Half-year Report

RNS Number : 0685I
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust PLC
14 June 2017
 

RNS Announcement

 

Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust plc

 

Legal Entity Identifier: 213800JUA8RKIDDLH380

 

Results for the six months to 30 April 2017

 

Since 1 February 2014, the Company has been invested in a diversified portfolio of companies which individually offer significant long term growth potential and typically have a market capitalisation of less than US$5bn at the time of initial investment.

¾ Over the six month period the Company's net asset value per share† increased by 10.6% while the comparative index* increased by 6.4%. The share price rose by 13.7%.

¾ The net revenue return per share was a positive 0.27p (six months to 30 April 2016: losses of 0.35p) due to the receipt of 0.70p per share of French withholding tax reclaims and associated interest. No interim dividend is being recommended.

¾ A number of the Company's holdings contributed to the positive performance, notably: Tesla, a US electric car manufacturer; iRobot, a US home robotics company; and LendingTree, a US online finance lender. The ten largest positions in the portfolio delivered an average sterling share price return of over 34%.

¾ At 13 June 2017 the Company holds two unlisted equity investments, Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Unity Biotechnolgy, accounting for 1.6% of total assets. During the period the unlisted holding in SkyScanner was acquired by Ctrip and post the period end the unlisted holding in Souq was acquired by Amazon.

¾ The Board and Managers remain enthused by the range and type of companies held and believe that patient investors will be rewarded over the long term.

 

  Cum income with debt at fair value.

* S&P Global Small Cap Index (in sterling terms).  See disclaimer at the end of this announcement.

 

For a definition of terms see Glossary of Terms, note 11.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

 

Edinburgh Worldwide aims to achieve long term capital growth by investing primarily in listed companies throughout the world. The Company has total assets of £332.2 million (before deduction of loans of £35.2 million) as at 30 April 2017.

Edinburgh Worldwide is managed by Baillie Gifford, the Edinburgh based fund management group with around £170 billion under management and advice as at 13 June 2017.

 

Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust plc is a listed UK company. The value of its shares and any income from them can fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount invested. This is because the share price is determined by the changing conditions in the relevant stock markets in which the Company invests and by the supply and demand for the Company's shares. Investment in investment trusts should be regarded as medium to long-term. The Company's risk could be increased by its investment in unlisted investments. These assets may be more difficult to buy or sell, so changes in their prices may be greater. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can find up to date performance information about Edinburgh Worldwide on the Edinburgh Worldwide page of the Managers' website at http://www.edinburghworldwide.co.uk

 

‡      Neither the contents of the Managers' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Managers' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

14 June 2017

For further information please contact:

Anzelm Cydzik, Baillie Gifford & Co:  Tel 0131 275 3276

Roland Cross, Director, Four Broadgate: Tel 020 3697 4200 

 

The following is the unaudited Interim Financial Report for the six months to 30 April 2017.

 

Responsibility statement

 

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

a)   the condensed set of Financial Statements has been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting';

b)   the Interim Management Report includes a fair review of the information required by Disclosure and Transparency Rules 4.2.7R (indication of important events during the first six months, their impact on the Financial Statements and a description of principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year); and

c)   the Interim Financial Report includes a fair review of the information required by Disclosure and Transparency Rules 4.2.8R (disclosure of related party transactions and changes therein).

 

 

By order of the Board

Henry CT Strutt

Chairman

13 June 2017

 

 

Interim management report

 

Performance

Over the six months from 31 October 2016 to 30 April 2017, the Company's net asset value per share, when calculated deducting borrowings at fair value, increased by 10.6%, which compares to a rise of 6.4% in the S&P Global Small Cap Index (in sterling terms) * over the same period. The share price over the six months rose by 13.7% to 549p representing a discount of 9.1% to the net asset value at 30 April 2017. This is slightly narrower than the discount of 11.6% at the beginning of the period.

 

The net revenue return per ordinary share for the six months to 30 April 2017 was 0.27p (six months to 30 April 2016 a deficit of 0.35p) which is due to the receipt of French withholding tax reclaims, for the years 2009 to 2014, and associated interest. No interim dividend is being declared. As previously stated the Board will seek to distribute the minimum permissible to maintain investment trust status by way of a final dividend.

 

Whereas 2016 will be remembered as a year in which political shocks and uncertainty set the tone for equity markets, our growing sense is that 2017 will mark a return to fundamentals for worldwide markets. As growth focused stock pickers with arguably the deepest, richest universe of companies to explore we welcome such a change. This stems not from frustrations with the sentiment-led mood swings of equity markets. Rather it's that we believe the companies we are unearthing are amongst the most exciting, high growth potential companies available; they deserve to have their stories told. Naturally we cannot predict when the next pangs of economic or political fear will come to the fore and we recognise that, in many ways, uncertainty is the new norm. That said, we believe our patient, longterm approach of investing in innovative companies that are seeking to solve large problems, whilst not insulating us from the inevitable gyrations of stock markets, rewards our patience over the long term.

