Half-year Report

RNS Number : 4922S

CQS New City High Yield Fund Ltd

11 March 2019

 

To:	RNS
From:	CQS New City High Yield Fund Limited
LEI:	549300KMGN75B0PTWT07
Date:	11 March 2019
Subject:	Interim Report

Unaudited statement of results for the six months ended 31 December 2018

Statement from the Chair

Highlights for the Six Months to 31 December 2018

·      Net asset value total return of -2.40%.

·      Ordinary share price total return of -4.25%.

·      Dividend yield of 7.86%, based on dividends at an annualised rate of 4.45 pence and a share price of 56.60 pence at 31 December 2018.

·      Ordinary share price at a premium of 5.26% at 31 December 2018.

·      £3.3m of equity raised during the six months to 31 December 2018.

Investment and Share Price Performance

The six months ended 31 December 2018 covered by this interim report have seen subdued performance for your Company with a net asset value return of -2.40% and a share price total return for the same period of -4.25%.  The Company's shares have continued trade at a premium to their net asset value and as 31 December 2018 this stood at 5.26%, slightly down from the 7.15% premium at the start of the review period.  The average premium over the year to 31 December 2018 was 5.79% and over three years 4.65%.

The market backdrop to your Company's results has been eventful with the Brexit endgame being played out, interest rates rising in the UK and the US and equity markets experiencing falls, particularly towards the end of 2018.  Ian Francis, your investment manager, discusses the six months in more detail in his review.

Earnings and Dividends

The Company's earnings per share were 2.41 pence for the six months, 11% higher than the 2.17 pence earned in the same period last year and covering the dividends paid.

The Company declared two dividends of 1.0 pence each in the period, an increase of 1.0% on those declared in the same period last year.  In the absence of unforeseen circumstances, the Board expects to follow the same pattern of dividend payments as declared in the last three years (ie the first 3 quarterly dividends the same amount and the final dividend a little bigger) and, based on a maintained annualised rate of 4.45 pence and a share price of 57.00 pence at the time of writing, this represents a dividend yield of 7.81%.

The Board pays close attention to dividends and since the Company's launch in 2007, dividends paid have increased every year.

Gearing
The Company replaced its existing one year £30m loan facility with Scotiabank in December 2018 with a new two year £35m facility with the same bank at a current all-in rate of 2.01%.  With the exception of its term, the facility is comparable to the one that it replaced.  £28m was drawn down at 31 December 2018 and the Company had an effective gearing rate of 10.3%.

Share Issuance

Taking advantage of the premium rating that the market continues to attach to your Company's shares, £3.3m was raised from new and existing shareholders during the review period, with 5.5m ordinary shares issued from the block listing facility.  A further £1.8m has been raised since 31 December 2018.  As well as a modest increase in net asset value from any issue of shares, over time existing shareholders benefit from lower ongoing charges and greater liquidity in the Company's shares, all other things being equal.

Board Changes

I took over the Chair on 14 December 2018, close to the end of the period under review, and on behalf of shareholders, the Board would like to express much appreciation to my predecessor, Jimmy West, who retired at the Annual General Meeting held on that date. Jimmy had been Chair of the Company since its launch in Jersey in January 2007, a period which saw the Company more than quadruple in size and, as mentioned above, continue to increase dividends every year. His experience and dedication to the Company will be missed.

Administration Changes

Our Company Secretary and Jersey administrators, R&H Fund Services (Jersey) Limited, informed us just before the end of the review period that they were terminating their agreement with your Company as they wish to exclude relationships where they only provide some, but not all, of the administrative functions. The notice period is one year.

The Board has therefore started a process of selecting new administrators and as at the time of writing, a number of companies have been approached. I am confident that a new administrator will be in place comfortably before the end of the calendar year.

Outlook

A combination of Brexit, 'quantitative tightening' and US/China trade war tensions amounts to a challenging macro-economic and political background. Whilst this environment may suggest the market outlook is difficult, your Manager believes uncertainty can present investment opportunities for the portfolio. Indeed the company would not be issuing more shares unless your Manager is confident of identifying these. Moreover, his proven track record provides important comfort, and diversity in your Company's portfolio remains a great strength.

