Interim Management Statement Correction
NOTE: There was a typing error in the total figure of the previous Interim management Statement announcment today,
therefore, we are re-issuing the announcement stating the correct figure.
Interim Management Statement - Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment
Trusts (Nos 1 - 10) Plc
Period: Quarter Ended the 31st December 2007
Fund Manager's Review
In December our fully diluted NAV rose by 1.3% to £2.47 per Share Unit compared
to a 1.4% rise in our Benchmark Index. Our share price rose by 26.3% to £2.02 a
unit. The Fund's discount to fully diluted NAV narrowed from 34.5% at the end of
November to 18.3% at the end of December. During the month 1,000 shares were
purchased by the Fund to be held as treasury shares. The 3 month NAV performance
of the Fund is + 0.1% and the three month share price performance is + 9.2%. For
the three year period the NAV has risen by 74.1% against a benchmark rise of
30.8% and the share price has risen by 119.8%.
This time last year we were voicing our concerns over the macroeconomic
situation in the US and UK and were positioning ourselves for a much more
difficult year in equity markets. An accurate prediction in particular for
financial stocks. This year the Bloomberg World Financials Index has made a
total return of -0.4%, the Bloomberg European Financials Index has made a total
return of -5.4% and in the US the Dow Jones General Financial Index has fallen
17.5%. The weakest performers in the financial indices have in many cases been
the banks.
In December more major US banks - Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns - announced
massive writedowns and reported net losses in the 4th quarter of 2007. Morgan
Stanley lost $3.6bn, compared to a profit of $2.0bn a year ago. Bear Stearns
quarterly loss of $0.9bn was its first in its 84 years as a public company.
Meanwhile US home foreclosures were reported to have risen 68% in November from
a year earlier and are expected to remain at high levels through the first
quarter of 2008. In the UK the Bank of England reduced interest rates by 0.25%
in December, deciding that the downside risks to the economy due to the
deterioration in financial market conditions outweighed the potential upside
risks to inflation. Meanwhile the approach of the year end produced a further
squeeze on liquidity and the ECB, Bank of England and US Fed pumped money into
the interbank lending market, with the US Fed announcing an unprecedented joint
initiative with the ECB and the Swiss National Bank to relieve liquidity
pressures.
We believe that the US and UK will go into recession in 2008 and we maintain our
defensive stance with a large part of the portfolio in cash or near-cash
financial products, hedges in place to protect our long equity holdings and a
core set of investments in banks in strong, unaffected economies.
Cumulative Performance (%) as of 31st December 2007
Current (p) 1 month 3 months 6 months 1 year 3 years 5 years
NAV (undiluted) 274.50 1.3% 0.1% -18.2% -20.3% 74.1% 154.6%
NAV (fully diluted) 247.30 1.3% 0.1% -17.1% -19.1% 67.1% 134.7%
Share Price 202.00 26.3% 9.2% -14.8% -11.0% 119.8% 164.7%
Benchmark 89.76 1.4% -1.4% -1.4% -0.4% 30.8% 45.4%
Warrant Price 1,075.00 13.2% -10.4% -24.8% -19.8% 270.7% 1,243.8%
Discount :
Undiluted (%) -26.4 -40.9 -32.6 -29.4 -34.1 -41.4 -27.3
Source: Blue Planet, share price bid to bid, net income reinvested.
Discrete Annual Performance (%) as of 31st December 2007
Share price Benchmark
4Q/06 - 4Q/07 -11.0% -0.4%
4Q/05 - 4Q/06 50.3% 5.8%
4Q/04 - 4Q/05 64.3% 24.2%
4Q/03 - 4Q/04 -0.2% 13.2%
4Q/02 - 4Q/03 20.7% -1.9%
Source: Blue Planet, share price bid to bid, net income reinvested.
Portfolio Information as of 31st December 2007
Security Security Country Valuation Weighting
Type Name £ %
8,616,130 Equity URSA Bank Russia 7,634,106 14.7
2,369,030 Equity Bank Millennium SA Poland 5,875,525 11.3
73,230 Equity Bank Zachodni WBK SA Poland 3,854,376 7.4
53,225 Equity BP Global Financials-A Class Ireland 2,946,374 5.6
950,000 Equity Sberbank Russia 1,989,529 3.8
304,000 Equity VTB Bank OJSC-GDR Russia 1,545,711 2.9
339,360 Equity Federal Bank Ltd - IPC India 1,402,611 2.7
34,790 Equity Bank Vozrozhdenie Russia 1,182,202 2.3
5,800,000 Equity Raiffeisen Bank Aval Ukraine 632,572 1.2
52,014,920 Equity Ural-Siberian Bank Russia 557,752 1.1
20,580 Equity EFG Eurobank Ergsias Greece 362,059 0.7
18,070 Equity Alpha Bank A.E. Greece 317,901 0.6
-440 Equity DJ Eurostoxx 50 Future Mar08 Europe -232,093 -0.4
28,068,625 53.9
Security Near Cash Assets Denomination Valuation Weighting
Type Security Name £ %
Equity Investec Liquidity Fund - GBP United Kingdom 7,300,000 14.1
Equity Standard Life Liquidity Fund United Kingdom 5,550,000 10.7
Equity Morley Liquidity Fund - GBP United Kingdom 5,120,000 9.9
Equity Henderson Liquity Fund United Kingdom 4,310,000 8.3
22,280,000 43
Security Cash Denomination Valuation Weighting
Type Security Name £ %
Liquid Assets GBP 24,570 0.0
Liquid Assets Other Currency 1,578,304 3.1
1,602,874 3.1
51,951,499 100
A unit comprises ten shares, one share in each of the Blue Planet Financials Growth & Income Investment Trusts Nos 1-10.
For more information, please visit www.blueplanet.eu
You can also contact the Company on 0131 466 6666 or by emailing
info@blueplanet.eu
END