 

Portfolio Update

 

We have been broadly happy with the operational performance of the vast majority of the Company's holdings. Many of the larger ones made a strong contribution to returns over the past six months; the ten largest positions, which together account for over a third of the portfolio, delivered an average sterling share price return of over 34%. Notable positive contributions were made from Tesla, iRobot and LendingTree. Tesla performed well as the market gained greater confidence in the company's ambitious electric vehicle production plans and growing advantage in autonomous driving. iRobot, the home robotics company, had strong revenue growth on account of increasing demand for its category-leading automated vacuum cleaner. LendingTree, a company that operates the leading US online loan marketplace, experienced strong revenue growth as consumers are increasingly embracing digital channels for accessing lending products such as mortgages and personal loans. Detractors to performance included Imagination Technologies which sold off heavily when its largest customer, Apple, announced that it would discontinue use of Imagination's graphics-chip designs in future devices. The shares in 4D Pharma were also notably weak despite no material news. Whilst young, early-stage biotechnology companies are difficult to value we continue to see significant potential in novel approaches such as the microbiome therapies being pioneered by 4D Pharma.

 

We acquired a number of new holdings in the period including Teladoc and Mindbody. Both of these companies are representative of how the increasing use of technology is being used to transform the broad healthcare ecosystem. Teladoc is the US's first and largest telemedicine company, providing medical care for patients via phone or video consultations with doctors. The efficient service is beneficial to all parties including patients, bill payers and doctors from both the convenience and cost-saving perspectives. The service is being adopted across many employer and insurance schemes and whilst current patient adoption is modest, we see scope for this to improve very significantly and for the offering to broaden out into other health-related services. Mindbody is creating a marketplace for the wellness industry which encompasses areas such as fitness, health, and beauty. One side of Mindbody's network provides all the software needed to run a small wellness business and the other provides a free app that consumers can use to find and book appointments. A network effect is developing here and we believe there is scope to significantly increase revenue with higher industry penetration, nascent programmes in marketing services, corporate wellness packages and its recent integration with Google search.

The recently acquired holdings in CEVA and Ambarella share a broad common goal of infusing machine vision capabilities locally into mobile devices such as smart phones, autos, drones and wearable cameras. Local machine vision requires low powered chips which can perform smart analytics on image data as it is collected. It has led to the rise of dedicated vision processing chips, a category which is distinct from the powerful but power hungry graphics processing chips which power many existing server based machine learning applications. With the potential end markets being vast, we see substantial room for both CEVA and Ambarella to be successful. We also took a holding in STAAR Surgical, a developer of vision correcting implantable lenses. The company's technology remains industry leading yet it has lacked robust and effective marketing thereby allowing laser vision correction to gain market share despite some significant limitations. With a new management team installed, we are excited by the prospect of a great product being marketed in a much more coherent and strategic manor.

The holdings in TripAdvisor, Teradyne, Nanocarrier, Xing, On Deck Capital, EPAM Systems, Evola Holdings and Power Integrations were sold due to concerns over their future growth potential. In addition, unlisted Skyscanner exited the portfolio following its acquisition in December by Ctrip, the Chinese travel services company. In March, Amazon announced that it was acquiring Souq, the unlisted Middle-East e-commerce company. This acquisition completed shortly after the end of Edinburgh Worldwide's half year reporting period and leaves Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Unity Biotechnology as the remaining unlisted equity investments in the portfolio

 

 

The principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company are set out in note 10.

 

 

 

*See disclaimer at the end of this announcement.

 

For a definition of terms see Glossary of Terms, note 11.

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

 

 

 

Income statement (unaudited)

 

 

 

For the six months ended

30 April 2017

For the six months ended

30 April 2016

For the year ended

31 October 2016 (audited)

 

Revenue

£'000

Capital

£'000

Total

£'000

Revenue

£'000

Capital

£'000

Total

£'000

Revenue

£'000

Capital

£'000

Total

£'000

Gains on sales of investments

8,560 

8,560 

5,282 

5,282 

14,538 

14,538 

Movements in investment holding gains and (losses)

19,937 

19,937 

(814)

(814)

31,545 

31,545 

Currency gains/(losses)

851 

851 

(1,108)

(1,108)

(2,740)

(2,740)

Income from investments and interest receivable

563 

563 

418 

418 

1,178 

1,178 

Investment management fee (note 3)

(250)

(750)

(1,000)

(202)

(605)

(807)

(436)