Caroline Hitch

Chair

11 March 2019

Investment Manager's Review

Another six months has passed in the great Brexit imbroglio and as I write this the end game still seems a long way from being resolved even as the clock continues to tick. The political impasse has spilled over into the real world economy as UK consumers increasingly put off major decisions until some Brexit resolution appears. The retail and motor sectors are continuing to have a torrid time and the housing market is undergoing a sharp slowdown. There are some glimmers of strength showing as the number of people in employment has just reached an all-time high.

In August the Bank of England increased the base rate by 25bp for just the second rise in the last 10 years. Worryingly savings rates are still falling and consumers are relying on their credit cards to continue spending. On Brexit we still believe that there is too much to lose for both sides and some sort of compromise will be fashioned that can be accepted.

Turning to Europe the six months to 31st December saw political changes in Germany with Chancellor Merkel stepping down as party leader and setting an end date to her time as Chancellor. In France, President Macron tried and failed to implement economic reforms with fuel tax increases acting as a catalyst to widespread protests across France. The bond market in particular focussed on Italy with the new coalition government setting a very expansionist budget against virtually zero economic growth. Overall European economies are struggling with low growth and negative sentiment exacerbated by fears of Trade wars and Brexit uncertainty.

The United States in economic terms continued to perform strongly with impressive GDP growth and unemployment falling and wages rising. The Federal Reserve Bank has been increasing rates steadily on the back of continuing strength in the US economy. President Trump's increasing tariffs on China and attacks on natural US allies have started to weigh much more negatively on sentiment and the US stock market fell sharply in November and December as worries about future growth prospects appeared.

The weak equity stock markets seen in the last quarter of 2018 spilled over to the High Yield Corporate Bond market and there was a marked slowdown in activity. We saw the gap between the quoted buying and selling prices of bonds increase and liquidity decrease. For our portfolio this has the effect of reducing the net asset value as we mark our prices to the bottom of a wider spread. This reinforces the benefit of the investment company structure as we can ride out this period of volatility as we are not forced to sell in these illiquid markets. We continue to maintain a diversified portfolio across a range of sectors and have a good proportion of the portfolio in non-sterling currencies. For the six months the net asset value fell by 4.3% with income re-invested with the yield on the share price being 7.86% at the end of December.

Our portfolio activity was fairly muted during the six months under review - a new appearance in the top 10 holdings is Wittur International 8.5% 2023 - the Company is a German based manufacture of lift equipment. We also made an investment into Floatel International 9% 2024 which as the name implies is a US based supplier of floating hotels principally for the oil industry.

Ian Francis

New City Investment Managers

11 March 2019

Condensed Income Statement (Unaudited)

For the six months ended 31 December 2018

	Notes	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£ '000	£'000	£'000
Capital gains on investments
Losses on investments	3	-	(15,251)	(15,251)
Exchange losses		-	(114)	(114)
Revenue
Income	4	11,037	-	11,037
Total income		11,037	(15,365)	(4,328)
Expenses
Investment management fee	5	(748)	(250)	(998)
Other expenses		(333)	(29)	(362)
Total expenses		(1,081)	(279)	(1,360)
Profit before finance costs and taxation		9,956	(15,644)	(5,688)
Finance costs
Interest receivable		5	-	5
Interest payable and similar charges		(178)	(59)	(237)
Profit before taxation		9,783	(15,703)	(5,920)
Irrecoverable withholding tax		(38)	-	(38)
Profit after taxation		9,745	(15,703)	(5,958)
Earnings per ordinary share (pence)	6	2.41	(3.88)	(1.47)

For the six months ended 31 December 2017

	Notes	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£ '000	£'000	£'000
Capital gains on investments
Gains on investments	3	-	212	212
Exchange gains		-	174	174
Revenue
Income	4	9,443	-	9,443
Total income		9,443	386	9,829
Expenses
Investment management fee	5	(730)	(243)	(973)
Other expenses		(322)	-	(322)
Total expenses		(1,052)	(243)	(1,295)
Profit before finance costs and taxation		8,391	143	8,534
Finance costs
Interest payable and similar charges		(128)	(43)	(171)
Profit before taxation		8,263	100	8,363
Irrecoverable withholding tax		(74)	-	(74)
Profit after taxation		8,189	100	8,289
Earnings per ordinary share (pence)	6	2.17	0.02	2.19

Condensed Income Statement (Audited)

