Performance at month end

RNS Number : 3980I

Impax Environmental Markets PLC

14 June 2011

 



IMPAX ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS plc

All information is at 31 May 2011 (unless otherwise stated) and unaudited.

DATA AND PERFORMANCE

Pricing
NAV (pence)	136.59
Share price (pence)	121.50
Premium/(discount) (%)	(11.05)
Data
Total fund size (NAV) ( m)		431.5
Market capitalisation (m)		383.9
Management fee (%)		1.0
Established		22nd February 2002
Fund structure		Investment Trust
Number of holdings (including unlisted)		81
Exchange		London
Currency		GBP
ISIN Number		GB0031232498
Sedol		3123249
Reuters RIC code		IMPX.L
Bloomberg code		IEM LN

Performance	IEM Net Asset Value*	MSCI World Global Small Cap**	FTSE ET50**
1 month %	-2.3	-0.7	-4.4
3 months %	+0.3	+1.6	-1.1
1 year %	+8.3	+19.1	+0.8
3 year %	+4.1	+38.3	+27.1
5 year %	+28.9	+41.7	+24.0
7 year %	+109.5	+105.9	+90.0

 

* Performance data incorporates undiluted NAV until exercise of warrants on 25 June 2010

** Total return

TOP TEN HOLDINGS

Company	Holding %		Description	Country
Nibe	3.0		Ground source heat pumps	Sweden
Nalco	2.8		Water treatment chemicals	US
Regal-Beloit	2.7		Electric motors	US
LKQ	2.6		Automotive recycling	US
Horiba	2.6		Environmental & engine testing	Japan
Pall Corp	2.6		Filtration	US
Telvent	2.4		Automated meter reading	Spain
Clean Harbors	2.4		Hazardous waste treatment	US
EDP Renovaveis	2.2		Renewable IPP	Spain
Vacon	2.2		Power electronics	Finland
TOTAL	25.5

PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

Geographical US and Canada 38% Europe 38% Japan 6% Asia ex Japan 12% Australia 3% Cash 3%		Company Size >$2bn 39% $200m-2bn 51% <$200m 4% Private 3% Cash 3%
Sectoral Energy efficiency 26% Renewable energy 17% Environmental support services 5% Waste management 25% Pollution control 6% Water infrastructure 18% Cash 3%		PE Ratios >20x 14% 15-20x 41% <15% 38% Unprofitable and private 4% Cash 3% Average 16x

IMPAX ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS plc

MANAGER'S COMMENTARY (May 2011)

Market Review

May was marked by investor concerns about the impact of the end of QE2 in the US on liquidity, the default risk for Greece, and inflation fears in Asian countries.  Industrial data moderated from previous highs and impacted the performance of energy efficiency companies.

Performance Summary

M&A activity continued to contribute to positive performance, with Nibe (ground source heat pumps, Switzerland) performing well on a successful acquisition and the German government's plan to close all nuclear reactors by 2022. Telvent (automated meter reading (AMR), Spain) rose on strong Q1 results and contract announcements. Since the end of May it has been announced that the company is to be taken over by Schneider at a significant premium. Environmental consultancies such as RPS Group (UK) performed well on reduced concerns about government spending cut backs.

Energy efficiency stocks affected by the sell-off in industrials detracted from performance, as did Chinese companies such as Hollysys (industrial and rail automation, China), that were affected by concerns over slower than expected growth in rail infrastructure and accounting scandals at Chinese companies listed in the US. EDP Renovaveis (renewable IPP, Spain) and Vestas (wind turbine manufacturer, Germany) gave back previous gains due to ongoing challenging fundamentals in the wind sector.

Policy Update

The global debate over the safety of nuclear continued. Japan announced the cancellation of previous plans to increase nuclear from 30% to 50% of electricity supply and now aims to increase its national share in renewables. Germany announced it will phase out nuclear by 2022, that the eight nuclear plants currently offline will be immediately decommissioned and that plans will be announced in June for renewables (particularly offshore wind), energy efficiency and grid expansion.

The UK government committed to halving greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels over the period from 2023 to 2027 and the UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced that the Green Investment Bank ("GIB") will start lending to low carbon infrastructure projects from April 2012. The GIB will have an initial capitalisation of £3bn, which is expected to mobilise £15bn of private investment, initially prioritising offshore wind, energy efficiency and waste. Italy announced plans for solar feed-in-tariff cuts.

China announced an investment of over 200bn Yuan in rural power grid upgrades, and plans to build 2,500 charging stations and 220,000 charging poles for electric vehicles and the promotion of biofuels. China also announced plans to construct new wastewater treatment and metal recycling plants.

In the US, the Obama administration unveiled new vehicle fuel economy labels that allow consumers to compare the costs associated with alternative fuel and traditional vehicles. Shale gas fracking remained a controversial topic and Pennsylvanian regulators levied a record fine for drinking water contamination.

Impax Asset Management is supportive of the UK Stewardship Code. Our full Stewardship Code statement, ESG and Proxy Voting policies and the quarterly summaries of our proxy voting activities can be viewed on:

http://www.impax.co.uk/en/investor-relations/governance-csr 

14 June 2011

 

END

 

 

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