(1,307)

(1,743)

Other administrative expenses

(266)

(266)

(244)

(244)

(483)

(483)

Net return before finance costs and taxation

47 

28,598 

28,645 

(28)

2,755 

2,727 

259 

42,036 

42,295 

Finance costs of borrowings

(126)

(378)

(504)

(114)

(341)

(455)

(239)

(719)

(958)

Net return on ordinary activities before taxation

(79)

28,220 

28,141 

(142)

2,414 

2,272 

20 

41,317 

41,337 

Tax on ordinary activities

212 

28 

240 

(28)

(28)

(81)

(81)

Net return on ordinary activities after taxation

133 

28,248 

28,381 

(170)

2,414 

2,244 

(61)

41,317 

41,256 

Net return per ordinary share (note 4)

0.27p

57.64p

57.91p

(0.35p)

4.93p 

4.58p 

(0.12p)

84.31p

84.19p

Dividends paid and proposed per ordinary share (note 5)

-

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. The supplementary revenue and capital columns are prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.

All revenue and capital items in this statement derive from continuing operations.

A Statement of Comprehensive Income is not required as all gains and losses of the Company have been reflected in the above statement.

 

 

Balance sheet (unaudited)

 

 

 

 

At 30 April 2017

£'000

At 31 October 2016 (audited)

£'000

Fixed assets

 

 

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss (note 6)

317,375 

292,799 

Current assets

 

 

Debtors

142 

127 

Cash and cash equivalents

15,335 

13,244 

 

15,477

13,371

Creditors

 

 

Amounts falling due within one year

(660)

(650)

Net current assets

14,817 

12,721 

Total assets less current liabilities

332,192 

305,520 

Creditors

 

 

Amounts falling due after more than one year (note 7)

(35,199)

(36,908)

Net assets

296,993 

268,612 

 

 

 

Capital and reserves

 

 

Called up share capital

2,450 

2,450 

Share premium account

82,180 

82,180 

Special reserve

35,220 

35,220 

Capital reserve

176,190 

147,942 

Revenue reserve

953 

820 

Shareholders' funds

296,993 

268,612 

Net asset value per ordinary share

(after deducting borrowings at fair value) (note 7)

604.29p

546.13p

Net asset value per ordinary share

(after deducting borrowings at par)

606.06p

548.14p

Ordinary shares in issue (note 8)

49,004,319 

49,004,319 

 

 

Statement of changes in equity (unaudited)

 

 

For the six months ended 30 April 2017

 

Called up share
capital

£'000

Share
premium

account

£'000

Special reserve

£'000

Capital

reserve*

£'000

Revenue reserve

£'000

Shareholders'
funds

£'000

Shareholders' funds at 1 November 2016

2,450

82,180

35,220

147,942

820

268,612

Net return on ordinary activities after taxation

-

-

-

28,248

133

28,381

Shareholders' funds at 30 April 2017

2,450

82,180

35,220

176,190

953

296,993

 

For the six months ended 30 April 2016

 

Called up share
capital

£'000

Share
premium

account

£'000

Special reserve

£'000

Capital

reserve*

£'000

Revenue reserve

£'000

Shareholders'
funds

£'000

Shareholders' funds at 1 November 2015

2,450

82,180

35,220

106,625

881 

227,356

Net return on ordinary activities after taxation

-

-

-

2,414

(170)

2,244

Shareholders' funds at 30 April 2016

2,450

82,180

35,220

109,039

711 

229,600

*    The Capital reserve as at 30 April 2017 includes investment holding gains of £70,416,000 (30 April 2016 - gains of £18,120,000).

 

 

Condensed cash flow statement (unaudited)

 

 

 

Six months to

30 April 2017

£'000

 

Six months to

 30 April 2016

£'000

Cash flows from operating activities

 

 

Net return on ordinary activities before taxation*

28,141 

2,272 

Net gains on investments

(28,497)

(4,468)

Currency (gains)/losses

(851)

1,108 

Finance costs of borrowings

504 

455 

Overseas withholding tax

248 

(24)

Changes in debtors and creditors

(7)

(76)

Cash from operations

(462)

(733)

Interest paid

(510)

(454)

Net cash outflow from operating activities

(972)

(1,187)

Net cash inflow from investing activities

3,921 

8,768 

Increase in cash and cash equivalents

2,949 

7,581 

Exchange movements

(858)

418 

Cash and cash equivalents at start of period

13,244 

2,734 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

15,335 

10,733 

* Dividends received in the period amounted to £439,000 (30 April 2016 - £358,000)

 Cash and cash equivalents represent cash at bank and short term money market deposits repayable on demand.

