Final Results

AIM Distribution Trust PLC (The)
12 July 2004

THE AIM DISTRIBUTION TRUST PLC



PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2004



The statement to shareholders by the Chairman, Sir Aubrey Brocklebank, includes
the following comments:



Introduction

The year to 31 March 2004 has been an eventful one for your Company.  The period
saw a significant change in investor sentiment and, consequently, a strong
recovery by stock markets and, in particular, AIM.



The year also saw a change of Investment Manager, from Legg Mason Investments
(Europe) to Rathbone Investment Management and as a consequence, the Company
changed its name to 'The AIM Distribution Trust Plc'.



Net Asset Value

At 31 March 2004, the Net Asset Value per share ('NAV') stood at 67.1p, a rise
of 21.4p or 46.8% since the previous year-end.  By way of comparison, the FTSE
AIM Index rose by 67.0% over the same period.  Because of the mix of investments
and the VCT investment restrictions no one index is directly comparable.
Furthermore with a number of much larger companies joining AIM from the Main
Exchange the comparability of this benchmark is further eroded.



Results and Dividend

The profit on ordinary activities after taxation was £669,000 (2003:  loss
£793,000).



Expenses exceeded income for the year and the Company carried forward
accumulated capital losses. Accordingly the Directors do not propose to pay a
dividend for the year ended 31 March 2004.  The timing and level of future
capital distributions will depend upon the speed with which we can recover
unrealised losses and realise gains.



Investment Manager

Following the loss of its largest small cap investment trust and a refocusing of
Legg Mason's investment activities away from smaller companies, the Board agreed
with Legg Mason that it would be in the best interests of the Company and
Shareholders to seek a replacement Investment Manager.  The process of selecting
a new Manager took several months and, after careful appraisal of a number of
managers, culminated in the appointment of Rathbone Investment Management
Limited on 1 October 2003.  In addition to this change, Downing Management
Services Limited were appointed as Administration Manager, taking over from BNP
Paribas on the same date, and Grant Whitehouse, of Downing, was appointed as
Company Secretary.



Investment Strategy

Your board agreed with Rathbones that the fund was over-exposed to the risk
inherent in early stage technology companies. It was therefore decided that over
the next two years the balance would be shifted to lower the risk profile of the
portfolio.



It is still relatively early days for the new Investment Manager, however the
Board is pleased with progress to date and feels confident that your Company
will benefit from being managed by an investment team with an excellent
track-record in the VCT sector.



Venture capital investments

During the year the Company made eight new investments at a total cost of £1.0
million and three follow on investments totalling £140,000.  During the first
six months of the year, under the management of Legg Mason, the Company made
investments in Camaxys, Xpertise Group Cardpoint and Inter-Alliance Group.
Following the appointment of Rathbones, new investments were made in Top Ten
Holdings, Clapham House Group, Keycom, Quadnetics Group, Real Affinity and Real
Food Group and Floors 2 Go.



The Company also made a number of successful disposals during the year, most
notably in Pursuit Dynamics, Jacques Vert and Cardpoint, giving rise to total
realised gains for the year of £791,000.



The general recovery of share prices on AIM has been the main factor in the
strong increase in the valuation of the remaining portfolio.  For the year under
review, the portfolio showed unrealised gains of £2.9 million.



VCT qualifying status

Qualifying investments now represent 81% of total investments (including cash)
thereby continuing to exceed the Venture Capital Trust qualifying criteria of a
minimum of 70%.  The Board, with the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
continue to monitor the Company's compliance with the VCT legislation.



Share repurchase

The Board is conscious that the Company's share price is affected by the
illiquidity of its shares in the market.  In line with accepted practice with
VCTs, the Company has a policy of purchasing its own shares.  During the year
the Directors used this power to acquire 50,000 shares at an average price of
54.5p per share.  Since the year end the Company acquired a further 25,000
shares at a price of 55p per share.  A Special Resolution to continue with this
policy is proposed for the forthcoming AGM.



Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at 159 New Bond Street,
London W1S 2UD at 11:30am on 1 September 2004.



Three items of Special Business are proposed:



      (i)      to authorise the Directors to allot shares other than
               pro-rata to existing shareholders;

     (ii)      to authorise the Directors to disapply pre-emption rights;
               and

    (iii)     to renew the Company's authority to purchase up to 2,479,301
              ordinary shares in the market, representing approximately 14.99% 
              of the current issued shares.



Publication of share price

The Company's share price continues to be quoted in the Financial Times on a
daily basis in the 'Investment Companies' sector under 'AIM Dist'.  The share
price can also be found on various websites under the TIDM/EPIC code 'AMD'.



Outlook

The number of new companies joining AIM has, picked up over recent months and
this appears likely to continue, at least in the short-term.  The Company now
has a reasonable level of funds available for new investments, so the new
Investment Manager is seeking to take advantage of the improved deal flow by
identifying good quality new opportunities.



The Total Return of the Company to date (Net Asset Value plus cumulative
dividends) is 114.9p per share, compared to an original investment (net of
income tax relief) of 80p per share.  This performance rates favourably against
most other AIM VCTs.



The year to 31 March 2004 has seen your Company regain much of the ground that
it lost in the previous year, primarily due to the strong recovery by AIM
stocks.  Since the year-end higher oil prices and increasing interest rates have
created uncertainty and the index has shown a small fall. Whilst the prospects
for the current year are unclear, it is nice not to be reporting to you in the
mood of doom that has been the tenor of previous years. I look forward to
updating Shareholders in my statement with the interim results to 30 September
2004.



