Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8891D

Asian Total Return Invest Co PLC

02 May 2013

 

ASIAN TOTAL RETURN INVESTMENT COMPANY PLC

Interim Management Statement for the Quarter ended 31 March 2013

The Board of Asian Total Return Investment Company plc (formerly Henderson Asian Growth Investment Trust plc) ("the Company") is pleased to announce its Interim Management Statement as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. This Statement is in respect of the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2013.

Change of Company Name and Ticker

The Company changed its name from Henderson Asian Growth Investment Trust plc on 15 March 2013. The Company's ticker also changed to ATR with effect from 18 March 2013.

Investment Objective

The Company's investment objective is to achieve a high rate of total return primarily through investment in equity and equity-related securities in Asia Pacific companies (excluding Japan), whilst offering a degree of capital preservation through tactical use, where appropriate, of derivative instruments.

Material Events or Transactions

Following a review of the Company's investment management arrangements, instigated in Autumn 2012, the Board announced on 21 December 2012 the appointment of Schroder Investment Management Limited ("Schroders") to manage the Company's assets with effect from 15 March 2013. In connection with Schroders' appointment, the Board convened a General Meeting on 15 March 2013 to seek approval to change the Company's investment policy. Authority to undertake a tender offer of up to 50% of the Company's issued share capital was also sought at the General Meeting.

Shareholders approved the proposals and as a result of the tender offer, 74,091,140 (50%) of the Company's Ordinary shares were repurchased on 27 March 2013, of which 62,977,469 Ordinary shares were cancelled and the remaining 11,113,671 Ordinary shares were transferred to Treasury.

From 15 March 2013, the Company's portfolio has been in transition to the new investment policy.

The Annual General Meeting of the Company was held on 22 April 2013. All resolutions set out in the Notice of Meeting were duly passed.

The share price has been re-rated following the appointment of Schroders and since 29 April 2013, the Company has re-issued 240,000 Ordinary shares from Treasury at a modest premium to net asset value.

There have been no other material events or transactions that have taken place in respect of the Company between 1 January 2013 and the date of publication of this Statement.

Outlook

Since the change in the Company's strategy, the priority has been to move the portfolio into the new Managers' favoured holdings that are expected to benefit both from the region's long term growth and the companies' own strengths. The new fund managers, Robin Parbrook and Lee King Fuei at Schroders, have been gradually moving the portfolio towards a more fully invested position, but, after the recent strength in markets, have chosen to move relatively patiently towards full investment. They see pockets of value in Hong Kong and Singapore property companies as well as banks, retail, construction and conglomerates in ASEAN markets. The portfolio also holds cash flow-generative industrial companies in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

One financial asset that they do believe is cheap, however, is the cost of capital protection. Given their short-term caution about markets, they are starting to put in place hedges against the risk of market falls. This is likely to be increased if markets continue to rise in the short-term. They remain optimistic, however, that the prospects for Asian markets, coupled with their investment style, offer considerable opportunities in the coming years.

Company Statistics as at 31 March 2013

Net Assets	£152.3 million
Net Asset Value ("NAV") per Ordinary Share	205.60p
Share Price	200.50p
Discount	2.5%
Number of Portfolio Holdings	41
Net Cash*	27.7%

*Portfolio in transition between investment strategies following the appointment of Schroders as Investment Manager on 15 March 2013.

Cumulative Performance to 31 March 2013

Performance Over	3 months	6 months	1 year
Share Price (total return)	10.07%	23.42%	16.36%
Net Asset Value (total return)	3.43%	10.65%	9.42%
MSCI AC Asia Pacific (ex Japan) Index	9.20%	14.99%	16.95%

Source: Fundamental Data.

Portfolio Information as at 31 March 2013

Ten Largest Holdings

Stock Name	Country of Listing	Market Value (£)	Percentage of NAV
Jardine Strategic	Singapore	6,412,292	4.2
Bank Mandiri	Indonesia	5,656,484	3.7
Jardine Matheson	Singapore	5,384,842	3.5
AIA	Hong Kong	4,381,901	2.9
Brambles	Australia	4,350,031	2.9
Hyundai Motor	Korea	4,346,787	2.9
Sun Hung Kai Properties	Hong Kong	4,065,417	2.7
Taiwan Semiconductor	Taiwan	3,826,974	2.5
HSBC	Hong Kong	3,821,093	2.5
Hong Kong Land	Singapore	3,757,606	2.5

Country Allocation

Country of Listing	Percentage of NAV
Hong Kong/China	16.8
Singapore	14.3
Australia	8.9
Thailand	8.3
Korea	6.0
Indonesia	4.6
Philippines	4.6
Taiwan	3.8
United States	2.1
France	1.5
Malaysia	1.3
United Kingdom	0.1
Net Current Assets	27.7

Sector Breakdown

Sector	Percentage of NAV
Financials	29.1
Industrials	17.5
Consumer Goods	7.6
Consumer Services	7.3
Basic Materials	4.5
Industrials	3.3
Technology	3.0
Net current assets	27.7

Changes to Share Capital during the Quarter Ended 31 March 2013

	Issued Ordinary shares of 5p each
At 1 January 2013	148,182,281
Shares repurchased  following the Tender Offer Shares in issue at 31 March 2013 (excluding shares held in Treasury)	(74,091,140) 74,091,141
Shares held in Treasury at 31 March 2013	11,113,671

Subsequent to the period end, the Company has re-issued 240,000 Ordinary shares from Treasury and, as at the date of this Report, there were 74,331,141 Ordinary shares in issue (excluding shares held in Treasury) and 10,873,671 Ordinary shares held in Treasury.

Company Information as at 31 March 2013

Ticker                                                 ATR

Sector                                                Equity Investment Instruments

Launch Date                                      26 November 1987

Financial Year End                           31 December

Next Dividend Payment                   April 2014

Company website:                            www.asiantotalreturninvestmentcompany.com

2 May 2013

Enquiries:

John Spedding

Schroder Investment Management Limited

Company Secretary

Tel: [phone]

 

END

 

 

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