 

Portfolio and equity performance at 30 April 2017 (unaudited)

 

Name

Business

Value

£'000

% of total assets

Performance

Absolute

%

Relative

%

MarketAxess

Electronic bond trading platform

24,555

7.4

20.9  

12.6  

iRobot

Domestic and military robots

11,256

3.4

48.4  

38.3  

Tesla, Inc

Electric cars, autonomous driving and solar

  energy

 

10,898

 

3.3

 

49.9  

 

39.7  

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Therapeutic gene silencing

10,132

3.0

42.0  

32.3  

IPG Photonics

High-power fiber lasers

9,546

2.9

22.9  

14.5  

LendingTree

Online loan marketplace

9,268

2.8

66.1  

54.8  

IP Group

Intellectual property commercialisation

7,587

2.3

(7.3) 

(13.6) 

Financial Engines

Investment advisory firm

6,234

1.9

45.5  

35.6  

Temenos Group

Banking software

6,112

1.8

26.5  

17.9  

Wayfair

Online furniture and homeware retailer

6,019

1.8

29.4  

20.6  

Zillow Class C

US online real estate portal

5,477

1.6

10.3  

2.8  

Galapagos

Clinical stage biotechnology company

5,226

1.6

35.6  

26.3  

Ocado

Online food retailer

4,953

1.5

(8.7) 

(15.0) 

Renishaw

Measurement and calibration equipment

4,804

1.4

32.7  

23.7  

Xeros Technology Group

Commercial laundry manufacturer

4,752

1.4

34.8  

25.6  

Grubhub

Online and mobile platform for restaurant pick-

  up and delivery orders

 

4,650

 

1.4

 

6.4  

 

(0.8) 

Seattle Genetics

Antibody conjugates based biotechnology

4,512

1.3

24.7  

16.2  

Dexcom

Real time blood glucose monitoring

4,393

1.3

(6.0) 

(12.4) 

MonotaRO

Online business supplies

4,374

1.3

26.3  

17.7 

Cosmo Pharmaceuticals

Therapies for gastrointestinal diseases

4,180

1.3

5.2  

(2.0) 

Oxford Nanopore

  Technologies#

 

Novel DNA sequencing technology

 

4,178

 

1.3

 

16.3  

 

8.3  

Start Today

Internet fashion retailer

4,096

1.2

15.5  

7.7  

ASOS

Online fashion retailer

3,958

1.2

10.7  

3.1  

SEEK

Online recruitment portal

3,938

1.2

9.5  

2.0  

AeroVironment

Small unmanned aircraft systems

3,884

1.2

12.4  

4.7  

Dialog Semiconductor

Analogue chips for mobile phones

3,856

1.2

12.6  

4.9  

Genus

Animal breeding services

3,779

1.1

(7.5) 

(13.8) 

Yoox Net-A-Porter

Online luxury fashion retailers

3,762

1.1

(11.8) 

(17.9) 

Pacira Pharmaceuticals

Development, commercialisation and

  manufacturing of proprietary pharmaceutical

  products

 

3,753

 

1.1

 

44.1  

 

34.2  

Genmab

Therapeutic antibody company

3,699

1.1

13.9  

6.1  

InfoMart Corp

Internet platform for restaurant supplies

3,605

1.1

(4.2) 

(10.7)

Cellectis

Biotech focused on genetic engineering

3,570

1.1

29.5  

20.7 

Stamps.com

Website for postage services

3,468

1.0

2.7  

(4.3)

4D Pharma

Bacteria derived novel therapeutics

3,422

1.0

(57.0) 

(59.9)

Lifull (formerly Next)

Provides online property information

3,237

1.0

(20.8) 

(26.2)

AAC Technologies

Miniature acoustic components

3,212

1.0

45.2  

35.3 

Puretech Health

IP commercialisation focused on health care

3,122

0.9

(16.8) 

(22.5)

Faro Technologies

Designs and develops measurement devices

3,052

0.9

3.1  

(4.0)

Morphosis

Therapeutic antibodies

2,997

0.9

29.5  

20.7 

Name

Business

Value

£'000

% of total assets

Performance

Absolute

%

Relative

%

National Instruments Corp

Instrumentation equipment used in research

  and testing

 

2,951

 

0.9

 

18.6  

 

10.5  

Digital Garage

Internet business incubator

2,943

0.9

6.4  

(0.9) 

Peptidream

Drug discovery platform

2,914

0.9

9.5  

2.0  

Rightmove

UK online property portal

2,888

0.9

12.1  

4.4  

SDL

Language translation services

2,886

0.9

38.6  

29.1  

Splunk

Data diagnostics

2,857

0.9

0.8  

(6.0) 

M3

Online medical database

2,766

0.8

(20.5) 

(26.0) 