For the year ended 30 June 2018

	Notes	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Capital gains on investments
Losses on investments	3	-	(5,499)	(5,499)
Exchange gains		-	220	220
Revenue
Income	4	20,033	-	20,033
Total income		20,033	(5,229)	14,804
Expenses
Investment management fee	5	(1,478)	(493)	(1,971)
Other expenses		(656)	(192)	(848)
Total expenses		(2,134)	(685)	(2,819)
Profit before finance costs and taxation		17,899	(5,914)	11,985
Finance costs
Interest receivable		5	-	5
Interest payable and similar charges		(282)	(94)	(376)
Profit before taxation		17,622	(6,008)	11,614
Irrecoverable withholding tax		(137)	-	(137)
Profit after taxation		17,485	(6,008)	11,477
Earnings per ordinary share (pence)	6	4.54	(1.56)	2.98

The total column of this statement represents the Company's Income Statement, prepared in accordance with IFRS.  The supplementary revenue return and capital return columns are both prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies.

All revenue and capital items in the above statement are derived from continuing operations.

No operations were acquired or discontinued during the period.

There is no comprehensive income as all income is recorded in the Income Statement above.

Condensed Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2018

		As at	As at	As at
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017	30 June 2018
	Notes	(unaudited)	(unaudited)	(audited)
		£'000	£'000	£'000
Non-current assets
Investments held at fair value		237,179	247,383	253,081
Current assets
Other receivables		4,475	4,813	4,298
Cash and cash equivalents		5,506	1,861	3,850
		9,981	6,674	8,148
Total assets		247,160	254,057	261,229
Current liabilities
Bank loan facility	7	(28,000)	(28,000)	(28,000)
Other payables		(618)	(222)	(2,161)
Total liabilities		(28,618)	(28,222)	(30,161)
Net assets		218,542	225,835	231,068
Stated capital and reserves
Stated capital account		181,714	168,646	178,424
Special distributable reserve		50,385	50,385	50,385
Capital reserve		(30,468)	(8,657)	(14,765)
Revenue reserve		16,911	15,461	17,024
Equity shareholders' funds		218,542	225,835	231,068
Net asset value per ordinary share (pence)	9	53.77	58.58	57.63

 

Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity

For the six months ended 31 December 2018 (unaudited)

		Stated	Special
		capital	distributable	Capital	Revenue
		account	reserve	reserve	reserve	Total
	Notes	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 July 2018		178,424	50,385	(14,765)	17,024	231,068
Total comprehensive income for the period:
Profit for the period		-	-	(15,703)	9,745	(5,958)
Transactions with shareholders recognised directly in equity:
Dividends paid	2	-	-	-	(9,858)	(9,858)
Issue of shares		3,290	-	-	-	3,290
At 31 December 2018		181,714	50,385	(30,468)	16,911	218,542

For the six months ended 31 December 2017 (unaudited)

		Stated	Special
		capital	distributable	Capital	Revenue
		account	reserve	reserve	reserve	Total
	Notes	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 July 2017		159,647	50,385	(8,757)	16,400	217,675
Total comprehensive income for the period:
Profit for the period		-	-	100	8,189	8,289
Transactions with shareholders recognised directly in equity:
Dividends paid	2	-	-	-	(9,128)	(9,128)
Issue of shares		8,999	-	-	-	8,999
At 31 December 2017		168,646	50,385	(8,657)	15,461	225,835

For the year ended 30 June 2018 (audited)

		Stated	Special
		capital	distributable	Capital	Revenue
		Account	reserve	reserve	reserve	Total
	Notes	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 1 July 2017		159,647	50,385	(8,757)	16,400	217,675
Total comprehensive income for the year:
Profit for the year		-	-	(6,008)	17,485	11,477
Transactions with owners recognised directly in equity:
Dividends paid	2	-	-	-	(16,861)	(16,861)
Issue of shares		18,777	-	-	-	18,777
At 30 June 2018		178,424	50,385	(14,765)	17,024	231,068

 

