain 1.1 0.0 Brazil 0.6 0.0 Greece 0.0 11.1 Figure 2: Portfolio movements 2008 to 2009 - by security type Security Type 2009 2008 Equities 48.8 44.4 Cash 39.8 19.0 Bonds 11.4 7.9 Liquidity Funds 0.0 28.7 Russia has remained a key focus. It has an under-leveraged and under-penetrated economy. Its foreign debts are almost completely covered by reserves. Penetration levels for goods and services are very low compared to Western Europe and there is a great deal of scope for productivity gains in Russia. In addition, it still has vast natural resources, for which demand will increase again in time. In addition to equity holdings in URSA Bank and Bank Vozrozhdenie, the Fund has corporate bond holdings in five Russian banks, Rosbank, Bank Kedr, Rusfinance Bank, AK Bars and Promsvyazbank. The bonds are short or medium dated bonds, with high yields. Unfortunately, Russia has been the main source of underperformance in this financial period. The fall in the oil price from $142 in July to $32 in December, and the Russian invasion of Georgia dramatically reversed international confidence in Russia, prompting massive sales of Russian assets and its currency. The Russian stock market fell 73% in the six months to December 2008 and experienced such a shortage of liquidity, that the market was actually closed for several days during this period. This was capped in January 2009, by a sharp devaluation in the Rouble, despite the best defensive efforts of the Russian government. The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, and the ensuing crisis of confidence in all banks, adversely affected our Russian bond prices that until then, had been relatively stable Our largest individual equity holding at the start of the reporting period was URSA Bank. Considering the market sentiment existing at the end of 2008, it was not surprising that it suffered, along with other banks, from rumours regarding its financial health. These were partially dispelled when URSA reported a 61% increase in profits for the first half of 2008. In December 2008, a merger with MDM Bank was announced, that has provided the foundation for some degree of recovery in the share price. However, this was counterbalanced in December by the emergence of a problem with one of our bond holdings. The bond was issued by Eurokommerz, Russia's largest factoring company. Despite the company's credit rating being confirmed by Moody's at the end of October, the company announced in December that it was delaying payment of the coupons due on its bonds, and missed the deadline to respond to a put option on one of its bonds. Following this set-back, a thorough review of all the bonds held in the portfolio was made and some bonds were sold and others replaced. In January 2009 the Rouble lost 17% of its value against Sterling in one month. Despite hedging in place in the latter part of the month, this had a negative impact on the NAV of the Fund. Whilst January's devaluation was painful for those, like us, with investments denominated in Roubles, Russia will benefit from the devaluation of its currency. Competitiveness and profitability for export companies will increase, boosting demand in the domestic market, and bringing the return of credit to the real economy. The investment in the Republic of Ireland is in Blue Planet's Global Financials Fund, listed in Dublin. The size of this holding was increased in September 2008. This Fund has a broad remit to invest in instruments in financial companies on a worldwide basis. It has largely been invested in high yielding corporate bonds over the past year, and has thus significantly outperformed financial equity indices with its total return of -17% in the year to March 2009. India's economy is driven by domestic demand. It has suffered in the global slowdown, but to a lesser degree than many other of the world economies, especially those that have a high dependence on strong commodity prices. Growth forecasts for the Indian economy for the fiscal year to March 2010 are in the region of a 6%. Although corporate earnings in India have slowed, the financial performance of banks has remained strong. Average profits increased 31% year-on-year in the results issued up to the 31st December 2008. At their current low valuations, Indian banks remain an attractive long-term investment opportunity. Elsewhere, the Company sold its investments in Poland and Greece, as exposure to equities in the portfolio was reduced. In March 2009, as economic indicators improved, and with them the outlook for banks, the Fund has bought selected US and European banking stocks. Further details of the portfolio are provided in the Investment Manager's Report. Our Warrants The price of our warrants fell by 79.5% over the year to a bid price of £2.00 for the Warrant Unit on the 31 March 2009. Shareholders can view the warrant price on the website of Blue Planet Investment Management (www.blueplanet.eu). The warrants are exercisable on 31 July or, if later, 30 days after the distribution of the Annual Report and Accounts in either 2009 or 2010. Each warrant costs £1 to exercise and will entitle the holder to 10 shares in the corresponding Growth and Income Trust. In a similar fashion to the shares, considering the warrant in terms of a Unit, where a Unit represents one warrant in each of the trusts numbered 1 through to 10, then each Warrant Unit confers the right to subscribe for 10 Financials Growth & Income Share Units at a price of £10. Dividend Up until now there has been some very sobering financial reporting. I am pleased therefore to relate that, as anticipated in the Interim Report and Accounts, the Directors have declared a dividend for this year. Last year no dividend was paid. This year a dividend of 7.6p per Share Unit has been proposed, to be paid to shareholders on the register on 10 July 2009, payable on 7 August 2009. At the closing bid price of the Share Unit on 31 March 2009 of 42p, this equates to an 18.1% dividend yield. Income from investments almost doubled this year, and the decrease in the company's assets meant Asset Management fees were lower, providing a strong revenue return from which to pay a dividend. A rare windfall benefited the Fund in the form of a one-off VAT refund. This was received in this accounting period for overpaid VAT on Investment Management fees over the past seven years, after a protracted tussle between the Inland Revenue and the Investment Trust industry. This alone has boosted the dividend per Share Unit amount by approximately 2.0p. The outlook going forward for revenue from both bonds and equities is strong. The Directors hope that it will be possible to continue dividend payments going forward, providing the portfolio remains structured in this way. Borrowing, Gearing and Liquidity The Fund's level of gearing net of cash deposits ended the financial year at 6.5%. Gearing levels were increased in the middle of 2008 as the Fund increased its exposure to equities. However, they have been very low since the start of 2009, as many of the equity positions were sold. Generally, gearing beneficially affects the Company's NAV when the value of its investments is