Xero

Cloud-based accounting software

2,737

0.8

10.9  

3.3  

Foundation Medicine

Develops cancer diagnostic technology

2,736

0.8

47.6  

37.5  

Abcam

Scientific reagent supplier

2,730

0.8

(0.5) 

(7.3) 

Zillow Class A

US online real estate portal

2,703

0.8

10.0  

2.5  

STAAR Surgical

Develops and manufactures high margin visual

  implants

 

2,528

 

0.8

 

19.1*

 

7.0*

Kingdee International  

  Software

 

Enterprise management software

 

2,489

 

0.7

 

(1.7) 

 

(8.4) 

Victrex

High-performance thermo-plastics

2,436

0.7

11.5  

3.9  

Ellie Mae

Provides technology solutions to automate

  mortgage origination process

 

2,359

 

0.7

 

(9.3) 

 

(15.5) 

Exa

Simulation software and services

2,316

0.7

(7.2) 

(13.6) 

CEVA

Licenses DSP-based platforms

  applications to the semiconductor industry

 

2,296

 

0.7

 

(1.3)*

 

0.7*

Baozun SPN ADR

Chinese E-commerce solution provider

2,278

0.7

(0.9)*

1.1*

Trupanion

Pet health insurance provider

2,269

0.7

(7.4) 

(13.7) 

Teladoc

Telemedicine services provider

2,238

0.7

13.1*

13.4*

Ambarella

Video compression and image processing

  semiconductors

 

2,238

 

0.7

 

(2.0)*

 

0.0*

Oxford Instruments

Produces advanced instrumentation

  equipment

 

2,210

 

0.7

 

47.1  

 

37.1  

Novadaq Technologies

Medical systems for intra-surgical imaging

2,193

0.7

(40.9) 

(44.9) 

Stratasys

3D printer manufacturer

2,192

0.7

22.2  

13.9  

Xaar

Ink jet printing technology

2,155

0.6

(10.6) 

(16.7) 

Mindbody CL

Business management software for the

  wellness sector

2,079

0.6

(1.6)*

(3.0)*

Horizon Discovery

Customised cell lines to aid drug discovery

2,077

0.6

60.5  

49.5  

Basware

Software solutions for financial transactions

2,003

0.6

(0.7) 

(7.4) 

Digimarc

Digital watermarking technology

1,811

0.5

(13.8) 

(19.7) 

Suss Microtec

Fabrication and inspection equipment

1,723

0.5

51.7  

41.3  

Codexis

Manufacturer of custom industrial enzymes

1,699

0.5

(17.8) 

(23.4) 

Zumtobel

Commercial lighting

1,678

0.5

12.2  

4.6  

Unity Biotechnology Inc

  Series B Pref.#

Biotechnology company seeking to develop

  anti ageing therapies

 

1,546

 

0.5

 

(5.6) 

 

(12.1) 

Adaptimmune Therapeutics

  ADR

 

Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company

 

1,545

 

0.5

 

16.9  

 

8.9  

 

 

 

Name

Business

Value

£'000

% of total assets

Performance

Absolute

%

Relative

%

Imagination Technologies

Graphics semiconductor designer

1,531

0.5

(55.4) 

(58.5) 

Souq Group Class A Pref.#

Middle East e-commerce website

1,505

0.5

(8.1) 

(14.4) 

Tissue Regenix

Regenerative medical devices

1,475

0.4

(13.7) 

(19.6) 

Avacta Group

Analytical reagents and instrumentation

1,449

0.4

(0.0) 

(6.8) 

China Financial Services

Small and medium-sized enterprises lending in

  China

1,432

0.4

7.1  

(0.2) 

Ceres Power Holding

Developer of fuel cells

1,265

0.4

(19.5) 

(25.0) 

Summit Therapeutics

Drug discovery and development

1,207

0.4

(11.3) 

(17.3) 

Ricardo

Automotive engineer

1,205

0.4

(4.6) 

(11.1) 

C4X Discovery Holdings

Rational drug design and optimisation

983

0.3

(20.5) 

(26.0) 

Aduro Biotechnology

Immunotherapy services provider

965

0.3

(15.3) 

(21.1) 

hVIVO (Formerly Retroscreen

  Virology)

 

Outsourced pre-clinical analytical services

 

946

 

0.3

 

(24.9) 

 

(30.1) 

Acacia Research

Patent licenser

927

0.3

(12.1) 

(18.1) 

Sarine Technologies

Systems for diamond grading and cutting

909

0.3

12.4  

4.7  

Nanoco

Quantum dot manufacturer

881

0.3

(35.8) 

(40.1) 

Thin Film Electronics

Develops printed, rewritable memory media

816

0.2

(15.0) 

(20.8) 

Ilika

Discovery and development of materials for

  mass market applications

 

