Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 2616R

Henderson Eurotrust PLC

15 November 2012

 



HENDERSON EUROTRUST PLC

15 November 2012

HENDERSON EUROTRUST PLC

Interim Management Statement

Review of the period from 1 August 2012 to 31 October 2012

The Directors of Henderson EuroTrust plc hereby announce the following:

MATERIAL EVENTS OR TRANSACTIONS DURING THE PERIOD

Comments from our Portfolio Manager:

Sentiment towards European shares has improved considerably since 31 July, the end of our financial year. Markets have rallied - and although the Company has rallied as well, the performance of the NAV has lagged that of the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index in our first three months. This has largely been due to our underweight position in banks, even though this is now not as marked as it was at the year end, due to the addition of three bank positions, all of which have risen strongly.

The improvement in markets has been due mainly to the encouraging feeling that the Euro will not collapse. Strong words followed by a relatively decisive commitment to buy sovereign bonds, provided relevant governments commit to a programme overseen by the EU/IMF, has been enough, for now, to stop the inexorable rise in some peripheral bond yields.

The economic news, and to some extent earnings results, have both continued to be poor. This had largely been expected however, so has had only a limited impact on markets. We would expect a gradual improvement in both economic and earnings news to begin over the next three to six months, and have therefore begun to utilise some of the available gearing. Of the £15million available facility, we had around £7million drawn down at 31 October, and would expect to continue this trend of adding to existing holdings on bad days over the next three to six months.

Tim Stevenson

Portfolio Manager

Gearing:  At the end of the quarter the Company was 7.7% geared on a net basis (at 31 July 2012: 1.7%)

Annual General Meeting: The AGM was held on 14 November 2012 and all resolutions were duly passed.

Dividends:  Following shareholder approval at the AGM, a final dividend of 11.5p (2011: 11.0p) per ordinary share will be paid on 20 November 2012 to shareholders on the register on 19 October 2012. The shares were quoted ex-dividend on 17 October 2012.

Discount: The share price discount to net asset value at 31 October 2012 was 8.7% (at 31 July 2012: 12.7%)

There are no other material events or transactions to report.

-MORE-

- Page 2 -

PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Performance at 31 October 2012 (total return % change)

	3 months	6 months	1 year	3 years	5 years
Net asset value	5.00%	5.81%	9.60%	24.66%	18.56%
Share price	10.16%	11.54%	13.03%	19.63%	20.07%
Benchmark *	7.70%	7.31%	6.33%	6.69%	-7.46%

(Source:  Morningstar/Funddata)           * The benchmark is the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index

Financial Position (excluding current financial year revenue items)	at 31 October 2012	at 31 July 2012
Ordinary share price	546.00p	506.25p
Discount	8.7%	12.7%
Gross total assets	£129m	£120m
Net asset value (cum income)	598.0p	580.2p
Net asset value (ex income)	597.9p	568.2p
Net gearing	7.7%	1.7%
Yield	2.93%	3.16%
Ongoing Charges (ex performance fee)	0.91%	0.91%
Ongoing Charges (inc performance fee)	1.76%	1.76%

(Source: Henderson/Factset/AIC)

THE PORTFOLIO (Source: Henderson/Factset)

Top 10 Investments at 31 October 2012			Top 10 Investments at 31 July 2012
	% of total assets			% of total assets
Deutsche Post	4.8		Deutsche Post	4.9
BIC	3.0		Fresenius	3.6
Fresenius	3.0		Amadeus	3.5
SAP	2.8		Ericsson	3.0
Deutsche Telekom	2.5		BIC	2.8
ENI	2.5		Dassault Systèmes	2.7
Adecco	2.3		ASML Holdings	2.6
Dufry	2.3		Deutsche Telekom	2.5
Deutsche Boerse	2.2		Swedish Match	2.5
Linde	2.2		Adecco	2.4
	-------			-------
	27.6			30.5
	====			====

-MORE-

- Page 3 -

Geographic Breakdown	% at 31 October 2012	% at  31 July 2012
Germany	31.8	28.4
Switzerland	20.8	19.0
France	17.4	19.0
Sweden	8.4	11.1
Italy	6.6	6.4
Netherlands	4.8	5.5
Denmark	3.5	3.6
Spain	3.5	5.1
Norway	1.8	1.9
Austria	1.4	-
	------	------
	100.0	100.0
Total	====	====

Sector Breakdown

	% at 31 October 2012	% at  31 July 2012
Industrials	23.4	27.0
Consumer Goods	15.9	12.5
Health Care	15.1	15.7
Financials	14.9	10.0
Technology	9.6	10.6
Oil & Gas	7.5	8.2
Consumer Services	6.8	7.3
Telecommunications	3.4	3.2
Basic Materials	3.4	5.5
	------	-------
Total	100.0 ====	100.0 ====

The objective of Henderson EuroTrust plc is to invest predominantly in large and medium sized companies which are perceived to be undervalued in view of their growth prospects or on account of a significant change in management or structure.  The Company's aim is to achieve a superior total return from a portfolio of high quality European investments.

The Manager is Henderson Global Investors Limited.   Further information on the Company, including an up to date net asset value and share price information, can be found on the Company's website at www.hendersoneurotrust.com.

For further information, please contact:

Tim Stevenson Fund Manager Henderson EuroTrust plc Telephone: [phone]
-MORE- - Page 4 - James de Sausmarez Head of Investment Trusts Henderson Global Investors Telephone: [phone]
Sarah Gibbons-Cook Investor Relations and PR Manager Henderson Global Investors Telephone: [phone]

-     ENDS -

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

 

END

 

 

IMSZMMMMKKKGZZM