rising, but adversely affects it in periods when the value of investments is falling. The Fund has access to a fixed £750,000, unsecured Sterling loan and a multi-currency unsecured, revolving loan facility of £2.5m, per trust until 2012. The Sterling loan and a small portion of the multi-currency loan were drawn down at the year end. The multi-currency loan was drawn in Euros. £2.4m of the facility was undrawn as of the end of March 2009. This amount is available to be drawn when market conditions are right to increase the levels of gearing in the Fund once again. Blue Planet Services and Price Information Sources Shareholders can view the Company's share price and additional information about the Fund on the website of Blue Planet Investment Management Ltd (www.blueplanet.eu) and the London Stock Exchange (www.londonstockexchange.com). To find the Company's share price on the London Stock Exchange website go to the Home page and type "BPFU" in the "Price Search" field. Blue Planet Investment Advisers offers a Blue Planet Savings Plan via Equiniti Financial Services Limited (on behalf of Lloyds TSB) to enable lump sum investments or regular savings. A request form for the Savings Plan application pack is enclosed with these accounts. Outlook In January and February 2009 confidence in markets entirely evaporated. Bad news stories abounded and good news stories were treated with scepticism. This mood lightened in March. The question is whether the nadir has been reached, or whether this is a relief rally that will not be sustained. There is still a lot of bad news to wade through. Many of the World economies are already in, or are slipping into recession and GDP growth estimates for 2009 are being revised downwards. However, there are some hopeful indicators. In the US and the UK there were signs of stabilisation in the housing markets, as US new home sales and housing starts have levelled out over the past few months, after plunging for most of 2008. Mortgage approvals for the first three months of 2009 in the UK were up 24% over the previous quarter and the Nationwide reported a 0.9% increase in UK house prices in March 2009. US Durable goods orders have been stronger, suggesting that as orders increase and inventories shrink, production will start to gain ground in the second half of 2009. In addition, action from governments and central banks continued. In the US progress was made on the TALF (Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility) plan, which started on the 25 March 2009. Results from banks for the fourth quarter of 2008 showed a wide divergence in performance. The bad results were very bad. Royal Bank of Scotland announced that it had made a £24.1bn loss in 2008, Citigroup made a loss of $27.7bn in 2008, equivalent to £18.5bn, the Swiss investment and private bank UBS reported a loss of CHF 17.9bn, equivalent to £10.5bn, and Deutsche Bank reported a loss of €3.9bn, or about £3.4bn in 2008. However, there are many banks that have fared much better, including European and Russian banks. As described above, Indian banks increased profits by 31% on average in their results to the 31 December 2008. During March a number of banks, including Citigroup and Deutsche Bank informed the market that they were performing much better in the first two months of 2009, and in April the initial sets of first quarter 2009 results from banks have been stronger than anticipated. Governments and Central Banks continue to do all they can to revive the fortunes of banks in order to revitalise their economies. We have begun investing some of our cash reserves in the better banks in some of the stronger economies. The share prices of banks have fallen to such low levels, that there is huge scope for share price increases once confidence in banks is restored. When we are convinced that sentiment really has turned then we will be well positioned with our existing investments and have cash available to re-invest in the market. The severe falls in the stock markets present excellent opportunities that we can take advantage of. Finally, it is with sadness that we announce the retirement from the Board of our Director Michael Shea at this year's AGM. I would like to place on record the Board's thanks to Michael for his five years of diligent service to the Company. His knowledge, experience and wisdom have been invaluable. I thank you for your continuing support and look forward to welcoming you to the Annual General Meeting on the 4 August 2009. Victoria Killay Chairman 26 May 2009 Investment Manager's Report Portfolio Performance Analysis As has already been highlighted in the Chairman's Statement, the Fund's NAV made a total return of -69.3% over the year, compared to a fall of 34.1% by the Fund's benchmark index in Sterling terms. The Trust's Share Unit price fell 73.1% over the same period. This past year has been one of disappointing performance by the Fund and our substantial out performance in 2006 and 2007 has been reversed in the past two years. The fault has not lain with our economic analysis, but in our conviction that if we were selective with the economies and stocks in which we invested that the financial strength of the countries and their banks would shield the stocks from the dramatic share price falls. This has not been the case. Citigroup, whose financial results swung from a $3.6bn profit in 2007 to a $27.7bn loss in 2008 had a share price return of -83% from March 2008 to March 2009 in Sterling terms. Vozrozhdenie, in which the Fund is invested, saw its profits increase 65% in 2008, however its share price was hit just as badly, it also had a return of -83% in Sterling terms over the same period. Asset Allocation Blue Planet Investment Management's investment process is top down. Much of our focus this year has been on analysing the economic situation and prospects for the major economies, and in particular the United States, as the problems it is experiencing have such a major impact on the rest of the world. We continue to identify countries with the strongest economic prospects and acceptable levels of political risk. The economic backdrops in these countries are assessed in detail and ranked accordingly. The listed banks and other financial institutions in the highest ranked countries are then investigated. When appropriate, capital is allocated to those banks and other financial institutions which we believe are likely to offer the best total returns over the long term. This process involves meeting with the senior management of companies in which we are contemplating investing. Where possible, we also like to meet with local Central Banks to discuss the economic policies being pursued in the countries concerned. Once we are invested in a company, we aim to meet regularly with its senior management to monitor its progress. Since the last year end we have visited financial institutions in the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Russia. In addition, we had meetings in the UK with the management of many overseas financial institutions. Russia has become our largest geographic holding this year and like most other economies, it