802

 

0.2

 

(20.9) 

 

(26.3) 

Applied Graphene Materials

Manufactures grapheme nanaoplatelets

570

0.2

8.6  

1.2  

Bioamber

Bioengineering company

477

0.1

(54.4) 

(57.5) 

Fusionex

Software for data analytics

409

0.1

(29.2) 

(34.0) 

Foamix Pharmaceuticals

Drug reformulation technology

362

0.1

(50.0) 

(53.4) 

Velocys

Gas to liquid technology

194

0.1

20.3  

12.1  

GI Dynamics

Develops and markets medical devices

45

0.0

191.5  

171.6  

Intelligent Energy Holdings

Developer of modular fuel cells

35

0.0

(46.9) 

(50.6) 

China Lumena New Materials

Mines, processes and manufactures natural

  thenardite products

 

0

 

0.0

 

-  

 

(7.3) 

Ensogo

South East Asian e-commerce

0

0.0

-  

(7.3) 

Total equities

 

317,375

95.5

 

 

Net liquid assets

 

14,817

4.5

 

 

Total assets at fair value (before deduction of loans)

332,192

100.0

 

 

†      Absolute and relative performance has been calculated on a total return basis over the period 1 November 2016 to 30 April 2017. Absolute performance is in sterling terms; relative performance is against S&P Global Small Cap Index (in sterling terms).

*      Figures relate to part-period returns where the equity has been purchased during the period.

#      Denotes unlisted equity.

 

Source: Baillie Gifford/StatPro and relevant underlying providers. See disclaimer at the end of this announcement.

 

Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

 

 

Distribution of total assets (unaudited)

 

 

 

Industry Analysis at 30 April 2017

 

 

 

 

% of total assets*

 

Portfolio Weightings

(relative to comparative index)

at 30 April 2017

%

Biotechnology

14.7

 

12.3 

Capital Markets

11.5

 

8.3 

Internet Software and Services

8.2

 

6.3 

Software

7.8

 

4.9 

Electronic Equipment, Instruments and Components

7.7

 

4.8 

Internet and Direct Marketing Retail

5.7

 

5.2 

Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment

3.8

 

1.6 

Pharmaceuticals

3.5

 

1.9 

Household Durables

3.4

 

1.7 

Automobiles

3.3

 

3.2 

Health Care Equipment and Supplies

3.2

 

0.6 

Life Sciences Tools and Services

3.1

 

2.2 

Thrifts and Mortgage Finance

2.8

 

2.0 

Professional Services

2.1

 

0.7 

Machinery

1.7

 

(2.6)

Chemicals

1.6

 

(1.9)

Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals

1.5

 

1.1 

Trading Companies and Distributors

1.3

 

(0.3)

Internet and Catalogue Retail

1.2

 

1.2 

Aerospace and Defence

1.2

 

(0.2)

Healthcare Technology

1.1

 

0.8

Media

1.0

 

(1.2)

Electrical Equipment

0.9

 

(0.2)

IT Services

0.9

 

(1.7)

Insurance

0.7

 

(2.5)

Health Care Providers and Services

0.7

 

(1.0)

Speciality Retail

0.4

 

(1.7)

Consumer Finance

0.4

 

(0.2)

Energy Equipment and Services

0.1

 

(1.1)

Net Liquid Assets

4.5

 

4.5 

Total Assets

100.0

 

 

* Total assets before deduction of loans.

 

 

 

S&P Global Small Cap Index. Weightings exclude industries where the Company has no exposure. See disclaimer at the end of this announcement.

 

 

Distribution of total assets* (unaudited)

 

Geographical Analysis

30 April 2017

%

31 October 2016

%

North America

49.6

45.5

 

USA

49.6

45.5

Europe

 

33.8

37.2

 

United Kingdom

21.8

25.4

 

Eurozone

8.8

8.5

 

Developed Europe (non euro)

3.2

3.3

Africa and Middle East

 

0.5

0.5

 

U.A.E.

0.5

0.5

Asia

 

9.6

10.6

 

Japan

7.2

8.3

 

China

1.2

1.3

 

Hong Kong

0.9

0.7

 

Singapore

0.3

0.3

Australasia

2.0

2.0

 

Australia

1.2

1.2

 

New Zealand

0.8

0.8

Net Liquid Assets

4.5

4.2

Total Assets

100.0

100.0

         

 

Sectoral Analysis

30 April 2017

%

 

31 October 2016

%

 

Consumer Discretionary

14.9

 

15.2

 

Energy

0.1

 

0.1

 

Financials

15.4

 

13.9

 

Health Care

26.4

 

26.1

 

Industrials

7.1

 

7.0

 

Information Technology

30.0

 

31.5

 

Materials

1.6

 

2.0

 

Net Liquid Assets

4.5

 

4.2

Total Assets

 

100.0

 

100.0

* Total assets before deduction of loans.

