Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9031Z

Montanaro European Smaller C.TstPLC

25 July 2008

 



Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust plc

Interim Management Statement 

For the Three Month Period From 1 April 2008 to 30 June 2008

Investment Objective

Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust plc aims to achieve capital growth by investing principally in European quoted smaller companies. 

Performance Summary

Capital Return	As at  30 June  2008	As at 31 March 2008	Movement
Net asset value (000s)	£65,506	£69,061	-5.1%
Net asset value per share	387.4p	401.6p	-3.5%
MSCI Europe Small Cap Index	133.5	144.0	-7.2%
Share price	357.5p	340.0p	5.1%
Discount	-7.7%	-15.3%
Net cash	3.4%	2.2%

Review for the Period

The Company's net asset value per share fell by 3.5% during the three month period ended 30 June 2008, outperforming the benchmark index which fell by 7.2%.

Following positive returns in April and May, June 2008 joins November 2007 and January 2008 as three of the five worst monthly declines in European Small Cap stockmarket since 1999. Slowing economic growth and corporate profits, inflationary concerns caused principally by rising food and oil prices, and increasing interest rates were the key concerns for investors during the period. There has been an increase in profit warnings among UK listed companies and further profit warnings are likely in particular among consumer and property related companies.

Within the portfolio, the strongest performances came from SBO (Austrian oil & gas service company) which benefited from the strong oil price; Nokian Tyres (Finnish tyre manufacturer) which announced strong demand in Russia; and Dana Petroleum (UK oil company), another beneficiary of the strong oil price which announced a successful discovery in the North Sea.

The weakest performances came from Ramirent (Finnish plant hire company) which saw a slowdown in some of its Baltic markets; Raysearch (Swedish cancer software) which has seen disappointing sales by its customers; and Hellenic Exchange (Greek Stock Exchange) which has seen a slowdown in activity due to the Bear Market. 

Share Buybacks

During the period the Company purchased 290,000 of its own ordinary shares, to be held in treasury, at an average discount of 8.2% to the net asset value.  

Top Ten Holdings as at 30 June 2008

Company	Country	Percentage of total assets
Schoeller Bleckmann Oilfield	Austria	3.8
Poyry	Finland	3.7
Prosegur Seguridad	Spain	3.4
GFK	Germany	2.9
Fuchs Pertolub	Germany	2.7
Sweco	Sweden	2.6
AF	Sweden	2.5
Arcadis	Netherlands	2.4
YIT	Finland	2.2
Nokian Renkaat	Finland	2.2
Total		28.4

Geographical Analysis as at 30 June 2008

Country	Percentage of total assets
Finland	15.5
Sweden	13.5
UK	11.8
Netherlands	9.9
Austria	7.9
Germany	7.5
Ireland	5.1
France	5.0
Spain	3.4
Italy	2.5
Greece	2.4
Belgium	2.2
Norway	1.8
Malta	1.1
Switzerland	0.9
Liquidity	9.5
Total	100.0

  Sector Distribution as at 30 June 2008

Sector	Percentage of total assets
Industrials	47.7
Financials	9.1
Oil & Gas	8.8
Consumer Goods	7.3
Consumer Services	6.0
Basic Materials	5.9
Health Care	5.0
Technology	0.7
Liquidity	9.5
Total	100.0

The Board is not aware of any significant events or transactions which have occurred since 30 June 2008 and the date of publication of this statement which would have a material impact on the financial position of the Company.

Daily and Key Information

Further information regarding the Company, including monthly factsheets, can be found at the Manager's website: www.montanaro.co.uk.

For further information please contact:

Charles Montanaro

Montanaro Investment Managers Limited

Tel: [phone]

 

END

 

 

IMSBELFLVDBEBBZ