has experienced problems. The fall in commodity prices, and in particular oil, along with the paralysis of global financial markets due to the credit crunch have weakened the Russian economy and the Russian currency, pushed up unemployment to above 6 million, and led to forecasts of an economic contraction in the country in 2009. In our opinion the concerns about Russia's inability to repay its debts are overdone. Foreign debt to GDP in Russia at the end of 2008 was 31%. This is a far lower level than most other CIS or Central and Eastern European countries, some of which, such as the Baltics and Hungary, have ratios of over 100%. To set against this Russia has significant foreign assets, including US$433 billion in government reserves. We believe that the Russian banking sector is far more robust than the prices of its assets would suggest, which provides excellent investment opportunities. Levels of indebtedness in Russia remain low. Corporate debt is 50% of GDP in Russia, compared to 120% in the UK. Household sector debt is 9% of GDP in Russia, compared to almost 110% in the UK. Russian banks start from a very highly capitalised position and the State has considerable reserves to enable it to support the sector. Indeed the State controls 47% of total banking sector assets. The excessive number of very small banks in Russia has meant casualties, and there will likely be more to come, but the larger banks are confident that they can weather the current economic climate and profit from renewed growth opportunities and increased efficiency going forward. The Trust's Russian investments are in both equities and bonds. In equities your Fund is invested in URSA Bank and Bank Vozrozhdenie. URSA bank has grown rapidly and has undertaken a number of key mergers in the past. It is now itself merging with MDM Bank to create the second largest private bank in Russia. Vozrozhdenie is a well-managed, conservatively run bank that is also is a likely takeover candidate. Unfortunately the share prices of both banks have suffered in the global financial sell-off, although, since the MDM merger was announced URSA's share price has been rising. The Fund also holds corporate bonds from five medium sized Russian banks. These banks are Rosbank, Bank Kedr, Rusfinance, AK BARS Bank and Promsvyzbank. These are all short to medium dated, high yielding bonds, and have coupons ranging from 7.74% to 12.3%. The bonds are denominated in either Roubles or US Dollars. Geographically, the Republic of Ireland is our second largest investment location. Our investment here is in the Blue Planet's Global Financials Fund, listed in Dublin. The size of this holding was increased in September 2008. This fund has largely been invested in high yielding corporate bonds during the year, and had performed well compared to financial indices during most of 2008, despite a fall in bond prices in October 2008. However the Global Financials Fund held two bonds issued by Eurokommerz and the problems experienced by this company in December, referred to in the Chairman's Statement, made this a very poor month for the fund. The fund's share price has risen over the first three months of 2009, despite the extreme falls in financials globally. Your Fund began investing in Indian banks in 2007. The Indian economy has been growing fast, with an average expansion rate of 8.6% over the past five years. Growth in the fiscal year to March 2010 is projected to slow, but to hold up well at a growth rate of about 6%. The Indian banking market is very under penetrated with ratios of consumer loans and mortgages to GDP lower than most of the other Asian economies. Banks in India have about 20% of their balance sheets in government bonds due to statutory liquidity requirements. This means that as interest rates have fallen the banks have generated significant profits on treasuries. At the same time, loan growth, whilst slowing, has remained strong in 2008 at 24% growth year-on-year, boosting income from banking operations. Loan growth is expected to remain in the high teens in 2009. Concerns persist on how high the level of non-performing loans will rise due to the general weakening of the economy, but these concerns appear to be overdone, and banks in India remain in very good shape. As some signs of economic stabilisation have appeared in the US economy and as the banks appear to be in a better financial state than are implied by the very low valuations that the banks reached during early March 2009, your Fund added some investments in US Banks during March 2009. The small investment in Raiffeisen Bank Aval based in the Ukraine has been maintained. This is despite the difficulties the country is experiencing. Raiffeisen Bank Aval is supported by its parent company, Raiffeisen International and is the countries second-largest bank by assets. It is the foreign-owned banks in Ukraine that will ride out the current economic and banking problems there and will be well-placed to return to strong growth rates once the country's fortunes are back on track. The remaining investments, located in Spain, Brazil, Norway and France are banks that are in our opinion undervalued. The investment in the UK is in New Star Asset Management Group plc that has now been acquired by Hendersons. At the start of the year the Company had significant investments in banks in both Poland and Greece. A key concern in Poland has been that its banks have been extending loans in foreign currencies. Of all corporate lending, about a quarter is in foreign currencies. In individual lending about 40% of the total lending is in currencies other than the Zloty. The depreciation of the Zloty against most major currencies has led to problems within the banks on funding their foreign currency loan books and problems for the end customers in making repayments on their loans. The situation has been exacerbated by companies in Poland that have appeared to borrow speculatively in foreign currencies as the Zloty was appreciating. As these companies were not using the loan to hedge against foreign currency revenue streams, they are now unable to service the loans they have taken out. The Greek holdings were sold during the Fund's year to reduce the equity exposure in the portfolio. However, in Poland and Greece and other Central and Southern Eastern countries the banking systems are underleveraged and the banks have not been involved in the purchase of asset-backed securities such as those that have taken their toll on their Western counterparts. They will therefore provide good investment opportunities going forward Currency The fund is exposed to a range of currencies. The table below shows the percentage of the portfolio holdings in each currency and how those currencies have performed against the pound over the period in which the investments have been held in the Trust during the financial year Currency % of total portfolio in Appreciation/depreciation against £ for the length of time the currency has been held in the portfolio Euro 30.5% +14.0% Russian Rouble 21.1% -4.4% US Dollar 9.1% +27.8% Indian Rupee 8.6% +8.7% Norwegian Kroner 6.9% +1.5% Australian Dollar 