Condensed Cash Flow Statement

For the six months ended 31 December 2018

	Six months	Six months
	ended	ended	Year ended
	31 December 2018 (unaudited)	31 December 2017 (unaudited)	30 June 2018 (audited)
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Operating activities
(Loss)/profit before costs and taxation	(5,920)	8,363	11,614
Losses/(gains) on investments	15,251	(212)	5,449
Effective yield adjustments	(440)	(461)	(837)
Exchange losses/(gains)	114	(174)	(220)
Increase in other receivables	(176)	(798)	(283)
Increase/(decrease) in other payables	358	(32)	(10)
Net cash inflow from operating activities	9,187	6,686	15,713
Irrecoverable withholding tax paid	(38)	(74)	(137)
Net cash inflow from operating activities	9,149	6,612	15,576
Investing activities
Purchases of investments	(16,230)	(46,372)	(78,028)
Sales of investments	15,419	31,745	54,335
Net cash outflow from investing activities	(811)	(14,627)	23,693
Financing activities
Equity dividends paid	(9,858)	(9,128)	(18,861)
Drawdown of bank loan facility	-	3,000	3,000
Issue of ordinary shares	3,290	8,999	18,777
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing activities	(6,568)	2,871	4,916
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents	1,770	(5,144)	(3,201)
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period	3,850	6,831	6,831
Cashflow	1,770	(5,144)	(3,201)
Exchange gains	(114)	174	220
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period*	5,506	1,861	3,850

*Net debt includes cash held at bank and bank loan facility.

Notes to the Accounts

1.   Basis of Preparation

The unaudited interim results which cover the six month period to 31 December 2018 have been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard ('IAS') 34 'Interim Financial Reporting', and the accounting polices as set out in the statutory accounts of the Company for the year ended 30 June 2018.

 Going concern

The condensed financial statements have been prepared on the going concern basis. In assessing the going concern basis of accounting the Directors have had regard to the guidance issued by the Financial Reporting Council. After making enquiries, and bearing in mind the nature of the Company's business and assets, the Directors consider that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

2.   Dividends

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period:

	Six months ended 31 December 2018		Six months ended 31 December 2017		Year ended 30 June 2018
		Rate		Rate		Rate
	£'000	(pence)	£'000	(pence)	£'000	(pence)
In respect of the previous period:
Fourth interim dividend	5,814	1.45	5,392	1.45	5,392	1.45
In respect of the period under review:
First interim dividend	4,044	1.00	3,736	0.99	3,736	0.99
Second interim dividend	-	-	-	-	3,854	0.99
Third interim dividend	-	-	-	-	3,879	0.99
	9,858	2.45	9,128	2.44	16,861	4.42

        A second interim dividend in respect of the year ending 30 June 2019 of 1.00p per ordinary share was paid on 28 February 2019 to shareholders on the register on 25 January 2018. In accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") this dividend has not been included as a liability in these accounts.

3.     Investment Gains

Included within gains on investments for the period ended 31 December 2018 are realised losses of £5,777,000 (31 December 2017: gains of £47,000 and at 30 June 2018: losses of £3,537,000) and unrealised losses of £9,474,000 (31 December 2017: gains of £165,000 and at 30 June 2018: losses of £1,912,000).

4.     Income

        The breakdown of income for the period was as follows:

	Six months ended 31 December 2018		Six months ended 31 December 2017		Year ended       30 June 2018
		£'000		£'000		£'000
Income from investments:
Dividend income		873		815		2,144
Interest on fixed interest securities		10,164		8,628		17,889
Total income		11,037		9,443		20,033

5.     Investment Management Fee

The Company's investment manager is CQS which has delegated this function to NCIM. The contract between the Company and CQS may be terminated by either party giving not less than 12 months notice of termination. CQS receive a basic monthly fee at the rate of 0.8 per cent per annum of the Company's total assets (less current liabilities other than bank borrowings), payable in arrears up to and including £200,000,000 and 0.7 per cent per annum above this. During the period investment management fees of £998,000 were incurred, of which £495,000 was payable at the period end.

6.     Earnings per Ordinary Share

       The revenue earnings per ordinary share is based on the net profit after taxation of 9,745,000 (31 December 2017: £8,189,000 and 30 June 2018: £17,485,000 and on a weighted average of 404,361,694 (31 December 2017: 378,077,258 and 30 June 2018: 385,436,978) ordinary shares in issue throughout the period.

       The capital return per ordinary share is based on a net capital loss of £15,703,000 (31 December 2017: a net capital gain of £100,000 and 30 June 2018: a net capital loss of £6,008,000) and on a weighted average of 404,361,694 (31 December 2017: 378,077,258 and 30 June 2018: 385,436,978) ordinary shares in issue throughout the period.

