Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4377T

Brunner Investment Trust PLC

03 October 2014

 



The Brunner Investment Trust PLC                                                         

Interim Management Statement

For the quarter ended 31 August 2014

This interim management statement relates to the quarter from 1 June 2014 to 31 August 2014 and contains information for that period unless otherwise stated. This statement is produced to provide information in accordance with the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Investment objective and benchmark

The Trust aims to provide growth in capital value and dividends over the long term through investing in a portfolio of UK and international securities in equal proportions. It has increased its dividend in each of the last 42 years.

The benchmark is: 50% FTSE All-Share and 50% FTSE World Index (ex UK, sterling).

Portfolio

Top ten equity holdings at 31 August 2014 and percentage of total gross assets:

	£	%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B'	11,209,732	3.41
GlaxoSmithKline	9,835,785	2.99
HSBC	8,427,092	2.56
BP	8,177,857	2.49
Vodafone Group	6,865,551	2.09
Reed Elsevier	6,733,192	2.05
UBM	5,826,326	1.77
Tesco	5,784,472	1.76
Rio Tinto	5,323,384	1.62
Abbvie	5,239,141	1.59
Total Gross Assets	328,567,389

Gilts are held to offset long term borrowings, maintaining a lower gearing, currently 9.4%.

Material events and transactions in the period

The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) came into effect on 22 July 2014. This has introduced additional regulatory oversight for investment trusts. The company has adjusted its operational arrangements to ensure that it will comply with AIFMD. We have appointed Allianz Global Investors Europe GmbH, as the designated Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) for the company and HSBC Bank PLC as its Depository in accordance with AIFMD . The management fee and notice period are unchanged by the amended Management Agreement between the company and Allianz Global Investors. The Depository Agreement replaced the existing custody agreement between the company and HSBC Bank PLC.

During the period, no Ordinary Shares were purchased for cancellation. The number of Ordinary Shares in issue was 43,089,418 at the beginning and also at the end of the period.

A first interim dividend for the year ended 30 November 2014 of 3.0p per share was paid on 27 June to shareholders on the register on 2 August 2013.

A second interim dividend for the year ended 30 November 2014 of 3.1p per share was paid on 22 September 2014 to shareholders on the register on 22 August 2014.

Material events and transactions since 31 August

No Ordinary Shares have been purchased for cancellation since the period end.

The third interim dividend for the year ended 30 November 2014 of 3.2p per share was declared on 29 September 2014 and will be paid on 19 December 2014 to shareholders on the register on 21 November 2014.

Financial Performance to 31 August 2014

			% change
	3m	6m		1yr	3yrs	5yrs
Share price	0.4	2.5		11.7	51.4	80.0
Net Asset Value	1.5	3.3		11.0	49.6	75.7
Benchmark*	2.4	4.8		12.0	47.7	75.1

* 50% FTSE All-Share and 50% FTSE World Index (ex UK, sterling), total return since 25 March 2008; prior to that the benchmark was 60% FTSE All-Share and 40% FTSE World Index (ex UK, sterling).

Source: Datastream Total Return in GBP.

Financial position at 31 August and 30 September 2014

		31 August			30 September
Total gross assets	£328,567,389				£320,003,317
Capital net assets	£273,849,818				£265,936,697
Total net assets	£275,691,921				£268,307,141
Share price	532.5p				528.0p
Capital net asset value1	635.5p				617.2p
Total net asset value (cum-income)	639.8p				622.7p
Discount 2 Discount with debt at market value3	16.8% 12.9%				15.2% 11.4%
Net gearing 4	9.7%				9.4%

¹  Capital Net asset values per ordinary share are calculated and announced daily.

² The discount is the difference between the share price and the NAV per share expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share.

³  The discount is the difference between the share price and the NAV per share (debt at market value) expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share (debt at market value).

⁴  Net gearing is borrowings net of current assets and fixed interest securities.

Company Information

Launch date		1927
EPIC		BUT
Year end		30 November
Report and Accounts		Final posted February, half-yearly posted July
AGM		March
Price Information		Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph,  www.allianzgi.co.uk, www.brunner.co.uk

Investor information

Further up to date information, including Net Asset Values and share prices, and the latest available factsheets and portfolio information, is provided on the Manager's website, which can be accessed via www.brunner.co.uk  or www.allianzgi.co.uk.  Information can also be obtained from the Investor Services' helpline on 0800 389 4696.

3 October  2014

 

END

 

 

IMSBXBDGGDGBGSX