5.0% +1.5% Ukrainian Hryvnia 2.8% -16.4% The positive currency movements had a beneficial impact on our performance. The negative currency movements reduced the performance of the shares denominated in that currency when translated into sterling. The Russian Rouble was very weak against most currencies, including Sterling, at the start of 2009 as it went through a sharp devaluation. This more than cancelled out its previous strength. This devaluation was largely prompted by the lower oil prices already in place and forecast to continue through 2009. Providing oil prices remain stable, or, as has been the case recently, start to gradually rise, the Rouble should not experience further sharp depreciation, and indeed could start to rise. The US Dollar is the currency in which two of our Russian bonds are denominated and we also had some cash in this currency, which has strengthened significantly against Sterling this year. The fiscal position of the UK economy, with its large deficits and ballooning government spending plans, is very precarious and is likely to see Sterling weaken further against many major currencies going forward. The risks associated with this exposure to a range of currencies are discussed below. Risk Market risk arises mainly from the uncertainty regarding the future price performance of the equities and bonds held by your Company. This risk is magnified when gearing is used and because the company is invested in a single industry sector. Being invested in a single sector exposes the Fund to the risk that the Financial Sector will under perform relative to other sectors of the market. Market risk is a factor beyond the control of the Company. In mitigation of these risks the financials sector in which we are invested is a large sector of the market. This sector has indeed underperformed relative to other sectors of the market this year, but we have held substantial amounts of the Fund's assets in cash or near-cash entities through the year to reduce our exposure to the sector. Banks play a crucial and central role in free market economies; a role that will underpin the prosperity of the banking sector as a whole over time. The prices of the individual securities in the portfolio are monitored on a daily basis and the Board, that meets quarterly, imposes borrowing limits to ensure gearing levels are appropriate to market conditions. The gearing in the Fund has been at very low levels this year. The securities dealt in are all listed on recognised exchanges and are readily realisable. The Fund is exposed to currency risk, due to the range of currencies in which investments are held. The largest risks are in the Euro and the Rouble currency. The Euro exposure was large as some of our cash reserves were held in this currency. This cash is readily exchanged into another currency. Currency risk is a risk that can partially be controlled by employing appropriate hedging strategies. The Company currently has a multi-currency loan facility and our borrowings can be used as a "natural" hedge against investments in the matching currency. In addition hedging is considered on a case-by-case basis. Over the past year hedging has been used at times against our exposure to the US Dollar. More recently Rouble hedging has been in place. The fund manager has been tracking currency movements on a daily basis in the current volatile environment. Credit risk arises from the exposure to non-delivery of an investment that has been purchased. The Company only buys and sells investment through brokers approved by Blue Planet Investment Management and so considers this risk is adequately controlled. Factors Affecting the Company Going Forward Clearly the stabilisation of the banking system, the revitalisation of credit markets and progress in resolving the worldwide financial crisis will have a significant impact on the Company going forward. As will the pace of recovery from recession, both globally, and in particular in the countries in which we are invested. The way these matters are addressed will also impact sentiment. The more effectively these issues are seen to be addressed, the more rapidly sentiment will turn positive and the faster stock prices are likely to recover. Review of the Top 10 Investments at year end 1. Blue Planet Global Financials The Blue Planet Global Financials Fund ("BP Global") is an open-ended Cayman Islands exempted company. It is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and has been in existence for three years. Its objective is to achieve a high level of capital growth by taking long and/or short positions in securities issued by or relating to banks and other financial institutions on a worldwide basis. Shares are available denominated in Euros and US Dollars. Your Company is invested in the Class A Euro shares. The Blue Planet Global Financials Fund most recent financial results for the half-year to June 2008 results reported a 9.8% fall in the fund's NAV to €62.865, whilst the Bloomberg Worldwide Financials Index fell 27.8% in Euro terms in the same period. Subsequently the NAV for the Class A shares has fallen a further 31.0% to end March 2009 at €43.377. The BP Global has predominantly been invested in bonds during 2008. In the early part of the year this helped BP Global NAV to remain relatively stable. However the general weakening in bond prices in October 2008 had an adverse impact on the NAV. Then in December two of its bond holdings depreciated sharply when the bond issuer, Eurokommerz in Russia, failed to pay its bond coupons on time, or meet a redemption option on one of its bonds. Eurokommerz has subsequently confirmed its willingness to use any available instrument to achieve the restructuring of its debts and the fund manager is actively pursuing the collection of monies owed to BP Global. Blue Planet Investment Management Ltd receives a fee of 1.5% of the monthly NAV of the BP Global and the investment we hold across all ten of the Trusts represents 43% of the total investments in the BP Global. Your Company has been invested in this fund since its launch. The size of the holding was increased in September 2008. Its total return in Sterling over the 12 month period is -17%. