Interim Management Statement
The European Investment Trust plc
Interim Management Statement
for the quarter ended 30 June 2013
The Board of The European Investment Trust plc ("the Company") announces its
Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 April 2013 to 30 June 2013.
This statement is required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and
Transparency Rules and should not be relied upon for any other purpose.
Objective
The objective of the Company is to achieve long-term capital growth through a
diversified portfolio of Continental European securities.
%
Financial summary 30 June 2013 31 March 2013 Change
Net assets £298.74m £287.68m 3.8
Net asset value ("NAV") per share 710.11p 683.83p 3.8
Share price 595.00p 588.00p 1.2
Share price discount to net asset 16.2% 14.0%
value
Investment Manager's review
Performance
During the quarter ended 30 June 2013, the NAV per share of the Company
increased from 683.83p to 710.11p, resulting in a total return of 3.8%. This
compares with a total return of 0.4% in the FTSE All-World Europe ex UK Index
in sterling. The Company's share price increased by 1.2% from 588.00p to
595.00p in the three month period and as a consequence, the share price
discount to NAV increased from 14.0% to 16.2%.
Review of markets
The quarter under review was a relatively quiet period in terms of European
political and economic volatility. The attention of investors was principally
focused on events outside of Europe, with concerns over growth in China and the
effect of the potential ending of the US Federal Reserve's Quantitative Easing
program. Recent economic indicators have given tentative signs that Europe is
emerging from recession, although we would not be inclined to extrapolate the
data aggressively.
Portfolio strategy
Overall there was minimal portfolio activity during the quarter, although a
number of top-up purchases and partial disposals were made. Following a
significant share price rise, Novartis, a Swiss-based healthcare company, was
disposed of. Purchases were made of Feintool, a Swiss-based machine tool
business, and of Fresenius Medical Care, a German-based producer of kidney
dialysis machines.
Outlook
Investors' attention is beginning to turn to the outcome of the German federal
election on 22 September 2013. The key questions for investors are what will be
the nature of the future coalition government, and will Chancellor Merkel's
recent acknowledgement of the continuing impact of austerity result in any
easing of the hard line taken with peripheral European countries.
In general, the valuations of stocks with the highest earnings predictability,
particularly in the core European countries, have benefited from a re-rating,
leaving many defensive companies looking expensive; however, we see some signs
that this is beginning to be reversed. The Company continues to maintain a
relatively high exposure to peripheral countries at the expense of core
countries. Whilst the economic outlook in Spain and Italy cannot be described
as good, it is less bad than that implied by the valuations of many companies
listed on the stock exchanges in these countries. We believe that, over time,
this valuation anomaly will be recognised by stock market investors and that
this should produce positive returns for shareholders.
Portfolio of investments as at 30 June 2013
% of
Ranking Company Sector Country Net Assets
1 Gerresheimer Health Care Germany 3.4
2 Ziggo Telecommunications Netherlands 3.2
3 Ryanair Consumer Services Ireland 3.1
4 Mediaset España Consumer Services Spain 3.0
5 ENI Oil & Gas Italy 3.0
6 A.P. Moller-Maersk Industrials Denmark 2.9
7 Safran Industrials France 2.9
8 Indra Sistemas Technology Spain 2.8
9 Ipsos Consumer Services France 2.6
10 Fresenius Medical Care Health Care Germany 2.6
11 Nutreco Consumer Goods Netherlands 2.6
12 CAF Industrials Spain 2.5
13 Piaggio Consumer Goods Italy 2.5
14 Ahold Consumer Services Netherlands 2.5
15 Danske Bank Financials Denmark 2.5
16 Vivendi Consumer Services France 2.5
17 Intesa Sanpaolo Financials Italy 2.4
18 GEA Industrials Germany 2.4
19 ABB Industrials Switzerland 2.4
20 Michelin Consumer Goods France 2.3
21 Swatch Consumer Goods Switzerland 2.3
22 Orange Telecommunications France 2.3
23 Swedbank Financials Sweden 2.3
24 D'Ieteren Consumer Services Belgium 2.3
25 Metro Consumer Services Germany 2.3
26 Orkla Consumer Goods Norway 2.3
27 BNP Paribas Financials France 2.3
28 Prysmian Industrials Italy 2.2
29 BBVA Financials Spain 2.2
30 Kabel Deutschland Consumer Services Germany 2.1
31 Azimut Financials Italy 2.1
32 Belgacom Telecommunications Belgium 2.1
33 Total Oil & Gas France 2.0
34 Wirecard Industrials Germany 2.0
35 Heineken Consumer Goods Netherlands 2.0
36 Gazprom Oil & Gas Russia 2.0
37 DCC Industrials Ireland 1.9
38 SAP Technology Germany 1.9
39 Feintool Industrials Switzerland 1.4
40 Kuka Industrials Germany 0.9
Total equity investments 95.0
Cash and other net assets 5.0
100.0
Sector distribution
30 June 2013
% of Net Assets
Industrials 21.5
Consumer Services 20.4
Consumer Goods 14.0
Financials 13.8
Telecommunications 7.6
Oil & Gas 7.0
Health Care 6.0
Technology 4.7
Cash and other net 5.0
assets
100.0
Geographical distribution
30 June 2013
% of Net Assets
Germany 17.6
France 16.9
Italy 12.2
Spain 10.5
Netherlands 10.3
Switzerland 6.1
Denmark 5.4
Ireland 5.0
Belgium 4.4
Sweden 2.3
Norway 2.3
Russia 2.0
Cash and other net 5.0
assets
100.0
The geographical distribution is based on each investment's principal stock
exchange listing, except in instances where would not give a proper indication
of where its activities predominate.
Board changes
The Board has today announced the appointment of Dr Michael Woodward as a
non-executive Director with effect from 1 August 2013, following the
resignation of Mr Ralph Kanza today.
Further information
Further information, including monthly factsheets and daily net asset values
published since the end of the quarter, can be found on the Company's website:
www.theeuropeaninvestmenttrust.com and the Edinburgh Partners' website:
www.edinburghpartners.com.
Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Other than as detailed above, the Board is not aware of any significant events
or transactions that have occurred between 30 June 2013 and the date of
publication of this statement which would have a material impact on the
financial position of the Company.
30 July 2013
Enquiries:
Dale Robertson
Kenneth Greig
Edinburgh Partners Limited, 27-31 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7JF
Tel: 0131 270 3800
Registered Office of the Company:
Beaufort House, 51 New North Road, Exeter EX4 4EP
Neither the contents of The European Investment Trust plc's website nor the
contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the website (or any other
website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Latest directors dealings
- 4 minutes ago Staffline Group
- 6 minutes ago Diageo
- 21 minutes ago LSL Property Services
- 28 minutes ago THG
- 34 minutes ago M&G