Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 8238E

Merchants Trust PLC

15 May 2013

 



The Merchants Trust PLC

Interim Management Statement

For the quarter ended 30 April 2013

This interim management statement relates to the quarter from 1 February 2013 to 30 April 2013 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 30 April 2013

	£		%
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL 'B'		55,723,449	8.90
GLAXOSMITHKLINE		48,523,780	7.75
BP		39,865,386	6.37
HSBC		33,639,020	5.38
VODAFONE GROUP		31,127,534	4.97
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO		25,828,181	4.13
SSE		21,939,600	3.51
BAE SYSTEMS		19,901,267	3.18
NATIONAL GRID		17,682,210	2.83
RESOLUTION		16,627,656	2.66
Total Gross Assets	625,775,174

Material events and transactions

The following events have occurred since 1 February 2013.

Dividends

The third quarterly dividend for the year ended 31 January 2013 of 5.8p per Ordinary Share, was paid on 27 February 2013 to shareholders on the register on 1 February 2013.

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 was 103,213,464.

Since 30 April 2013 the following events have occurred:

Annual General Meeting

At the AGM held on 10 May 2013 all resolutions were passed.

Dividends

The final dividend for the year ended 31 January 2013 of 5.8p per Ordinary Share will be paid on 15 May 2013 to shareholders on the register on 12 April 2013.

Financial Performance to 30 April 2013

			% change
	3mths	6mths		1yr	3yrs		5yrs	10yrs
Share price*	9.0	23.1		25.4	53.3		42.2	180.1
Net Asset Value*	7.0	18.2		27.7	46.6		34.3	169.4
Benchmark# *	3.7	13.2		16.4	28.9		27.5	134.5

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

# FTSE 100 Total Return

Source: Datastream

Financial position at 30 April 2013 and 10 May 2013

			30 April		10 May
Total assets1			618,599,748		636,194,064
Net assets			504,132,316		521,726,632
Share price			444.00		468.05
NAV (debt at par value)2			488.44		505.48
Discount3			9.1%		7.3%
Net gearing4			21.27%		19.61%
Yield			5.2%		5.0%
NAV (debt at market value)5			466.63		483.68
Discount6			4.85%		3.1%

¹Total assets are stated net of current liabilities.

² The cum-income NAV. Capital and income net asset values are calculated and announced daily.

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

⁴ Net gearing is borrowings net of cash and current assets.

⁵ The cum-income NAV.

⁶ The discount is the difference between the share price and the NAV (with debt at market value) per share expressed as a percentage of the NAV per share.

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

Investor information

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

15 May 2013

 

END

 

 

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