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended December 2007 June 2008 2007 Change & interim ended June 2008 : Total Assets € 8.2m € 9.2m -10.9% Net Loss after Taxation € -0.9m € -10.4m N/A Net Asset Value per Share (Class A Euro shares) € 62.865 € 69.705 -9.8% 2. URSA Bank URSA Bank ("URSA") was established in 1990 as Sibacadembank and has rapidly expanded through organic growth and acquisition and is now one of the top 15 banks in Russia. It is a universal bank and its loan book is split evenly between retail and corporate loans. It is partly owned by international financial institutions and partly owned by the founders of the bank and management. It is the strongest regional bank in Siberia and the Urals which comprises 40% of Russian territory and has 34 million inhabitants. URSA announced at the end of 2008 that it will merge with MDM Bank in 2009 and will operate under the MDM brand. This merger will create the second largest private bank by assets in Russia and the merged bank will possess the fifth largest banking network in the country. The Russian banking sector remains very fragmented and some of the very small Russian banks have encountered problems in the sharp economic downturn. However URSA is a very well-capitalised bank and the merger will increase its financial strength. The Russian government has a comprehensive range of support packages in place for banks, and so far has pledged nearly $300billion of support, of which over $135bn has already been provided. MDM bank is the 13th largest bank in Russia in terms of assets. It is predominantly a corporate bank with a strong presence in Central and Western Russia. The merger between the two banks will combine URSA's retail banking strength with MDM's strength in the corporate sector to provide a stronger more diversified bank. The banks have very little geographic overlap. A major advantage for URSA of the forthcoming merger with MDM Bank will be that it provides funding support for URSA, which, due to its rapid loan growth, has a high loan-to-deposit ratio, last reported as almost 200%, and is currently highly dependent on wholesale funding. Igor Kim, the largest single shareholder in URSA, who has overseen the series of bank mergers that have created URSA, will be managing the merger of the two banks. URSA's most recent financial results were for the first nine months of 2008 when it reported a 50% increase in profits year-on-year. These results have been audited and will become the basis for the valuation of the merger of the two banks. During the second half of 2008 the bank has been focusing on liquidity and credit risks rather than growth and has accumulated a cash cushion of over $2billion. We have held this stock in the portfolio throughout the Fund's financial year and the shares total return was -67% in sterling terms. The share price of this stock has been extremely weak in 2008, but the price has made a degree of recovery since the announcement of the merger and the dividend yield on these preferred shares is very attractive. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended December 2007 & nine months ended September 2008 September 2008 2007 Change Total Assets Rouble 186.7bn Rouble 165.8bn +12.6% Cost:Income Ratio 48.3% 45.1% +3.2pp Net Profit after Taxation Rouble 1,191m Rouble 3,771m N/A Earnings per Share N/A Rouble 2.80 N/A Dividends per Preferred Share $0.08(declared) $0.081 0% Dividend Cover N/A N/A - Return on Equity 6.9% 26.9% -20.0pp 3. Rosbank 8% 09/09 Rosbank has the largest banking network in Russia amongst all the privately-owned banks and is the 9th largest bank in Russia in terms of assets. It has over 17,000 employees serving around 3 million individual customers, 55,000 SMEs and 5,000 corporate clients. Societe Generale has held a stake in Rosbank since 2006. This was converted into a majority holding of 57.57% after Societe Generale finalised its $2.3bn acquisition of a controlling stake in February 2008. From its inception in 1992 the Rosbank was primarily a corporate bank. Its recent strategy has been to expand its retail business. Its loan book is now split 60% corporate and 40% retail and it plans to further expand on the retail side. The bank has been actively integrating its operations with its controlling shareholder, Societe Generale. The bank has very little external debt, with its funding coming largely from its deposit base. It also has local-issued domestic and eurobonds, one of which is the Rosbank 8% coupon bond we hold, that matures in September 2009. The size of the bond was Rouble 7bn, which represents a very small proportion of the banks total liabilities. Its bonds are all rated BB+/Baa3/BBB+. The bank redeemed its Rosbank-1 Rouble 3bn issue on 16 February 2009. The bank has lines of liquidity open from the Russian government and Societe Generale. The bank has not reported English-language IFRS accounts since Societe Generale took control. However the bank has said that it expects to meet its forecast of 30% growth in 2008. We have held this bond in the portfolio since April 2008 and the holding period return in its own currency is 9%, although with the recent weakness of the Rouble to Sterling reduces this gain. 4. Federal Bank Ltd. Federal Bank is an "old" private bank that was founded in 1931. Old private banks represent around 8% of the banking sector in India, with about 20 medium-scale banks fitting into this bracket including Federal Bank and South Indian Bank. Federal Bank is the second largest old private sector bank and is concentrated in the region of Kerala. It has over 600 branches, 75% of which are in Kerala. It has been modernising itself and underwent a significant capital raising in January 2008 to support the ambitious future growth plans of the bank. Around 20% of the bank's deposit base is in the form of Non-Resident Indian Deposits (NRIs), in particular from Indian expatriates based in the Gulf. In its results to 31st December 2008 Federal Bank reported a 98% year-on-year growth in net income, based on a very strong growth in net interest income, despite the bank being cautious and restricting new lending. The bank has used its strong revenues to raise provisioning levels, in anticipation of rising non-performing loans going forward. Following the capital raising at the beginning of 2008 the bank's Tier-I capital adequacy ratio is high at 17.2%. These factors will put the bank in a strong position going into 2009, although the return of Indian expatriates from the Gulf does raise some concerns about a reduction in its deposit base. The investment in Federal Bank is held via P-notes. The current holding has made a return of -28% in the portfolio in sterling terms. We expect this loss to be reversed as the bank continues to grow its profits and equity markets settle down. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended 31 March & nine months ended December 2008: December 2008 2008 Change Total Assets INR 657.3bn INR 325.1bn +102.2% Cost : Income Ratio 30.8% 37.1% -6.3pp Net Profit after Taxation INR 3,863 m INR 3,680m N/A Earnings per Share INR 22.6 INR 32.4 N/A Dividends per Share N/A INR 4.0 N/A Dividend Cover N/A 8.1x Return on Equity 12.6% 13.6% -1.0pp 5. Vozrozhdenie Bank Vozrozhdenie Bank is one of the top 25 banks in Russia in terms of assets. In March 2009 it had approximately 1.3 million clients, the vast majority of which are retail customers, and 176 branches. It is a privately owned business based primarily in the Moscow region. The bank's initial focus was on corporate banking; however it has developed into a strong niche player in the SME and retail segments. The bank has issued shares 20 times since its inception in 1991, a considerable portion of which are controlled by the bank's management. The final months of 2008 were difficult ones for Russian banks, yet Vozrozhdenie's profits grew a highly impressive 65% in 2008. The bank, like most Russian banks, experienced an outflow of deposits in the last quarter of 2008, which has now been replenished by an inflow since December that has taken their deposit base back to its initial level in Rouble terms. The bank has always been conservatively managed and has a low dependence on market funding; it has a high Capital Ratio of 15.7%, has access to the Central Bank of Russia support, and expects non performing loans to rise no higher than 5% of total loans. The bank is restricting itself to new business with existing customers at the present time and does not expect its loan portfolio to grow again until the second half of 2009. The bank feels it is very well placed to weather the current economic and financial climate. The stock has been held for the entire period, although the its weighting has been adjusted a couple of times. The portion of the stock held for the full year has returned a very disappointing -83% to the portfolio in Sterling terms. We hope that the bank's excellent financial results will support the stock price going forward. