Annual Financial Report

RNS Number : 0217H

Hansa Trust PLC

13 June 2013

 



HANSA TRUST PLC

Preliminary Announcement of Unaudited Results

for the year ended 31 March 2013

Hansa Trust PLC announces its Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2013

Financial Highlights	Year ended 31 March 2013 (unaudited)	Year ended 31 March 2012
Net Asset Value - Total Return	-1.7%	1.8%
Performance Benchmark	3.8%	4.4%
Capital return per equity share	-36.7p	5.8p
Revenue return per share	16.1p	14.7p
Net asset value per share	1,082.9p	1,117.5p
Total dividend per equity share for the year	15.0p	14.0p
Total income (£000's)	6,193	6,049
Revenue before taxation (£000's)	3,886	3,529

The following are attached:

·          Chairman's Statement

·          Group Income Statement

·          Statement of Changes in Equity-Group and Company

·          Balance Sheet for the Group and Company

·          Cash Flow Statement

·          Notes

For further information, please contact:

Peter Gardner               Hansa Capital Partners LLP                  020 7647 5750

Chairman's Statement

2012-2013: A Good Year for Most Stock Markets

This past year (to 31st March 2013) has been good for most of the world's stock markets. Although there has not been any particularly wonderful news on either the economic or political front, the combination of lots of (quantitative easing) money and the absence of crisis events has fed renewed confidence in stock markets. Amongst the major equity markets, that of the United States led the way with a gain of 17.2% (its S&P Composite Index expressed in Pounds), while our own market (the FTSE All-share Index) rose by 12.6%. The disappointments tended to come from the equity markets of the BRIC countries with, I am afraid as far as we were concerned, Brazil (the BOVESPA Index) performing worst with a fall of 16.8% (expressed in Pounds). The driving sentiments behind markets were emerging confidence in economic recovery in the US, relief at the survival of the Euro and concern about a slowdown in the economic growth in China and the consequences for those economies that feed off the China story, including Brazil.

THE YEAR'S RESULTS

NAV: -3.1% to 1,082.9p per share
Benchmark: +3.8%

However these past twelve months have been disappointing for us with our net asset value declining by 3.1% per share. This compares with our benchmark which returned a positive 3.8%. In the Investment Manager's Report, John Alexander reports on the reasons for the disappointing results, highlighting the influence of five holdings, including that of Ocean Wilsons on the year's returns. It is worthwhile enumerating the effect that these holdings had on the net asset value - shown in the table below:

Starting NAV		1,117.5p		£268.2m
Change (inc. divs received)
Ocean Wilsons	-44.6p		-£10.7m		-9.7%
Other Four Holdings*	-40.8p		-£9.8m		-24.4%
Rest of Portfolio	+74.6p		+£17.9m		+14.9%
		-10.8p		-£2.6m	-1.9%
Costs & Dividends paid		-23.8p		-£5.7m
Total Change		-34.6p		-£8.3m
End NAV		1,082.9p		£259.9m	-3.1%

*Holdings in Andor technology, BG Group, Cape & Hargreaves Services

John, as he always does, gives a full account of the major holdings in the portfolio, so I won't repeat in my statement what he has written about them, including about the holdings which have been a (hopefully temporary) problem. We have always made it clear that the portfolio is managed on a long-term basis (we regard at least five years as long-term), which means that we tend to have low portfolio turnover (usually under 10% per annum). Having low portfolio turnover means that we are patient about the long-term prospects of each of our portfolio holdings and won't necessarily sell one if and when the underlying company runs into temporary difficulties. Differentiating between temporary setbacks and protracted mismanagement of the companies that we invest in is, of course, the art behind when to - and when not to - cut losses. Selling holdings after bad news is not always a smart thing to do. The question we ask ourselves, when confronted with a problem holding, is: does the company concerned have the management skills and experience to resolve its difficulties and then go on to prosper? We believe that, in the case of all five of these companies, they do indeed have that management strength and that, in time, the set back in the market value of these holdings will be recovered.

OCEAN WILSONS

Value of Holding: -9.7% at £97.3m

At our last AGM we had, as we always do at our AGMs, a number of questions from shareholders about Ocean Wilsons and its prospects. Although it is a large holding - we own 26.5% of it and our holding accounted for 37.4% of our net asset value at the end of the year - it is not for this annual report to provide a complete account of that company of its past year or of its prospects. Having said that John does give an excellent summary of its recent results in his report; but Ocean Wilsons has a good website on which a much fuller account can be read (www.oceanwilsons.bm). Do please log on to it and read about it.

