Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4495Q

Herald Investment Trust PLC

19 October 2011

 



HERALD INVESTMENT TRUST plc

Interim Management Statement - 3 months to 30 September 2011

Herald's objective is to achieve capital appreciation through investments in smaller quoted companies, in the areas of telecommunications, multimedia and technology (TMT).  Investments may be made across the world.  The business activities of investee companies will include information technology, broadcasting, printing and publishing and the supply of equipment and services to these companies.

Review of the Period

·	Over the period, the Company's net asset value fell by 15.6% compared to a fall in the benchmark of 18.1%, while the share price fell 16.9%.  All figures are total return.
·	In the three months to 30 September 2011, the Company made net sales totalling £0.4 million.
·	At the end of September 2011, £50 million had been drawn under the £50 million multi-currency facility. The fair value of the liabilities in respect of the related interest rate swap contract at 30 September 2011 was a liability of £15.9 million which was based on the marked to market value.
Geographic Analysis of Total Assets					Top Ten Equity Holdings
Name		% of total assets at 30/09/11	% of total assets at 30/06/11		Name	% of total assets at 30/09/11
UK		66.4	64.7		Imagination Technologies	4.6
USA		20.3	22.1		SDL	3.9
Asia Pacific		5.5	6.0		Group NBT	2.8
Continental Europe		2.9	2.9		Telecom Plus	2.8
Emerging Markets		0.4	0.4		Phoenix IT Group	2.1
Net Liquid Assets		4.5	3.9		Opsec Security Group	1.9
					NCC Group	1.6
					Euromoney Institutional Investor	1.6
					Diploma	1.5
					Idox	1.4
Total		100.0	100.0		Total	24.2

Performance

	%
Capital	3 Months	Year to Date	1 Year	3 Years	5 Years
Share Price†	(16.9)	(9.1)	1.4	67.6	23.3
NAV†	(15.6)	(10.1)	2.3	63.8	32.4
Comparative Index*	(18.4)	(16.4)	(4.0)	34.7	4.9
Total Return
Share Price†	(16.9)	(9.1)	1.4	71.9	27.1
NAV†	(15.6)	(10.1)	2.3	66.8	35.4
Comparative Index*	(18.1)	(15.4)	(2.6)	41.6	13.4

^†   Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream

* Source: HSBC.  The comparative index against which performance is measured is 2/3 Hoare Govett Smaller Companies Index plus AIM (capital gains ex. Investment companies) and 1/3 Russell 2000 (small cap) Technology Index (in sterling terms).  

Past performance is not a guide to future performance

General Information
	30/09/11	30/06/11
Equities:
UK	£310.6m	£348.3m
Overseas	£138.2m	£171.6m
	£448.8m	£519.9m
Government bonds	£13.9m	£13.7m
Corporate bonds	£7.2m	£7.1m
Net liquid assets	£22.3m	£21.7m
Bank loans	(£50.0m)	(£50.0m)
Derivative financial instruments	(£15.9m)	(£7.9m)
Shareholders' funds	£426.3m	£504.5m
Net asset value per ordinary share (including current year income)	534.9p	633.0p
Net asset value per ordinary share (excluding current year income)	533.7p	632.1p
Share price	439.0p	528.5p
Discount	17.9%	16.5%
Actual gearing ratio*	107	104
Potential gearing ratio†	115	111

Unless stated otherwise, the above figures have been calculated using the AIC cum income basis (includes current financial year retained income). For the current period, expenses to date exceed income earned, resulting in a lower cum income than ex income NAV.

^* Total assets (including all debt used for investment purposes) less all cash and fixed interest securities (excluding convertibles and corporate bonds) divided by shareholders' funds.

^† Total assets (including all debt used for investment purposes) divided by shareholders' funds.

The Company's Net Asset Value is calculated daily and can be viewed on the London Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com.

The Share Price is published daily in the Financial Times.

The interim management statement is available on the Company's website www.heralduk.com^‡.

^‡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.

For further information contact: Katie Potts on 020 7553 6300

 

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