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended 31 December: 2008 2007 Change Total Assets Rouble 141.2bn Rouble 111.4bn +26.8% Cost : Income Ratio 52.7% 62.7% -10pp Net Profit after Taxation Rouble 3.1bn Rouble 1.9bn +64.8% Earnings per Share Rouble 125 Rouble 80 +56.3% Dividends per Share 0.5 0.5 +0.0% Dividend Cover 285x 190x Return on Equity 23.3% 21.0% +2.3pp 6. Kedr Commercial Bank 12.3% 09/09 Kedr Commercial Bank ("Kedr") is a full service, regional Russian bank operating since 1991. It is listed as the 113th bank in the country by total assets. The bank is headquartered in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, with branches in Moscow, Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don, the Krasnoyarsk region and Khakassia. The bank has approximately 120 outlets. Krasnoyarsk is the second largest city in Siberia and a powerful industrial centre. There are 16 shareholders in Bank Kedr, including an 18.75% holding by both the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the East Capital Financials Fund AB. The Development and East Capital Financials Fund AB is a private equity fund which makes equity investments within the financial sector in Eastern Europe. At the end of 2007 Kedr's loan book was split 76% corporate loans and 24% retail loans. It has a strong base in retail deposits, due to its wide branch network in the Krasnoyarsk region and the Republic of Khakassia. It has a low level of reliance on wholesale funding, with 70% of its liabilities made up of deposit funding as of April 2008 and its loan to deposit ratio at 100% at that time. Its bonds are rated B2 by Moody's Investors Service. The Bank Kedr 12.3% rouble-denominated bond matures in September 2009. The amount issued was Rouble 1bn. The bank has Rouble 2.5bn of outstanding bonds in total. The bank's last full year results were for 2007, when profits grew 64%. It has only reported quarterly results in 2008 in the Russian language under Russian Accounting Standards. Full year 2008 IFRS results are being prepared by the company. We purchased this bond in April 2008 and the holding period return for this bond in its own currency is 4.8%, although with the recent weakness of the Rouble to Sterling reduces this gain. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended 31 December: 2007 2006 Change Total Assets Rouble 18bn Rouble 12bn +50% Cost:Income Ratio N/A N/A - Net Profit after Taxation Rouble 337m Rouble 206m +63.6% Earnings per Share Rouble 4.18 N/A Dividends per Share N/A N/A - Dividend Cover N/A N/A - Return on Equity N/A N/A - 7. New Star Asset Management Group plc New Star Asset Management Group plc ("New Star") was founded in 2000 and began trading in January 2001. It is a fund management company that manages retail funds, institutional funds and alternative investments. The company grew rapidly, both by acquisitions and by launching a wide range of funds. New Star was floated on the AIM stock exchange in the second half of 2005 and gained a full listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 2007. At the time of its conversion into a full listing on the LSE the company made a capital repayment of some £364 million to its shareholders to remove excess liquidity from the balance sheet. At this point funds under management had reached almost £25 billion. As stock markets weakened in 2008 New Star began to suffer. Its profits and funds under management began to fall. Its large debt burden that it carried following the capital repayment became the company's undoing, as it was unable to meet its banking covenants. In December 2008 the company announced a restructuring, where the majority of the bank's debt (£240m) would be converted to equity and the bank syndicate would own 75% of New Star's enlarged ordinary share capital, as well as new convertible, redeemable preference shares. New Star also announced that it would seek to delist its shares. The share price of the company had by this point fallen from a peak of £4.85 a share in mid-2007 to a low of 1.5p on 4 December 2008 and its funds under management had dropped to £12.4bn by the end of 2008. This announcement was followed in January 2009 by an offer by Henderson Group plc to acquire New Star and the acquisition was completed on 9 April 2009. We purchased a very modest holding in New Star in January 2009 as we believed that the share price significantly undervalued the assets of the company and the ability of the company to return to profitability. The offer by Henderson's was, in our opinion, rather disappointing at 2p per share, but the shareholders voted in favour of the merger and the money from this offer has now been received. This investment made a total return of 10%. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended 31 December: 2008 2007 Change Total Assets £ 135.8m £185.4m -26.8% Cost:Income Ratio N/A N/A Net Profit after Taxation -£45.5m £46.5m -197.8% Earnings per Share -£20.43 £18.45 -210.7% Dividends per Share 2p 9p -77.8% Dividend Cover N/A 20.0x Return on Equity N/A N/A 8. JP Morgan Chase & Co JP Morgan Chase ("JP Morgan") is a global financial services firm, headquartered in New York, with assets of $2.2 trillion. It operates in more than 60 countries and has over 200,000 employees. It has grown both organically and by acquisition. In 2008 it made two significant acquisitions - Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. JP Morgan agreed to acquire Bear Stearns in March 2008 after Bear Stearns clients and lenders lost confidence in the bank and it no longer appeared viable for the bank to remain independent. Bear Stearns was the fifth largest US investment bank, with 14,000 employees and had greater strengths than JP Morgan in the areas of prime brokerage and commodities. The transaction was supported by aid from the Federal Reserve and was completed in May 2008. JP Morgan purchased Washington Mutual bank and its assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") for $1.9bn in a bidding process after Washington Mutual's assets were seized by the FDIC due to the bank's failure. JP Morgan issued $11.5bn of common stock to support the purchase. This purchase has significantly increased JP Morgan's number of retail branches, especially in California, Washington and Florida. JP