 

 

 

 

Notes to the condensed Financial Statements (unaudited)

 

1.

 

The condensed Financial Statements for the six months to 30 April 2017 have been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting' and the AIC's Statement of Recommended Practice issued in November 2014 and have not been audited or reviewed by the Auditor pursuant to the Auditing Practices board Guidance on 'Review of Interim Financial Information'. The Financial Statements for the six months to April 2017 have been prepared on the basis of the same accounting policies as set out in the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements at 31 October 2016, which included the early adoption of Amendments to FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland - fair value hierarchy disclosures'.

Going Concern

Having considered the nature of the Company's principal risks and uncertainties, as set out on in note 10 below, together with its current position, investment objective and policy, its assets and liabilities, and projected income and expenditure together with the Company's dividend policy, it is the Directors' opinion that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Company's assets, the majority of which are investments in quoted securities which are readily realisable, exceed its liabilities significantly. All borrowings require the prior approval of the Board. Gearing levels and compliance with borrowing covenants are reviewed by the Board on a regular basis. Accordingly, the Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these Financial Statements and confirm that they are not aware of any material uncertainties which may affect the Company's ability to continue to do so over a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these Financial Statements.

2.

The financial information contained within this Interim Financial Report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in sections 434 to 436 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the year ended 31 October 2016 has been extracted from the statutory accounts which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The Auditor's Report on those accounts was not qualified and did not contain a statement under sections 498(2), (3) or (4) of the Companies Act 2006.

3.

Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Baillie Gifford & Co, has been appointed by the Company as its Alternative Investment Fund Manager and Company Secretary. The investment management function has been delegated to Baillie Gifford & Co. The management agreement is terminable on not less than three months' notice. With effect from 1 September 2016 the annual management fee is 0.95% on the first £50m of net assets, 0.65% on the next £200m of net assets and 0.55% on the remaining net assets. Prior to 1 September 2016 the fee was 0.95% on the first £50m of net assets and 0.65% on the remaining net assets. Management fees are calculated and payable quarterly.

4.

Net return per ordinary share

 

Six months to

30 April 2017

£'000

 

Six months to

30 April 2016

£'000

Year to

31 October 2016 (audited)

£'000

 

Revenue return on ordinary activities after taxation

133

(170)

(61)

 

Capital return on ordinary activities after taxation

28,248

2,414 

41,317 

 

Total return

28,381

2,244 

41,256 

 

Net return per ordinary share is based on the above totals of revenue and capital and on 49,004,319 ordinary shares, being the number of ordinary shares in issue during each period. There are no dilutive or potentially dilutive shares in issue.

5.

No interim dividend has been declared.

 

 

Notes to the condensed Financial Statements (unaudited) (ctd)

 

 

6.

Fair Value Hierarchy

The fair value hierarchy used to analyse the basis on which the fair values of financial instruments held at fair value through the profit or loss account are measured is described below. Fair value measurements are categorised on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Level 1 - using unadjusted quoted prices for identical instruments in an active market;

Level 2 - using inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, that are directly or indirectly observable (based on

               market data); and

Level 3 - using inputs that are unobservable (for which market data is unavailable).

An analysis of the Company's financial asset investments based on the fair value hierarchy described above is shown below.

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

 

As at 30 April 2017

Level 1

£'000

Level 2

£'000

Level 3

£'000

Total

£'000

Listed equities

310,146

-

-

310,146

 

Unlisted equities

-

-

7,229

7,229

 

Total financial asset investments

310,146

-

7,229

317,375

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As at 31 October 2016

Level 1

£'000

Level 2

£'000

Level 3

£'000

Total

£'000

Listed equities

284,217

-

-

284,217

 

Unlisted equities

-

-

8,582

8,582

 

Total financial asset investments

284,217

-

8,582

292,799

 

There have been no transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy during the period. The fair value of listed investments is bid price or, in the case of FTSE 100 constituents or holdings on certain recognised overseas exchanges, last traded price. They are categorised as Level 1 if they trade in an active market and Level 2 if they are traded on a market which is not considered to be active. The fair value of unlisted investments is determined using valuation techniques, determined by the Directors, based upon observable and/or non-observable data such as latest dealing prices, stockbroker valuations, net asset values and other information, as appropriate. The Company's holdings in unlisted investments are categorised as Level 3 as the valuation techniques applied include the use of non-observable data.

7.

At 30 April 2017 creditors falling due after more than one year comprise borrowings of £35,199,000 (31 October 2016 - £36,908,000) drawn down under a five year fixed rate facility with National Australia Bank Limited which expires on 30 September 2019. The loans drawn down consisted €9.4m, US$25.6m and £7.5m at 30 April 2017 and 31 October 2016.