There are three comments I would like to add. First of all, it is our view that the company has excellent management, a view that is backed up by the reputation of the management of its Brazilian subsidiary, Wilson Sons; with good management, with the development of Brazil's huge offshore pre-salt oil and gas fields, with the natural growth of Brazil's long-term import/export trade and with the good long-term prospects for the Brazilian economy, Wilson Sons prospects are most encouraging. It remains therefore a cornerstone investment for Hansa Trust.

Secondly, the dividend it pays us represents an important part of the income of Hansa Trust. In the past year we received £1.91 million, which accounted for circa 31.8% of the income we received from quoted investments. Ocean Wilsons has a clearly stated dividend policy, outlined in its chairman's statement. The policy means that the dividend can vary from year to year; it can rise and it can decline. That in turn will have an effect on the dividend that we can pay. We, as a board, accept that it is an appropriate dividend policy for its circumstances and we do not attempt to influence it.

And thirdly, as I am sure shareholders are aware, Ocean Wilsons is a holding company with its shares quoted on the London Stock Exchange. During the last year its share price declined by 9.7% - in large part because sentiment towards Brazil was not particularly positive (I think investors got overexcited about Brazil's economic prospects and then reality set in); the BOVESPA Index declined 12.6%, the Brazilian Real by 4.8%, leaving the Index down 16.8% (expressed in Pounds). Meanwhile the development of Wilson Sons' business and Ocean Wilsons' investment portfolio continued to make progress.

DIVIDEND

15.0p per share (v.14.0p)

A final dividend of 11.5p per ordinary and "A" ordinary share is being recommended to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. If approved, it will be paid to shareholders of record 21 June 2013 on 15  August 2013. An interim dividend was paid to shareholders on 13 December 2012 so that the total in respect of the year will amount to 15p per share, which compares with that of 14.0p per share paid last year.

We have made the point in the past that we pay out what we earn but that the income that we earn is dependent on the dividends received during the course of the year from the holdings in the portfolio. Some years we will earn more, other years less. However, if the companies in which we are invested increase their profits and dividends over the long-term then we would expect our dividend income to grow over the long term. Using the same five year time span as we do to look at our long-term capital growth, the chart shows how our dividend payments over successive five year periods have grown - over the long-term.

SHARE PRICE PERFORMANCE

Ordinary shares:             -9.0% to 837p per share;        Discount to NAV: 22.7%
'A' Ordinary shares:       -6.6% to 815p per "A" share; Discount to NAV: 24.7%

I am afraid that the returns for shareholders over the past year have not been good - as the summary figures above show. The disappointing decline in the net asset value, allied to the sentiment over Brazil (and thence towards our holding in Ocean Wilsons) served to discourage would-be buyers of our shares. It may also be that our discount policy - whereby we do not seek to manipulate either of the share prices (and thence the discount) - discouraged those investors who might otherwise have bought the shares for - if I may use the expression - the chance to make a "quick buck". However I would point out that there has not been a lot of selling pressure, in part (I believe) because our shareholders do indeed take a long-term perspective with their investment. The returns for the year are summarised in the table below.

Attribution of Shareholder Returns                               Ordinary Shares        'A' Ordinary Shares

Due to NAV change:                                              -34.6p         -3.1%        -34.6p        -3.1%

Due to discount change:                                          -48.4p         -5.1%        -23.4p        -2.5%

Dividends:                                                              +15.0p         +1.6%        +15.0p        +1.6%

Shareholders' Total Return                                     -68.0p         -7.2%        -43.0p        -4.6%

As the table illustrates, the poor returns stem in part from the decline in the net asset value and in part from the rise in the discounts which the shares sell to their underlying net asset value, offset by the dividends paid out.

THE DISCOUNT

Each year I stress that, we do not seek to manage the discount believing that it is the gain in the net asset value and the payment of dividends that will drive long-term returns. The better they are, the more likely our shares will  be in demand and the discount is to be at a low level. All the buybacks in the world are unlikely to protect a share price discount if our performance were to be poor and investors don't want to invest in us.