Morgan weathered the financial turbulence in 2008 better than many of its U.S. banking counterparts. It reported a net profit of nearly $6bn in 2008, down 64% on its 2007 profit, as credit costs increased and it had to take large writedowns in its investment banking operations. The bank's balance sheet remained strong throughout the year, and was boosted in the final quarter of 2008 with a government injection of $25bn capital as part of the US Government's Troubled Asset Relief Program ("TARP"). In its first quarter 2009 results the bank reported net income of $2.1bn and a further strengthening of its capital ratios as it increased its reserves for loan losses and reduced risk exposures. Its investment banking division reported a record quarterly profit, as fixed income trading was very strong and staff compensation costs were lower. We purchased the stock on the 25 March 2009 as we see a great deal of potential for the share price to recover from this low level as the banking environment and the economic environment in the U.S. recover through 2009. The stocks total return in Sterling terms over the first few days in the portfolio was -6%. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended 31 December: 2008 2007 Change Total Assets $ 2,175bn $ 1,562bn +39.2% Cost:Income Ratio N/A N/A Profits after Taxation $ 5.61bn $ 15.37bn -63.5% Earnings per Share $1.37 $4.38 -68.7% Dividends per Share $1.52 $1.48 +2.7% Dividend Cover 0.9x 3.0x Return on Equity 2.0% 13.0% -11.0pp 9. Goldman Sachs Group Inc Goldman Sachs Group Inc ("Goldman Sachs") is a global financial services firm founded in 1869 and headquartered in New York. It has assets of over $900bn and its business is divided into three core segments, Investment Banking, Trading and Principal Investments and Asset Management and Security Services. The company was operating as an independent investment bank, until September 2008, when the bank changed to become a bank holding company. This allows the bank to gather deposits and it also brings it under the supervision of the Federal Reserve. The bank has no immediate plans to move into retail banking. Like JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs came through the financial turbulence in 2008 in better shape than many of its U.S. banking counterparts. Its risk management has been robust. It reported a net profit of just over $2bn in 2008, down 82% on its 2007 profit. The bank received $10bn of TARP capital from the US Government, which the bank is already talking of repaying as soon as is practical, as the bank's capital ratios are high. At the year end its total capital ratio stood at 18.9%. The bank reported strong results for the first quarter of 2009, with net income of $1.8bn, largely due to record quarterly net revenues in its fixed income, currency and commodities division. The bank announced a $5bn public offering of common stock at the same time as its results were issued. We purchased the stock on 25 March 2009, as we see a great deal of potential for the share price to recover from this low level as the banking environment and the economic environment in the U.S. recover through 2009. The stocks total return in Sterling terms over the first few days in the portfolio was -5%. Key statistics relating to this investment are given below: For the year ended 31 December: 2008 2007 Change Total Assets $ 885bn $ 1,120bn -21.0% Cost:Income Ratio N/A N/A Profits after Taxation $ 2.04bn $ 11.41bn -82.1% Earnings per Share $4.47 $24.73 -81.9% Dividends per Share $1.4 $1.4 +0% Dividend Cover 3.2x 17.7x Return on Equity 4.9% 32.7% -27.8pp 10. Rusfinance Bank Rusfinance Bank was originally called Promek-Bank and was created in 2004. It is a medium-sized Russian bank specialising in retail financing. It has offices and points of sale across Russia, but its operations are dominant in the Volga Federal District, which includes Samara, the bank's home region. It is a 100% owned subsidiary of Societe Generale S.A. in France. The bank has concentrated on car loans and consumer loans. It receives funding from the International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. In September 2008 Societe Generale increased Rusfinance's capital by R6bn, almost doubling the shareholder equity of the bank. The Rusfinan4 bond we hold is a local bond denominated in Roubles. It is rated BB+/ Baa2 and the size of this bond is Rouble 4bn. It matures on 12 February 2010. Rusfinance does not report English-language standalone financial results. Its results are incorporated into Societe Generale's results, under its International Retail Banking Division. We previously held the Rusfinan Bank3 bond. This bond was sold in January 2009, a few months prior to the bonds redemption date, and in March 2009 we bought the longer-dated Rusfin Bank4 bond. This bond has only been held in the portfolio for two weeks and its holding period return so far is 1%. Transactions Over the year, sales of investments realised £13.1m and purchases totalled £11.7m. Blue Planet Investment Management Ltd Edinburgh 26 May 2009 Income Statement (incorporating the revenue account) for the year ending 31 March 2009 2009 2008 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) (£) Capital losses on investment Net realised losses - (1,377,681) (1,377,681) - (291,945) (291,945) Unrealised losses - (1,032,245) (1,032,245) - (519,959) (519,959) Exchange losses - (97,123) (97,123) - (101,922) (101,922) Net Capital losses on investments - (2,507,049) (2,507,049) - (913,826) (913,826) Income from investments 221,505 - 221,505 110,090 - 110,090 Bank interest receivable 21,050 - 21,050 31,367 - 31,367 Gross revenue and capital losses 242,555 (2,507,049) (2,264,494) 141,457 (913,826) (772,369) Administrative expenses (45,617) (5,738) (51,355) (82,461) (46,746) (129,207) Net return before interest payable and taxation 196,938 (2,512,787) (2,315,849) 58,996 (960,572) (901,576) Interest payable (41,384) (41,384) (82,768) (42,526) (42,526) (85,052) Return on ordinary activities before taxation 155,554 (2,554,171) (2,398,617) 16,470 (1,003,098) (986,628) Taxation on return on ordinary activities (19,534) - (19,534) (3,533) - (3,533) Return on ordinary activities after taxation 136,020 (2,554,171) (2,418,151) 12,937 (1,003,098) (990,161) Return per ordinary share - basic 1.00p (18.70)p (17.70)p 0.09p (7.35)p (7.26)p Return per ordinary share - diluted 1.00p (18.70)p (17.70)p 0.09p (6.75)p (6.66)p The Total column of the income statement represents the profit & loss account of the Company. All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. There were no recognised gains and losses other than those disclosed above. Accordingly a statement of total recognised gains and losses is not required Balance Sheet As at 31 March 2009 2009 2008 £ £ £ £ Fixed assets Listed Equity investments 955,603 4,372,970 Non-Equity investments 221,250 475,626 1,176,853 4,848,596 Current assets Debtors 47,214 179,864 Cash at bank 778,896 1,140,898 826,110 1,320,762 Creditors: amounts falling due within (15,641) (111,073) one year Net current assets 810,469 1,209,689 Total assests less current liabilities 1,987,322 6,058,285 