Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9226N

Polar Cap Gbl Healthcare Growth&IT

31 July 2014

 



Polar Capital Global Healthcare Growth and Income Trust plc Interim Management Statement for the 3 months to 30 June 2014 (unaudited)
Issued on 31 July 2014 The Board of Polar Capital Global Healthcare Growth and Income Trust plc (the "Company") is pleased to announce its Interim Management Statement which relates to the period from 31 March 2014 to 30 June 2014 including information up to the date of publication of this statement unless otherwise specified. Investment objective and benchmark The investment objective of the Company is to generate capital growth and income by investing in a global portfolio of healthcare stocks. The benchmark is the MSCI All Country World Index / Healthcare (sterling). Material Events in the period On 8 May 2014 the Board declared an interim dividend of 0.55p per ordinary share payable to shareholders on the register on 16 May 2014.  The shares traded ex-dividend from 14 May 2014 and the dividend was paid on 30 May 2014. On 8 May 2014 the half year report and financial statements to 31 March 2014 were released to the London Stock Exchange and dispatched to shareholders on 20 May 2014.  Copies are available from the National Storage Mechanism at www.hemscott.com/nsm.do or from the Company's website at www.polarcapitalhealthcaretrust.co.uk On 21 July 2014 the Company announced that it had entered into the arrangements necessary to ensure compliance with the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The Board had approved the appointment of Polar Capital LLP as the Company's alternative investment fund manager (the "AIFM"). The Company's existing investment management agreement has not been amended other than to reflect the regulatory requirements to enable the Company to comply with the AIFMD. The Board also appointed HSBC Bank plc, the current custodian, to act as the Company's depositary (as required by the AIFMD) on the terms of and subject to the conditions of a depositary agreement between the Company, the AIFM and HSBC Bank plc. On 31 July 2014 the Board declared an interim dividend of 1.80p per ordinary share payable to shareholders on the register on 15 August 2014.  The shares will trade ex-dividend from 13 August 2014 and the dividend will be paid on 29 August 2014. Share Capital & Total Voting Rights As at 31 July 2014 the Company's issued share capital consisted of 122,650,000 Ordinary Shares of 25 pence each. There were 930,000 Ordinary Shares held in Treasury. Each Ordinary Share carries one vote while shares held in Treasury carry no voting rights. Therefore as at 31 July 2014, the total number of voting rights was 121,720,000. Latest NAVs The unaudited NAV per share on 30 July 2014 was 158.39p (cum income).
Financial Highlights	30 June 2014	31 March 2014
Ordinary share price (p)	151.63	147.25
NAV per ordinary share (p)	158.60	158.14
Premium to NAV(%)	-	-
Discount to NAV(%)	4.40	6.88
Total Investments (£m)	193	192
AIC Gross Gearing Ratio (%)*	0.00	0.00
AIC Net Gearing Ratio (cash) (%)*	2.16	0.00
*Gearing calculations are exclusive of current year Revenue/Loss.
Performance (Net total return with income reinvested)	Over 1 month (June 2014) %	Over the period 31 March 2014 to 30 June 2014 %
Ordinary share price	+1.93	+3.35
NAV per Share (cum income)	+0.78	+0.64
MSCI All Country World Index / Healthcare (sterling)	+0.45	+2.19
Market Capitalisation Exposure (% of assets)	30 June 2014	31 March 2014
Large (greater than US$ 5bn)	72.6	73.4
Medium (US$ 1bn to 5bn)	9.6	10.6
Small (less than US$ 1bn)	17.8	16.0
Sector Breakdown (% of assets)	30 June 2014	31 March 2014
Cash	1.2	0.3
Pharmaceuticals	66.9	69.7
Healthcare Equipment	8.6	6.0
Healthcare Facilities	5.8	4.7
Biotechnology	5.1	4.9
Healthcare REITS	4.8	5.3
Healthcare Services	2.7	2.6
Life Sciences Tools & Services	1.7	1.7
Healthcare Supplies	1.1	2.3
Healthcare Distributors	0.9	0.9
Healthcare Technology	0.6	1.1
Life and Health Insurance	0.5	0.4
Multi-line Insurance	0.1	0.1
Total	100%	100%

Geographic Exposure (% of assets)	30 June 2014	31 March 2014
Cash	1.2	0.3
United States	46.7	45.6
United Kingdom	16.7	18.7
Switzerland	15.5	14.8
Japan	6.2	6.1
France	4.7	4.9
Australia	2.2	2.1
Canada	2.0	2.3
Italy	1.1	1.0
Belgium	1.0	1.0
India	0.8	-
Ireland	0.5	1.2
China	0.5	0.4
Denmark	0.5	0.5
Norway	0.3	0.3
Brazil	0.1	0.1
Singapore	-	0.7
Total	100.0%	100.0%
Largest Holdings (% of assets)	30 June 2014	31 March 2014
Roche	7.7	7.5
Merck & Co	7.5	7.8
Novartis	7.1	6.9
AstraZeneca	6.3	6.0
Eli Lilly & Co	6.2	6.4
Pfizer	5.2	5.3
Sanofi	4.4	4.6
AbbVie	4.3	4.1
GlaxoSmithKline	4.3	6.8
Astellas Pharma	3.4	3.1
Total	56.4%	58.5%

Monthly factsheets for the Company are available by email, post or fax on request from the company secretary and are available from the Company's website at www.polarcapitalhealthcaretrust.co.uk The net asset value of the Company's shares is calculated daily and can be viewed on the London Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com

This interim management statement has been produced solely to provide additional information to shareholders as a body to meet the relevant requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. It should not be relied upon by any other party for any other purpose.

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.

 

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