However it isn't just a blind faith in the benefit of good long-term returns on the rating of our shares that determines our policy of not manipulating the market price of our shares. There are other reasons. Firstly to buy in shares would require us to sell investments and result in a rise in the proportion of the portfolio invested in Ocean Wilsons, which holding is not for sale - being a strategic investment; it would also affect our banking covenants and thereby compromise our ability to borrow. Secondly a commitment to manage the discount would require us to invest only in marketable securities - especially in those difficult times when stock market liquidity is constrained. Part of the investment policy of Hansa Trust is to invest in smaller emerging companies whose shares tend to be illiquid; prioritising share buy backs over investing in such companies would compromise the long-term prospects for shareholders. Discount Management Policies, which turn investment trusts into quasi unit trusts are not appropriate for investment trusts investing in smaller capitalised companies. And thirdly buying back shares shrinks the liquidity of our own shares arguably making them even more unattractive - especially so to those investors whose short-term horizons require short-term liquidity.

It should not be construed that we will never buy back shares; we will if there is an unusual opportunity that is particularly attractive and it were to raise the net asset value by a significant amount.

There is an extra dimension to the discounts of Hansa Trust's shares, this being the underlying discount of the price of Ocean Wilsons' shares to its own net asset value. We thought it would be helpful to show a table illustrating this:

			Mar-12	Mar-13
			per Hansa Trust share
NAV (ex OW holding):			659.6p	677.6p
Value of OW Holding:			457.9p	405.3p
Value of OW Discount:			163.3p	190.8p
Underlying NAV:			1,280.8p	1,273.7p
Share prices:		Ord	920.0p	873.0p
		'A' Ord	837.0p	815.0p
Underlying HT Discounts:		Ord	-28.2%	-34.3%
		'A' Ord	-31.8%	-36.0%

While your Board of Directors does not believe that buying back shares will necessarily reduce the discount, it understands that having a large discount is not a satisfactory situation. Although it is a rather simplistic thing to say, the fact is that a large discount is the consequence of a lack of buyers for the shares. That in turn may be a consequence of a number of things but almost certainly the most important two are that there is concern amongst investors generally about the Company's prospects and/or that the story behind those prospects is not well known.

Quite naturally we have confidence in the prospects for our portfolio - or else we would change it for something different - so it follows that we need to go out and tell our story - one of the exciting prospects not only for Ocean Wilsons but also for the other companies that we are invested in. We need to emphasise the considerable commitment that the Directors and their families have to the company's shares ("skin-in-the-game" as the Americans are wont to call it!) and to spell out the advantages of the two class capital structure in allowing us to manage the portfolio on a long-term basis without the threat of short-term performance pressures. We are in the process of engaging one or two companies to help us with our investor relations, recognising that the Hansa Trust story is not for everyone but that it is a good one and one that will interest some long-term investors.

LONG-TERM (NAV only) RETURNS

5 Years NAV:                +17.1%                                   Benchmark:              +18.8%
Ordinary share price:      +2.1%                                     FTSE All-Share Index:            +15.5%
'A' Ordinary share price:                                               0.0%

While an annual report does - by necessity - report to shareholders on the year just past and on the prospects for the years to come, we continue to focus on the long-term returns in assessing the performance of Hansa Trust. So each year we report on those longer-term returns and the figures are contained in the table below.

NAV Returns over:                                                  NAV       Benchmark FTSE All‑Share Index

3 Years                                                               +20.9%              +8.8%                    +16.2%

5 Years                                                               +17.1%            +18.8%                    +15.5%

10 Years                                                           +300.5%            +54.6%                    +94.7%

These longer-term returns are a lot better than those we have just reported to you. What is quite interesting is that the top five five-year contributors to the 158.5p increase in the net asset value (+17.1%) include three of the holdings which did not fare so well in the last year. Those top five holdings are Ocean Wilsons, NCC Group, Experian Group, Weir Group and Andor Technology. Indeed all five of this year's major detractors have contributed significantly to the five year performance, a fact that gives us some comfort that they continue to be worth backing.

We also monitor the performance of the portfolio (ex the holding in Ocean Wilsons) and the table below shows how that has done.