Creditors: amounts falling due after (915,058) (2,568,640) more than one year Net assets 1,072,264 3,489,645 Capital and reserves Called-up share capital 136,609 136,542 Share premium account 1,179,474 1,178,688 Other reserves: Capital reserve-realised 955,504 2,525,661 Capital reserve-investment (1,434,524) (450,510) holding losses Capital Redemption 8,450 8,450 Warrant Reserve 59,875 60,058 Revenue reserve 166,876 30,756 Shareholders' funds 1,072,264 3,489,645 Net asset value per ordinary share - basic 7.85p 25.56p Net asset value per ordinary share - diluted 7.85p 23.13p The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 26 May 2009 and were signed on its behalf by: Victoria W Killay Chairman Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds For the year ended 31 March 2009 Share Share Capital Capital Capital Warrant Revenue Total Capital Premium redemption reserve- reserve- reserve reserve shareholders' reserve realised unrealised funds £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Shareholders' funds at 1 April 2008 136,542 1,178,688 8,450 2,525,661 (450,510) 60,058 30,756 3,489,645 Proceeds of share issue 67 603 - - - - - 670 Transfer from/(to) warrant reserve - 183 - - - (183) - - Return on ordinary activities after taxation - - - (1,570,157) (984,014) - 136,020 (2,418,151) Sale of treasury shares - - - - - - 100 100 Shareholders' funds at 31 March 2009 136,609 1,179,474 8,450 955,504 (1,434,524) 59,875 166,876 1,072,264 For the year ended 31 March 2008 Share Share Capital Capital Capital Warrant Revenue Total Capital Premium redemption reserve- reserve- reserve reserve shareholders' reserve realised unrealised funds £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Shareholders' funds at 1 April 2007 136,226 1,175,092 8,450 2,956,042 122,207 60,810 18,018 4,476,845 Proceeds of share issue 316 2,844 - - - - - 3,160 Transfer from/(to) warrant reserve - 752 - - - (752) - - Return on ordinary activities after taxation - - - (430,381) (572,717) - 12,937 (990,161) Purchase of treasury shares - - - - - - (199) (199) Shareholders' funds at 31 March 2008 136,542 1,178,688 8,450 2,525,661 (450,510) 60,058 30,756 3,489,645 Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 March 2009 2009 2008 £ £ £ £ Operating activities Investment income received 175,155 91,969 Interest received 21,977 30,439 Investment management and (67,451) (93,623) administration fees paid Cash paid to and on behalf (5,120) (3,430) of Directors VAT refund received 48,000 - Other cash payments (32,333) (31,858) Net cash inflow/(outflow) from 140,228 (6,503) operating activities Servicing of finance Interest paid (88,491) (81,031) Taxation Taxation recovered 648 1,826 Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of investments (11,723,399) (16,393,290) Sale of investments 13,125,947 16,446,253 1,402,548 52,963 Cash inflow/(outflow) before financing 1,454,933 (32,745) Management of liquid resources Cash placed on deposit (5,431,318) (31,819,986) Cash withdrawn from deposit 5,636,844 31,578,645 205,526 (241,341) Financing Issue/(purchase) of 100 (199) treasury shares Proceeds from share issue 670 3,160 Loan advanced - 542,767 Purchase of Treasury shares (1,840,941) - (1,840,171) (545,728) (Decrease)/increase in cash (179,712) 271,642 Notes 1. The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31 March 2009 or 31 March 2008 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2008 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2009 will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not contain a statement under s237 (2) or (3) Companies Act 1985. 2. Return and Net Assets per ordinary share The return per ordinary share is based upon the following figures: 2009 2008 Revenue return £136,020 £12,937 Capital return £(2,554,171) £(1,003,098) Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year-basic 13,658,319 13,643,369 Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year-diluted 13,658,319 14,860,306 The difference between the basic and diluted number of ordinary shares is derived from the total number of warrants in issue multiplied by a factor based on the average price of the ordinary shares in the year and the exercise price of the warrants, as required by FRS 14. No dilution occurred in the current year as the warrant exercise price exceeded the average market price of one share during the year. The net asset value per ordinary share is calculated on 13,660,900 (2800 - 13,653,200) being the number of ordinary shares in issue. Net asset dilution occurs from the potential exercise of the 251,660 outstanding warrants and is assumed only to take place if the net assets per share exceed the exercise price of £0.10. 3. The board have proposed the final dividend of 0.76p for this year (2008 - Nil). 4. The financial information set out in this announcement has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies as stated in the previous year's financial statements, and are consistent with the current year's full financial statements which are yet to be published. Statement of Directors' Responsibilities The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). The financial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to: · select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; · make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; · state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; · prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business. The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge that: · The accounts, prepared in accordance with applicable UK accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and return of the Company; and · The Directors and Investment managers' reports include a fair review of the development, performance and position of the company together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that the company faces. On behalf of the Board Victoria Killay Chairman 26 May 2009 The above announcement applies equally to each of the following ten Trusts Company Name ISIN SEDOL PIC Code Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.1 plc GB00B19PPL85 B19PPL8 GB BPFA LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.2 plc GB00B19PPN00 B19PPN0 GB BPFC LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.3 plc GB00B19PPP24 B19PPP2 GB BPFE LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.4 plc GB00B19PPQ31 B19PPQ3 GB BPFG LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.5 plc GB00B19PPT61 B19PPT6 GB BPFI LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.6 plc GB00B19PPV83 B19PPV8 GB BPFK LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.7 plc GB00B19PPW90 B19PPW9 GB BPFM LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.8 plc GB00B19PPX08 B19PPX0 GB BPFO LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.9 plc GB00B19PQ150 B19PQ15 GB BPFQ LN Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trust No.10 plc GB00B19PQG08 B19PQG0 GB BPFS LN For more information, please visit www.blueplanet.eu You can also contact the Company on 0845 527 7588 or by emailing info@blueplanet.eu END
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