Quarterly Results

Queen's Walk Investment Limited 31 July 2006 31 July 2006 Queen's Walk Investment Limited ('Queen's Walk' or the 'Company') Preliminary Results for the Quarter Ended 30 June 2006 Queen's Walk announces increased quarterly dividend of €0.26 per share Highlights for the Quarter • Queen's Walk continues to exceed the targets set at the time of its IPO in December 2005 and has generated a 12.6% increase in net income for the quarter to €10.997 million. • Dividend increased to €0.26 per share, representing an 8.3% increase to the dividend paid to shareholders for the financial period ended 31 March 2006 • Total investment assets have increased by 98% since the time of the Company's IPO to approximately €510 million, with investments continuing to perform as or better than expected. • The Company's investment manager, Cheyne Capital Management Limited ('Cheyne Capital'), continues to evaluate primary target investments and believes there is a strong asset pipeline to support the Company's future growth As set out in the quarterly accounts that accompany this statement, the Company's investment portfolio generated net income of €10,997,370 for the quarter ended 30 June 2006, representing a 12.6% increase over the income earned in the period from the Company's IPO in December 2005 to 31 March 2006. The Company's investment portfolio as at 30 June 2006 was approximately €510 million (including accrued interest revenue but excluding cash), with portfolio indebtedness of approximately €116 million, representing approximately 23% of the portfolio. As noted by the Company at the time it announced its target dividend for the quarter, Queen's Walk retains sufficient capital and financing flexibility to meet its investment objective and policies in the medium term. Tom Chandos, Chairman said: 'We are pleased that net income has increased by 12.6% and that the Company's strong performance has enabled us to increase the quarterly dividend by 8.3%. Cheyne Capital continues to identify further attractive investment opportunities for the Company. We will maintain a prudent approach to capital management while seeking to further enhance shareholder returns.' For further information please contact: Investor Relations: Caroline Villiers +44 (0) 20 7153 1521 Cheyne Capital: Syd Hanna +44 (0) 20 7031 7423 About the Company: Queen's Walk Investment Limited is a Guernsey-incorporated investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Company's investment objective is to preserve capital and to provide stable returns to shareholders in the form of quarterly dividends. To achieve this, Queen's Walk invests primarily in a diversified portfolio of subordinated tranches of asset backed securities, including the unrated 'equity' or 'first loss' residual income position typically retained by the banks or other financial institutions which have originated the loan assets that collateralise a securitisation transaction. The Company makes such investments where its investment manager, Cheyne Capital Management Limited, considers the coupon or cashflows from the investment to be attractive relative to the credit exposure of the underlying asset collateral. The Company believes that its investment focus provides equity investors with exposure to a relatively new investment opportunity in this asset class. * * * The content of this announcement includes statements that are, or may deemed to be, 'forward-looking statements'. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms 'believes', 'estimates', 'anticipates', 'expects', 'intends', 'may', 'will' or 'should'. They include the statement regarding the target aggregate dividend. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results and performance may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable law and regulation (including the Listing Rules). Any target dividends are based on certain assumptions as to future events which may not prove to be realised. Due to the uncertainty surrounding these future events, the targets are not intended to be and should not be regarded as profits or earnings forecasts. There can be no assurance that these targets will be achieved or that the Company will be able to pay dividends at the target levels or at all. The payment of any target dividends is subject to the Company generating sufficient profits or having sufficient retained earnings and there can be no assurance that this will be the case. The Company may revise its dividend policy from time to time. * * * The following extract from the quarterly accounts of the Company for the quarter ended 30 June 2006 are unaudited. Consolidated Income Statement For the quarter ended 30 June 2006 Note Quarter ended Period from 6 30 June 2006 September 2005 to 31 March 2006* Euro Euro Operating income 14,992,921 12,480,487 Operating expenses Other operating expenses (2,813,090) (2,455,408) Finance costs (1,182,461) (260,052) Total operating expenses (3,995,551) (2,715,460) Net profit 10,997,370 9,765,027 Distributable profits 2 10,599,894 9,765,027 Non-distributable profits 2 397,476 - 10,997,370 9,765,027 Earnings per Ordinary Share Basic Euro 0.27 Euro 0.24 Diluted Euro 0.27 Euro 0.24 Distributable earnings per Ordinary Share Basic Euro 0.26 Euro 0.24 Diluted Euro 0.26 Euro 0.24 Weighted average Ordinary Shares Number Number outstanding Basic 40,620,756 40,620,756 Diluted 40,852,819 41,053,527 All items in the above statement are derived from continuing operations. All income is attributable to the Ordinary Shareholders of the Company. * The Company commenced its operations on 8 December 2005. Consolidated Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity For the quarter ended 30 June 2006 Share Share Other Capital Accumulated Total Capital Premium Reserve Reserve Profits Euro Euro Euro Euro Euro Euro Net profit for the - - - - 10,997,370 10,997,370 quarter Total recognised income - - - - 10,997,370 10,997,370 and expense Balance at 1 April 2006 - - 384,631,589 7,672,500 9,765,027 402,069,116 Over accrual of costs - - 46,715 - - 46,715 related to issuance of Ordinary Shares Distribution to the - - - - (9,748,981) (9,748,981) Ordinary Shareholders of the Company Balance at 30 June 2006 - - 384,678,304 7,672,500 11,013,416 403,364,220 Consolidated Balance Sheet As at 30 June 2006 30 June 2006 31 March 2006 Euro Euro Non-current assets Investments at fair value through profit or 501,439,102 487,890,499 loss Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 20,735,431 - Other assets 8,979,080 5,952,062 29,714,511 5,952,062 Total assets 531,153,613 493,842,561 Equity and liabilities Equity Share capital - - Share premium account - - Other reserve 384,678,304 384,631,589 Capital reserve in respect of share options 7,672,500 7,672,500 Accumulated profits 11,013,416 9,765,027 403,364,220 402,069,116 Current liabilities Distribution payable 9,748,981 - Repurchase agreements 115,783,806 88,880,531 Other liabilities 2,256,606 2,892,914 Total liabilities 127,789,393 91,773,445 Total equity and liabilities 531,153,613 493,842,561 Notes to the Financial Statements for the quarter ended 30 June 2006 1. General information Queen's Walk Investment Limited (the 'Company') was registered on 6 September 2005 with registered number 43634 and is domiciled in Guernsey, Channel Islands. The Company commenced its operations on 8 December 2005. The Company is a closed-ended investment company with limited liability formed under The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 1994 and its Ordinary Shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The registered office of the Company is Dorey Court, Admiral Park, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3BG, Channel Islands. 'Group' is defined as the Company and its subsidiary. At 30 June 2006, the Company's only subsidiary was Trebuchet Finance Limited. The Company's investment objective is to preserve capital and provide stable returns to Shareholders in the form of quarterly dividends. It seeks to achieve this by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of tranches of asset-backed securities ('ABS') where the Investment Manager considers that the coupon or cash flows on the tranche are attractive relative to the underlying credit. These are and will be, in most cases, below investment grade or unrated and do or will, in many cases, represent the residual income positions typically retained by the originator of a securitisation transaction as the 'equity' or 'first loss' position. The Group's investment management activities are managed by its Investment Manager, Cheyne Capital Management Limited (the 'Investment Manager'), an investment management firm authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Company has entered into an Investment Management Agreement (the 'Investment Management Agreement') under which the Investment Manager manages its day-to-day investment operations, subject to the supervision of the Company's Board of Directors. The Company has no direct employees. For its services, the Investment Manager receives a monthly management fee (which includes a reimbursement of expenses) and a quarterly performance-related fee. The Company has no ownership interest in the Investment Manager. The Company is administered by Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) Fund Services Limited (the 'Administrator'). 2. Distributable and non-distributable profits Non-distributable profits relate to gains from investments which under the United Kingdom Listing Rules are prohibited from being distributed to investors. All other income is classed as distributable income. Distributable profits represent the net of this distributable income less operating expenses. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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