NAV (ex OW holding) over:                                    NAV       Benchmark   FTSE All‑Share Index

3 Years                                                               +24.7%              +8.8%                    +16.2%

5 Years                                                                 +9.2%            +18.8%                    +15.5%

10 Years                                                           +176.1%            +54.6%                    +94.7%

And finally, given the five year time scale, we look at the record of Hansa Trust over the past to see how we have done over successive five year periods and to see if we are fulfilling our primary goal - that of making money for shareholders over the long-term. By and large we have been successful at that over quite a tricky period in the market - as the chart below shows.

N.B.:   All of the above figures refer to the performance of the NAV without incorporating the payment of dividends.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

31 July 2012 at 11.30am at the Washington Hotel, Curzon Street, London

The Annual General Meeting ("AGM") will be held at the Washington Hotel, Curzon Street London at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday 31st July 2012. We have always had a good turnout of shareholders, which is important to your directors, as it gives us the chance to hear your views and to answer any questions that you may have. John Alexander will give his presentation on the past year and on the prospects for the present one (and beyond). Please come and join us for the occasion.

At the beginning of the year - and following Jamie Borwick's retirement as a director of the Company at the last AGM - we appointed two new directors to the Board: Mr Jonathan Davie and Lord Oxford. We are excited by these appointments and believe that they will make an important contribution to the governance of Hansa Trust and to its progress in the years to come. Jonathan Davie has a City background having worked for BZW, an investment bank which was eventually taken over by Credit Suisse. Raymond Oxford's career was in the diplomatic service and, since retiring from that, he has taken on a number of business appointments. Please come to the AGM, for amongst other reasons, the chance to meet them. They have already started to make contributions to the Board and its workings.

The process of selecting them was a rigorous one and involved considering a good number of candidates - all of whom were in different ways excellent. The UK Corporate Governance Code states that "The search for board candidates should be conducted and appointments made, on merit, against objective criteria"; in our policy we state that "it is of paramount importance to shareholders that, after consideration of the skills and experience needed by the board, candidates are chosen on the basis of merit only and that there should be no discrimination in the choice of directors for any reason, be it gender, race, religion etc." We used the services of Trust Associates, specialists in finding directors for investment trusts, whose help was invaluable in the process of selection.

At last year's AGM there were - amongst the many questions - three that I would like to mention - particularly as most shareholders were unable to join us for the meeting. They were:

•    "Given the size of the holding in Ocean Wilsons, would it not be appropriate to expand the investment commentary to include a view of its future prospects?" While John Alexander's report provides a good deal of information about the past year's trading, it does not express an opinion about its future prospects. We do not believe that it is our place to make detailed projections and express detailed opinions about the prospects of any of our investee companies, most especially about Ocean Wilsons given our relationship with the company. There are brokers' reports on it which provide opinions on it. Having said that, I do express a good deal of confidence in its future based on its excellent management and the prospects for the businesses in which it is involved.

•    "Should we not have made mention of the reduction in Ocean Wilsons' dividend and the issues surrounding concerns about its corporate governance, which were raised at its AGM?" We, as a board of directors do not seek to control the governance of Ocean Wilsons nor to determine its dividend policy - anymore than we do those of our other investee companies. We, the Board of Directors of Hansa Trust, support the governance of Ocean Wilsons but we are not accountable for it and do not make public comment on it.

•    "Should the Board not institute an active share re-purchasing scheme in order to reduce the discount and thereby enhance the net asset value and improve the liquidity of the Company's shares?" I hope I have addressed that question in full in "The Discount" section above.

PROSPECTS

There is so much written about the prospects for our economy - and indeed for other economies in the world - about the United States, Europe, China and now increasingly about Japan, about the world's financial imbalances and the huge burden of debt that so suffocates economic growth and finally about the prospects for stock markets, corporate profits and, perhaps most important of all, about corporate dividends, that there is little I can add that would either be new or unusual. John's report summarises the background of what we have been going through and indeed what we are going through and he speculates on the outlook for the future. It is well worth reading.