7.     Bank Loan Facility

	December 2018	December 2017	June 2018
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Bank loan facility	28,000	28,000	28,000

The Company has a short term loan facility with Scotiabank which is due to expire in December 2022.

As at the period end the unsecured loan facility had a limit of £35 million of which £28 million was drawn down as at 31 December 2018.

8.     Stated Capital Account

Authorised

The authorised share capital of the Company is represented by an unlimited number of ordinary shares of no par value.

Allotted, called up and fully-paid	Number of
	Ordinary shares	2018 £'000
Total issued share capital at 1 July 2018	400,951,858	178,424
2,500,000 ordinary shares of no par value issued on 27 July 2018 at 60.40p	2,500,000	1,510
1,000,000 ordinary shares of no par value issued on 28 August 2018 at 60.75p	1,000,000	607
1,000,000 ordinary shares of no par value issued on 31 October 2018 at 58.70p	1,000,000	587
1,000,000 ordinary shares of no par value issued on 22 November 2018 at 58.60p	1,000,000	586
Total issued share capital at 31 December 2018	406,451,858	181,714

The balance of shares left in Treasury as at 31 December 2018 was nil.

On 15 May 2018, a block listing facility for 40,000,000 new shares was approved by the UK Listing Authority.

9.     Net Asset Value per Ordinary share

       The net asset value per ordinary share is based on net assets at the period end of £218,542,000 (31 December 2017: £225,835,000 and 30 June 2018: £231,068,000) and on 406,451,858 (31 December 2017: 385,524,417 and 30 June 2018: 400,951,858) ordinary shares, being the number of ordinary shares in issue at the period end.

10.   Related Parties

The following are considered related parties: the Board of Directors ("the Board") and CQS/New City Investment Managers ("the Investment Manager").

All transactions with related parties are carried out on an arm's length basis.

There are no other transactions with the Board other than aggregated remuneration for services as Directors.  There are no outstanding balances to the Board at the period end.

Details of the fee arrangement with the Investment Manager are disclosed in note 5.

11.   Financial Information

These are not statutory accounts in terms of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006 and have not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditors.  The information for the year ended 30 June 2018 has been extracted from the latest published financial statements which received an unqualified audit report and have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.  No statutory accounts in respect of any period after 30 June 2018 have been reported on by the Company's auditors or delivered to the Registrar of Companies.

The interim report for the six months ended 31 December 2018 will be posted to shareholders and made available on the website www.ncim.co.uk.  Copies may also be obtained from the Company's registered office, Ordnance House, 31 Pier Road, St. Helier, Jersey, JE4 8PW, Channel Islands.

12.   Post Balance Sheet Event

There were three share issues post the period end.

On 6 February 2019, 1,100,000 ordinary shares were allotted at a price of 56.8p.

On 12 February 2019, 1,000,000 ordinary shares were allotted at a price of 57.2p.

On 22 February 2019, 1,000,000 ordinary shares were allotted at a price of 57.2p.

Directors' Statement of Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Company's assets consist principally of listed fixed interest securities and its principal risks are therefore market related. The Company is also exposed to currency risk in respect of the markets in which it invests. Other key risks faced by the Company relate to investment and strategy, market, financial, earnings and dividend, operational, gearing, key person, regulatory and political matters. These risks, and the way in which they are managed, are described in more detail under the heading 'Principal risks and risk management' within the Directors' Report and Business Review contained within the Company's annual report and accounts for the year ended 30 June 2018. The Company's principal risks and uncertainties have not changed materially since the date of the report and are not expected to change materially for the rest of the Company's financial year.

Directors' Responsibility Statement in Respect of the Interim Report

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

·      the condensed set of financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' as adopted by the EU and give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company;

·      the Statement from the Chair and Investment Manager's Review includes a fair review of the information required by the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ('DTR') 4.2.7R, being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the financial statements;

·      the Directors' Statement of Principal Risks and Uncertainties shown above is a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R; and

·      the condensed set of financial statements include a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.8R, being related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the Company during that period, and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last Annual Report that could do so.

On behalf of the Board

Caroline Hitch

Chair

11 March 2019

 

END

 

 

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