The fair value of the bank loans at 30 April 2017 was £36,064,000 (31 October 2016 - £37,895,000).

8.

The Company has authority to buy back its ordinary shares. In the six months to 30 April 2017 no ordinary shares were bought back therefore the Company's authority remains unchanged at 7,345,747 ordinary shares.

9.

During the period the Company incurred transaction costs on purchases of investments of £9,000 (30 April 2016 - £4,000; 31 October 2016 - £26,000) and transaction costs on sales of £7,000 (30 April 2016 - £7,000; 31 October 2016 - £17,000).

             

 

 

 

Notes to the condensed Financial Statements (unaudited) (ctd)

 

10.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The principal risks facing the Company are financial risk, regulatory risk, custody and depositary risk, small company risk, unlisted investments, operational risk, discount/premium volatility, leverage risk and political and associated economic risk. An explanation of these risks and how they are managed is set out on pages 7 and 8 of the Company's Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year to 31 October 2016 which is available on the Company's website: www.edinburghworldwide.co.uk. The principal risks and uncertainties have not changed since the date of that report.

11.

Glossary of Terms

Total Assets

Total assets less current liabilities, before deduction of all borrowings.

Net Asset Value

Also described as shareholders' funds, Net Asset Value (NAV) is the value of total assets less liabilities (including borrowings). The NAV per share is calculated by dividing this amount by the number of ordinary shares in issue.

Net Asset Value at Fair

Borrowings are valued at an estimate of their market worth.

Discount/Premium

As stockmarkets and share prices vary, an investment trust's share price is rarely the same as its NAV. When the share price is lower than the NAV per share it is said to be trading at a discount. The size of the discount is calculated by subtracting the share price from the NAV per share and is usually expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share. If the share price is higher than the NAV per share, this situation is called a premium.

Total Return

The total return is the return to shareholders after reinvesting the net dividend on the date that the share price goes ex-dividend.

Ongoing Charges

The total expenses (excluding borrowing costs) incurred by the Company as a percentage of the average net asset value (with debt at fair value).

Active Share

Active share, a measure of how actively a portfolio is managed, is the percentage of the portfolio that differs from its comparative index. It is calculated by deducting from 100 the percentage of the portfolio that overlaps with the comparative index. An active share of 100 indicates no overlap with the index and an active share of zero indicates a portfolio that tracks the index.

Gearing

At its simplest, gearing is borrowing. Just like any other public company, an investment trust can borrow money to invest in additional investments for its portfolio. The effect of the borrowing on the shareholders' assets is called 'gearing'. If the Company's assets grow, the shareholders' assets grow proportionately more because the debt remains the same. But if the value of the Company's assets falls, the situation is reversed. Gearing can therefore enhance performance in rising markets but can adversely impact performance in falling markets.

Gearing represents borrowings at par less cash and cash equivalents expressed as a percentage of shareholders' funds.

Potential gearing is the Company's borrowings expressed as a percentage of shareholders' funds.

12.

The Interim Financial Report will be available at www.edinburghworldwide.co.uk and will be posted to shareholders on or around 26 June 2017.

Neither the contents of the Managers' website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Managers' website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

None of the views expressed in this document should be construed as advice to buy or sell a particular investment.

Third Party Data Provider Disclaimer

 

No third party data provider ('Provider') makes any warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the data contained herewith nor as to the results to be obtained by recipients of the data. No Provider shall in any way be liable to any recipient of the data for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the index data included in this document, regardless of cause, or for any damages (whether direct or indirect) resulting therefrom.

 

No Provider has any obligation to update, modify or amend the data or to otherwise notify a recipient thereof in the event that any matter stated herein changes or subsequently becomes inaccurate.

 

Without limiting the foregoing, no Provider shall have any liability whatsoever to you, whether in contract (including under an indemnity), in tort (including negligence), under a warranty, under statute or otherwise, in respect of any loss or damage suffered by you as a result of or in connection with any opinions, recommendations, forecasts, judgments, or any other conclusions, or any course of action determined, by you or any third party, whether or not based on the content, information or materials contained herein.

 

S&P Disclaimer

 

The S&P Global Small Cap Index ('Index') is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global, or its affiliates ('SPDJI'). Standard & Poor's® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, a division of S&P Global ('S&P'); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ('Dow Jones'). Neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the ability of any index to accurately represent the asset class or market sector that it purports to represent and neither S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC, their affiliates nor their third party licensors shall have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of any index or the data included therein.

 

Regulated Information Classification: Half Yearly Financial Report.

- Ends -

 

 

 

 


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