Economic behaviour is driven by human behaviour and in that respect we are all endeavouring to come through this financial mess with as little change to our life style as we can get away with - democratic politics demands it. In some cases - particularly in those countries forced into so called austerity politics and economics by either the market place or by external dictat (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain and now Cyprus spring to mind) - there is some life style change being forced on some people, particular the young with the horrendous levels of youth unemployment inherent in so many countries. But in others - notably the UK and the USA - rather than change, rather than revert to economies supported by reasonable levels of saving and investment, we are treating the symptoms of overspending and debt building with more overspending and debt and monumental printing of money to pay for it. It is not a sustainable way of life; it will result in slow growth at best and further financial crises at worst. It should not be too difficult for those in charge to notice that high and sustainable levels of economic growth come from high levels of saving and investment.

Having made that rather negative caveat about the background for investment - in any asset class - it should be noted that equity investment is ultimately about backing the corporate endeavours of people. Equity investment starts with backing good and selfless management - a point I always emphasise - and usually ends with good profits and dividend growth, reflected in rising share prices. Given the virtually invisible interest rates that there are around the world and given the demographic pressure for generating income from investments, equities of such companies with their higher yields and prospects for growth, probably offer the best income return for investors without an unreasonable increase in the risk that goes with the search for income. Add to this the probability of continued printing of money and there is an excellent chance that equities will prove to be rewarding investments.

So our own prospects depend on finding those good and selflessly managed companies, investing in them and reaping the rewards that should follow. There is no reason why we shouldn't; we have done so in the past.

Alex Hammond‑Chambers
Chairman          21 June 2013

Group Income Statement - (UNAUDITED)

for the year ended 31 March 2013

		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		2013	2013	2013	2012	2012	2012
		£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
(Losses)/gains on investments held at fair value		-	(8,809)	(8,809)	-	1,404	1,404
Exchange losses on currency balances		-	-	-	-	(3)	(3)
Investment income		6,193	-	6,193	6,048	-	6,048
Other income		-	-	-	1	-	1
		6,193	(8,809)	(2,616)	6,049	1,401	7,450
Investment Management fees		(1,512)	-	(1,512)	(1,565)	-	(1,565)
Other expenses		(753)	-	(753)	(801)	-	(801)
		(2,265)	-	(2,265)	(2,366)	-	(2,366)
(Losses)/gains before finance costs and taxation		3,928	(8,809)	(4,881)	3,683	1,401	5,084
Finance costs		(42)	-	(42)	(154)	-	(154)
(Losses)/gains before taxation		3,886	(8,809)	(4,923)	3,529	1,401	4,930
Taxation		(16)	-	(16)	(4)	-	(4)
(Losses)/gains for the year		3,870	(8,809)	(4,939)	3,525	1,401	4,926
Return per Ordinary and 'A'
non‑voting Ordinary share		16.1p	(36.7)p	(20.6)p	14.7p	5.8p	20.5p

The Company does not have any income or expense that is not included in the profit/loss for the year. Accordingly the "Profit/Loss for the year" is also the "Total comprehensive income for the year", as defined in IAS 1 (revised) and no separate Statement of Comprehensive Income has been presented.

The total column of this statement represents the Group's Income Statement, prepared in accordance with IFRS. The supplementary revenue and capital return columns are both prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.

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

Statement of Changes in Equity - Group - (UNAUDITED)

for the year ended 31 March 2013

			Capital							Capital
		Share	redemption		Retained				Share		redemption				Retained
		capital	reserve		earnings		Total		capital		reserve				earnings			Total
		2013	2013		2013		2013		2012		2012				2012			2012
		£000	£000		£000		£000		£000		£000				£000			£000
Net assets at 1 April		1,200	300		266,707		268,207		1,200			300				262,613		264,113
(Losses)/gains for the year		-	-		(4,939)		(4,939)		-			-				4,926		4,926
Dividends		-	-		(3,360)		(3,360)		-			-				(832)		(832)
Net assets at 31 March		1,200	300		258,408		259,908		1,200			300				266,707		268,207

Statement of Changes in Equity - Company - (UNAUDITED)

for the year ended 31 March 2013

						Capital							Capital
			Share			redemption		Retained				Share			redemption			Retained
			capital			reserve		earnings		Total		capital			reserve			earnings		Total
			2013			2013		2013		2013		2012			2012			2012		2012
	Note		£000			£000		£000		£000		£000			£000			£000		£000
Net assets at 1 April				1,200	300			266,707		268,207		1,200		300				262,613		264,113
(Losses)/gains for the year				-	-			(4,939)		(4,939)		-		-				4,926		4,926
Dividends				-	-			(3,360)		(3,360)		-		-				(832)		(832)
Net assets at 31 March				1,200	300			258,408		259,908		1,200		300				266,707		268,207

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement.