Sir Aubrey Brocklebank

Chairman



BALANCE SHEET

at 31 March 2004
                                                         2004                         2003
                                               £'000          £'000         £'000          £'000
Fixed Assets

Investments                                                   9,646                        7,477

Current Assets
Debtors                                           76                           55
Cash at bank and in hand                       1,618                          142
                                               1,694                          197

Creditors: amounts falling due within one      (222)                         (76)
year

Net current assets                                            1,472                          121

Net assets                                                   11,118                        7,598


Capital and reserves
Called up share capital                                       4,141                        4,154
Capital redemption reserve                                       60                           47
Special reserve                                               8,397                       12,293
Revaluation reserve                                         (2,285)                      (8,380)
Capital reserve - realised                                        -                        (652)
Profit and loss account                                         805                          136

Equity shareholders' funds                                   11,118                        7,598

Net asset value per share                                     67.1p                        45.7p



Net asset value per ordinary share is based on net assets at the year-end, and
on 16,564,701 ordinary shares (2003: 16,614,701), being the number of ordinary
shares in issue at the year-end.



PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT

For the year ended 31 March 2004
                                                                 Year ended             Year
                                                                                       ended
                                                                   31 March
                                                                       2004         31 March
                                                                                        2003
                                                                      £'000            £'000


Investment income                                                       206              203

Investment management fees                                            (144)            (170)

Other expenses                                                        (184)            (137)

Operating loss                                                        (122)            (104)

Profit/(loss) on realisation of investments                             791            (687)

Profit/(loss) before interest and taxation                              669            (791)

Interest payable and similar charges                                      -              (2)

Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation                    669            (793)

Tax on ordinary activities                                                -                -

Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation                     669            (793)

Dividends                                                                 -                -

Profit/(loss) for the year                                              669            (793)

Transfer from capital reserve                                             -              815


Retained profit/(loss) for the year                                     669               22

Basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share                            4.0p           (4.8p)



Basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share is based on the profit on ordinary
activities after taxation of £669,000 (2003: loss £793,000), but before
deduction of dividends of £Nil (2003: £Nil), in respect of 16,610,398 million
ordinary shares (2003: 16,676,250 million), being the weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue during the year.



There is no difference between basic and diluted earnings per share because the
Company has no potentially dilutive shares in issue.



STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES

for the year ended 31 March 2004
                                                                 Year            Year
                                                                                ended
                                                                 ended
                                                                             31 March
                                                              31 March           2003
                                                                  2004
                                                                 £'000          £'000
Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation                669          (793)

Unrealised gains/(losses) on revaluation of
investments
                                                                 2,879        (4,643)

Total recognised profit/(loss) for the year                      3,548        (5,436)






NOTE OF HISTORICAL COST PROFITS AND LOSSES

for the year ended 31 March 2004
                                                                   Year           Year
                                                                  ended          ended

                                                               31 March       31 March
                                                                   2004           2003

                                                                  £'000          £'000

Profit/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation                 669          (793)

Realisation of revaluations from previous years                 (3,216)        (2,411)

Historical cost loss on ordinary activities after taxation      (2,547)        (3,204)

Dividends                                                             -              -
Retained historical cost loss for the year                      (2,547)        (3,204)



CASHFLOW STATEMENT

for year ended 31 March 2004
                                                  Year                              Year
                                                 ended                              ended

                                              31 March                              31 March
                                                  2004                                 2003
                                      £'000      £'000            £'000                £'000
Net cash outflow from operating                  (120)                                  (122)
activities

Servicing of finance
Interest paid                                        -                                   (2)

Taxation
Income tax recovered                                 -                                    26

Capital expenditure                 (1,058)                     (1,902)
Purchase of investments               2,682                       1,746
Sale of investments

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from                   1,624                                  (156)
capital expenditure

Equity dividends paid                                -                                   (59)

Net cash inflow/(outflow) before                 1,504                                  (313)
financing

Financing
Purchase of own shares                 (28)                        (36)             

Net cash outflow from financing                   (28)                                   (36)

Increase/(decrease) in cash in the               1,476                                  (349)
year


                                                  2004                                  2003
                                                 £'000                                 £'000
Reconciliation of net cash flow to
movement in net funds
Increase/(decrease) in cash during               1,476                                  (349)
the year
Net funds at 1 April 2003                          142                                    491

Net funds at 31 March 2004                       1,618                                    142





Announcement based on draft accounts (unqualified audit report)

The financial information set out in the announcement does not constitute the
Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2004 or 31 March 2004.
The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 March 2004 will be finalised on the
basis of the financial information presented by the directors in this
preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies
following the Company's Annual General Meeting.



The financial information for the year ended 31 March 2003 is derived from the
statutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar of
Companies.  The auditors reported on those accounts; this report was unqualified
and did not contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act
1985. The financial information has been prepared on the basis of the accounting
policies set out in the Company's financial statements for the year ended 31
March 2003.



A copy of the full annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31
March 2004 will be printed and posted to shareholders. Copies will also be
available to the public at the registered office of the Company at 69 Eccleston
Square, London SW1V 1PJ.




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange