Publication of monthly factsheet

RNS Number : 4235M

UIL Limited

11 January 2023

 

11 January 2023

UIL LIMITED

(LEI Number: 213800CTZ7TEIE7YM468)

Publication of monthly factsheet

The latest monthly factsheet for UIL Limited ("UIL" or the "Company") will shortly be available through the Company's website at:

https://www.uil.limited/investor-relations/factsheet-archive

Monthly commentary

PERFORMANCE

UIL's NAV total return was up 2.5% for the month, outperforming the FTSE All Share Index which declined by 1.4% over the same period.

Global markets in December were generally weaker, with the Federal Reserve raising rates by 50bps to 4.5% and the committee giving a somewhat unexpected hawkish outlook indicating continued monetary tightening throughout 2023. The European Central Bank, Bank of England, Royal Bank of Australia and Bank of Canada also raised rates in December. A mild start to the winter in Europe eased concerns over potential natural gas shortages and fuel prices generally weakened, which, if sustainable, should help ease inflationary pressures in the coming months.

China suddenly and surprisingly dropped its zero Covid policy, anecdotally triggering a large wave of Covid infections although this was not reflected in official figures. As the Chinese economy reopens, commodity prices should recover despite recessionary fears elsewhere. In Brazil, there was some volatility as investors digested what the new Lula administration might look like.

Developed markets were generally weak, with the S&P 500 declining by 5.9% during December, the Eurostoxx down 4.3%, the ASX-200 was down by 3.4% and the FTSE 100 declined by 1.6%.  Many of the emerging markets' indices also declined with the Brazilian Bovespa down by 2.4%, The Indian Sensex down by 3.6%, the Mexican IPC down by 6.2% and the Vietnam Ho Chi Minh down by 3.9%, In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index advanced by 6.4% although the Shanghai Composite was weaker by 2.0% for December.

The US Dollar continued to weaken, losing 1.0% of its value against Sterling and the Euro continued its recovery, gaining 2.6% against Sterling. The Australian Dollar rose 0.3% against Sterling.

Commodities were firmer with Brent Crude oil up slightly by 0.6% for the month. Gold continued its rally, gaining a further 3.1% to USD 1,840.02/oz, its highest price since June 2022, in part reflecting the weaker US Dollar. The price of copper advanced by 2.2% in December.

PORTFOLIO

There was one change to the top ten constituents of UIL's portfolio in December, with AssetCo replacing Resolute Mining, following a reduction in UIL's shareholding in Resolute.

Resimac's share price continued to recover, gaining 4.1% during the month and positively impacting the NAV of Somers, which rose by 5.8% in December. The total return on the UEM holding was 1.5%, Panoramic Resources added a further 2.9% to its share price and AssetCo advanced by 4.7%. The share price of The Market Herald declined by 3.6% during December and the share price of Zeta Resources was unchanged.

DEBT

During December, bank borrowings in Sterling continued to be maintained at £50.0m.

There was no currency hedge activity during the month and no open positions at the end of December.

ZDP SHARES

The share prices of the 2024, 2026 and 2028 ZDP shares all increased. The 2024 ZDP shares increased to 125.00p, up 0.8%, the 2026 ZDP shares were up 0.9% to 114.50p and the 2028 ZDP shares were up 0.5% to 95.50p. The yields to redemption on the ZDP shares at the end of December were 5.8% for the 2024 ZDP shares, 7.6% for the 2026 ZDP shares and 8.3% for the 2028 ZDP shares.

OTHER

UIL's ordinary share price decreased by 4.8% to 160.00p in December whilst the discount to NAV increased to 33.2% from 28.7%.

UIL paid its first quarterly interim dividend of 2.00p per ordinary share in respect of the year ending 30 June 2023 on 22 December 2022 to shareholders on the register on 2 December 2022.

Name of contact and telephone number for enquiries:

Charles Jillings

ICM Investment Management Limited  [phone]

 

END

 

 

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