Balance Sheet of the Group and Company - (UNAUDITED)

as at 31 March 2013

		Group	Group	Company	Company
		2013	2012	2013	2012
	Notes	£000	£000	£000	£000
Non‑current assets
Investment in subsidiary at fair value
through profit or loss		-	-	631	632
Investments held at fair value through
profit or loss		262,403	270,944	262,403	270,944
		262,403	270,944	263,034	271,576
Current assets
Trade and other receivables		439	294	439	294
Cash and cash equivalents		126	137	126	137
		565	431	565	431
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		(3,060)	(3,168)	(3,691)	(3,800)
Net current liabilities		(2,495)	(2,737)	(3,126)	(3,369)
Net assets		259,908	268,207	259,908	268,207
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital	16	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,200
Capital redemption reserve	17	300	300	300	300
Retained earnings	18	258,408	266,707	258,408	266,707
Total equity shareholders' funds		259,908	268,207	259,908	268,207
Net asset value per Ordinary and
'A' non‑voting Ordinary share	19	1,082.9p	1,117.5p	1,082.9p	1,117.5p

Cash Flow Statement - (UNAUDITED)

for the year ended 31 March 2013

		Group	Group	Company	Company
		2013	2012	2013	2012
	Notes	£000	£000	£000	£000
Cash flows from operating activities
(Loss)/Gain before finance costs and taxation		(4,881)	5,084	(4,881)	5,084
Adjustments for:
Realised losses on investments	11	2,121	4,388	2,121	4,388
Unrealised losses/(gains) on investments	11	6,688	(5,792)	6,689	(5,792)
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes		-	3	-	3
Increase in trade and
other receivables		(145)	(13)	(145)	(13)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and
other payables		22	(195)	21	(195)
Taxes paid		(16)	(4)	(16)	(4)
Purchase of non‑current investments		(1,319)	(11,582)	(1,319)	(11,582)
Sale of non‑current investments		1,051	8,412	1,051	8,412
Net cash inflow from
operating activities		3,521	301	3,521	301
Cash flows from financing activities
Interest paid on bank loans		(42)	(154)	(42)	(154)
Dividends paid		(3,360)	(832)	(3,360)	(832)
Repayment of loans		(130)	(7,470)	(130)	(7,470)
Net cash outflow from financing activities		(3,532)	(8,456)	(3,532)	(8,456)
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(11)	(8,155)	(11)	(8,155)
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April		137	8,295	137	8,295
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes		-	(3)	-	(3)
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March	14	126	137	126	137

Notes

INCOME

	Revenue		Revenue
	2013		2012
	£000		£000
Income from quoted investments
Dividends	3,436		2,892
Overseas dividends	2,757		3,156
	6,193		6,048
Other operating income
Interest receivable on AAA rated money market funds	-		1
Other interest receivable	-		-
	-		1
Total income	6,193		6,049

DIVIDENDS PROPOSED AND PAID

The Board are proposing a final dividend of 11.5p per share

	Revenue		Revenue
	2013		2012
	£000		£000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Interim dividends paid for 2013: 3.5p (2012: 3.5p)	840		840
Proposed final dividend for 2013: 11.5p  (2012: 10.5p)	2,760		2,520
	3,600		3,360

Set out above are the total dividends paid and proposed in respect of the financial year, which is the basis on which the requirements of s1158 CTA 2010 are considered. The Company's revenue available for distribution by way of dividend for the year is £3,870,000 (2012: £3,525,000).

Notes:

1.     This Preliminary Announcement is not the Group's statutory accounts. It is an abridged version of the Group's full draft accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013, which have not yet been approved, audited or filed with the Registrar of Companies.

2.     The full draft accounts for the year ended 31 March 2013 have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and using the same accounting policies as those in the last published annual accounts, being those to 31 March 2012.

3.     Statutory accounts for the 12 months ended 31 March 2012 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and received an audit report which was unqualified, did not include a reference to any matter to which the auditors drew attention without qualifying the report, and did not contain statements under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

Hansa Capital Partners LLP - Company Secretary

13 June 2013

 

END

 

 

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