Merrill Lynch World Mining Tst PLC
15 March 2007
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD MINING TRUST plc
All information is at 28 February 2007 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three One Three Five
month months year years years
Net asset value* (undiluted) 3.3% 6.6% 27.9% 146.7% 287.6%
Net asset value* (diluted) 3.0% 5.8% n/a n/a n/a
Share price* 2.5% 2.9% 15.1% 124.1% 302.1%
HSBC Global Mining Index 4.0% 6.3% 18.8% 119.6% 179.4%
Sources: BlackRock, HSBC Global Mining Index, Datastream
*Net asset value and share price performance includes the warrant reinvestment,
assuming the 2004 and 2006 bonus warrant entitlements per share were sold and
the proceeds reinvested on the first day of trading.
At month end
Net asset value
Undiluted: 529.35p Includes net revenue of: 0.65p
Diluted: 514.29p
Share price: 443.00p Discount to undiluted NAV: 16.3%
Warrant price: 46.00p
Total assets: £918.4m
Net yield: 0.56% (excludes special dividend of 2.00p per share)
Gearing: 3.21%
Ordinary shares in issue: 168,298,906
Warrants in issue: 33,659,228
Sector % Total Country % Total
Analysis Assets Analysis Assets
Diversified 45.8 Global 25.1
Base Metals 26.8 Latin America 21.7
Gold 7.9 South Africa 12.7
Platinum 7.8 Australasia 11.6
Silver/Diamonds 5.6 Canada 9.7
Industrial Minerals 4.5 USA 8.6
Other 3.0 Other Africa 4.0
Net current liabilities (1.4) China 2.0
100.0 India 1.8
Laos 1.2
Kazakhstan 1.2
Europe 0.8
Indonesia 0.7
Mongolia 0.3
Net current liabilities (1.4)
100.0
Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company Region of Risk
Alcoa USA
Anglo American Global
BHP Billiton Global
CVRD Latin America
First Quantum Minerals Zambia
Impala Platinum South Africa
Rio Tinto Global
Teck Cominco Canada
Xstrata Global
Zinifex Australasia
Commenting on the markets, Graham Birch, representing the Investment Manager
noted:
For the majority of February the market was extremely strong, but gave some of
this performance back in the last few days due to the broader global equity
market sell off. The strength in the market was driven by strong metals prices
as they rebounded from January's lows. The volatility seen at the end of the
month was driven by a variety of reasons including increased fears over China's
growth, US sub-prime mortgage numbers, the unwinding of the Yen carry trade and
comments by Alan Greenspan former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve. It is
important to note that many of these moves were caused by technical weakness,
not fundamental limitations.
Highlights of the month included company Q4 results. These were very positive,
with many mining companies announcing increased dividends and share buy back
plans. Of particular note was that BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American
pledged to buy back in excess of $20bn worth of stock between them this year.
Whilst the broader equity market finished February in a downturn, we believe
that the catalysts for the recent falls were short term movements and the long
term fundamentals for the mining sector remain strong. China continues to
consume a larger share of global demand, with India also showing strong growth.
Through 2007, we expect this demand to continue and although US growth may be
slightly below 2006 levels this year, it should remain at reasonable levels.
The supply side reaction to increased demand continues to be muted, with
companies struggling to keep up due to a lack of experienced personnel,
equipment delays and a lack of quality projects.
The fundamentals for mining equities therefore look positive, with historically
high metal prices set to continue, share buy backs proceeding at a rapid rate
and the possibility of further M&A activity as mining companies seek to grow
quickly and cost effectively. The higher commodity prices have been translated
into higher profits for the Company's holdings. In addition, further
consolidation in the industry should provide extra momentum to the sector.
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/its on the
internet, 'BLRKINDEX' on Reuters, 'BLRK' on Bloomberg or '8800' on Topic 3 (ICV
terminal).
15 March 2007
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange DXBBBBD
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