Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 6807U

Henderson TR Pacific Inv. Trust PLC

16 May 2008

 



HENDERSON TR PACIFIC INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

HENDERSON GLOBAL INVESTORS 

16 May 2008

HENDERSON TR PACIFIC INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

Interim Management Statement 

Review of the period from 1 January 2008 to 30 April 2008

The Directors of Henderson TR Pacific Investment Trust plc hereby announce the following:

MATERIAL EVENTS OR TRANSACTIONS DURING THE PERIOD

Portfolio Comments: Asian markets were very weak during the first three months of the year, down over 20% in sterling terms at their low in March. April saw a sharp rebound on signs that the immediate crisis in the US may have passed and that Asian central banks were allowing their currencies to appreciate in a bid to stem inflation. Overall, for the four months to the end of April, markets finished down 7.5% in sterling terms. As a result of being overweight in China/Hong Kong and the Industrial sector your Company underperformed the MSCI All Countries Asia excluding Japan benchmark. Gearing also hurt performance and was at 12% at the end of the period.

Although the near term outlook for markets remains unclear, we are increasingly confident that policy settings in Asia are moving in a direction that will be supportive of asset prices in the medium term. Asian currencies are likely to continue to appreciate and this will ultimately help to bring headline inflation under control. This should allow interest rates to remain at low levels in an effort to spur domestic consumption and investment. Your Company is positioned to capture any relative strength in domestically orientated sectors and is fully weighted in Chinese related shares, where inflationary fears seem most overstated at this point.

Gearing: At the end of the period the Company had reduced gearing to 12% (at 31 December 2007: 14.8%)

Dividends:  Following shareholder approval a final dividend of 2.0p per ordinary share, in respect of the year ending 31 December 2007, was paid on 30 April 2008 to holders registered on 28 March 2008.  The ex-dividend date was 26 March 2008.

Changes to Board:  Peter Berry and Judith Unwin retired from the Board at the conclusion of the AGM held on 23 April 2008 and Struan Robertson was appointed the Senior Independent Director following Mr Berry's retirement.

Share Capital:  During the period the Company bought back 1,315,000 ordinary shares at a cost of £1.85 million.  The Company bought back a further 5,203,500 ordinary shares at a cost of £7.7 million since 30 April 2008 and the date of this announcement.

On 1 May 2008 the Company was notified that Carrousel Capital Ltd's voting rights fell below 3%.

There are no other material events or transactions to report.

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PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Financial Position Source: Henderson/Fact Sheet

	at 30 April 2008	at 31 December 2007
Ordinary share price	149.3p	161.3p
Discount	6.9%	11%
Total gross assets	£303m	£360m
Net asset value	160.2p	181.1p
Gearing	12%	17%
Yield	1.3%	0.8%
Total Expense Ratio	0.8%	0.8%

Performance at 30 April 2008 (total return % change) (Source: Datastream)

	6 months	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Net asset value	-14.7	18.1	90.3	176.6	165.2
Share price	-13.0	20.8	102.4	188.9	192.2
Benchmark *	-11.5	24.5	106.3	214.7	172.8

* The benchmark is the MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan Index 

THE PORTFOLIO (Source: Henderson/Fact Sheet)

Top 10 Investments 

	% of total assets
	at 30 April 2008
China Mobile	7.5
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China	6.7
Sun Hung Kai Property	3.7
Suntech Power Holdings	3.6
Kookmin Bank	3.1
Tencent Holdings	3.1
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing	3.0
High Tech Computer	2.9
Noble Group	2.9
Henderson Land Developments	2.8
	----
Top 10 =	39.3
	% of total assets
	at 31 December 2007
China Mobile	6.0
Suntech Power	4.2
Sun Hung Kai Property	4.1
CNOOC	3.6
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China	3.3
Noble Group	3.1
IOI Corporation	3.0
Bank of China	2.9
DBS Group	2.8
Tencent Holdings	2.8
	----
Top 10 =	35.8

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Geographic Breakdown

	% at 30 April 2008	% at 31 December 2007
China	29.7	28.1
South Korea	14.1	16.0
Hong Kong	14.0	14.1
Singapore	9.4	13.3
Taiwan	7.8	7.7
India	7.6	9.1
Malaysia	4.7	5.1
Thailand	1.9	0.0
Vietnam	2.2	2.6
Indonesia	1.8	4.0
Cash & Fixed Interest	6.8	0.0
	-----	-----
	100.0 ===	100.0 ===

Sector Breakdown

	% at 30 April 2008	% at 31 December 2007
Financials	42.5	36.0
Industrials	12.2	20.2
Telecommunications	10.8	10.5
Oil & Gas	7.2	5.3
Technology	7.5	11.4
Consumer Services	6.8	6.1
Basic Materials	6.2	3.0
Consumer Goods	-	7.5
Cash and Fixed Interest	6.8	0.0
	-----	-----
	100.0 ===	100.0 ===

PROFILE

Objective: The objective of Henderson TR Pacific Investment Trust plc is to seek a high rate of total return from companies operating primarily in the Pacific region excluding Japan and Australasia.

Prospects: High levels of growth, particularly in comparison with the US and Europe, continue to provide the potential for attractive long term returns.

Benchmark: MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan Index

Sector: Asia Pacific excluding Japan

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Fund Manager: Andrew Beal

Fund Manager Profile: Andrew took over management of Henderson TR Pacific in September 2005.  He has 16 years investment experience including 11 years with Schroders and 4 years in the US with Nicholas Applegate Capital Management. His PIMCO-NACM Asia Pacific fund was the recipient of the 2005 Lipper award for consistency of risk adjusted returns over 3 years. His investment style is growth orientated with an emphasis on long term capital appreciation. He targets companies with accelerating earnings trading at discounts to their long term franchise value

Board of Directors: David Robins (Chairman), Hugh Aldous, Christopher Keljik, David Brief, Struan Robertson.

Key Dates:

Year End - 31 December

Report and Accounts posted - March

Annual General Meeting - April

Annual Dividend Paid - April

Website: The Company has its own website at www.hendersontrpacific.com where you will find further details about the Company, including up to date NAV, daily share prices and downloadable literature.

Henderson TR Pacific Investment Trust plc is managed by Henderson Global Investors Limited.  

For further information, please contact:

Andrew Beal Fund Manager Henderson TR Pacific Investment Trust plc Telephone: [phone]

James de Sausmarez Head of Investment Trusts Henderson Global Investors Telephone: [phone]

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