Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 6463S

Merchants Trust PLC

23 November 2011

 



The Merchants Trust PLC

Interim Management Statement

For the quarter ended 31 October 2011

This interim management statement relates to the quarter from 1 August 2011 to 31 October 2011 and contains information for that period unless otherwise stated. This statement is produced to provide information in accordance with the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Investment objective

The objective of The Merchants Trust is to provide an above average level of income and income growth together with long term growth of capital through a policy of investing mainly in higher yielding UK FTSE 100 companies.

Portfolio

Top ten holdings at 31 October 2011

	£		%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B'	45,109,005		8.51
GlaxosmithKline	38,332,305		7.23
BP	36,403,374		6.87
Vodafone Group	30,012,336		5.66
HSBC Holdings (UK)	28,774,516		5.43
Unilever	21,903,000		4.13
BAE Systems	18,359,429		3.46
Scottish & Southern Energy	17,190,400		3.24
British American Tobacco	16,161,266		3.05
National Grid	15,819,880		2.98
Total Gross Assets		530,176,230

Material events and transactions

The second quarterly dividend for the year ending 31 January 2012 of 5.7p per share was declared on 15 September 2011 and was paid on 11 November to shareholders on the register on 7 October 2011.

There were no changes to the Company's share capital over the period. The number of ordinary shares in issue at the beginning and end of the period is 103,213,464.

The Company is not aware of any significant events or transactions which have occurred between 31 October and the date of this report which would have a material impact.

Financial Performance to 31 October 2011

			% change
	3 m	6m		1yr	3yr		5yrs	10yrs
Share price*	-3.9	-8.3		2.7	59.6		-3.7	82.2
Net Asset Value*	-2.9	-6.7		2.6	52.2		-13.9	71.3
Benchmark# *	-3.7	-7.1		1.0	41.7		-4.1	56.3

* Total return with net dividends reinvested and net of fees.

# FTSE 100 Total Return

Source: Datastream

Financial position at 31 October 2011 and 21 November 2011

		31 October		21 November
Total assets1		523,477,866		497,760,321
Net assets		408,762,126		384,987,343
Share price		376.50		349.70
Net asset value2		396.04		373.00
Discount3		4.9%		6.2%
Net gearing4		26.3%		26.9%
Yield		6.1%		6.5%

¹Total assets are stated net of current liabilities.

²Capital and income net asset values are calculated and announced daily.

³ The discount is the difference between the share price and the NAV (debt at book value) per share expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share.

⁴ Net gearing is borrowings net of cash.

Company Information

Launch date	1889
EPIC	MRCH
Year end	31 January
Report and Accounts	Final posted April, Half-yearly posted September
AGM	May
Dividends paid	February, May, August and November
Price Information	Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph,  www.merchantstrust.co.uk  www.rcm.co.uk

Investor information

Further up to date information, including Net Asset Values and share prices, and the latest available factsheets and portfolio information, is provided on the Manager's website, which can be accessed at www.merchantstrust.co.uk  or at www.rcm.com/investmenttrusts.co.uk .  Information can also be obtained from the Investor Services' helpline on 0800 389 4696.

23 November 2011

 

END

 

 

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