Preliminary Results

British Portfolio Trust PLC 13 December 2002 For Immediate Release 13th December 2002 BRITISH PORTFOLIO TRUST plc ANNOUNCEMENT OF UNAUDITED PRELIMINARY RESULTS For the period from 13th December 2001 to 31st October 2002 CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT The Board announces the results for the period from 13th December 2001 to 31st October 2002. The net asset value per Ordinary Share at 31st October 2002 was 110.2p compared with 143.7p at 12th December 2001, a decrease of 23.3%. Over the same period the benchmark index, the FTSE All-Share Index, fell by 21.2%. On 3rd October 2002 the Company announced proposals for a new issue of shares relating to the reconstruction of Jos Holdings plc. Details of these proposals will be sent to shareholders shortly and an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held on 21st January 2003 to seek shareholders' approval. A second interim dividend has been declared of 1.9p per Ordinary Share, which will be payable on 11th February 2003 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 31st January 2003, making a total distribution for the period ended 31st October 2002 of 3.0p per Ordinary Share. In addition, it is the intention of the Board to declare a special dividend for the period from 1st November 2002 to 17th January 2003 in relation to the Reconstruction as outlined above. This special dividend will also be payable on 11th February 2003 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 31 January 2003. The Board are pleased to announce that if the proposals are implemented, George Luckraft, a director of Jos Holdings plc since March 1998, will be appointed to the Board of British Portfolio Trust with effect from 1st February 2003. George Luckraft has considerable experience in the investment management industry. He is currently a director of Framlington Asset Management Limited, and was formerly a director of ABN AMRO Asset Management Limited. Following an Extraordinary General Meeting on 30th October 2001 the Court approved on 24th January 2002 the formation of a Special Reserve amounting to £61,582,500, which arose from the cancellation of the Share Premium Account. During the period under review the Company bought back 1,711,969 shares of 1p each for cancellation and a further 35,000 shares since the year end. The Board intends to seek renewed authority from shareholders to buy back up to 15% of the issued share capital of the Company. INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REVIEW The Company remains predominately invested in FTSE 100 constituents but also has some medium size company exposure. Since the launch of the Company market volatility has proved extremely testing for equity investors. The Company has followed a cautious approach during the period with perceived defensive sectors such as Food Producers, Healthcare and Utilities being favoured. Over the last four years there have been distinct periods when either 'growth' or 'value' stocks outperformed. We believe that there is currently no strong bias towards either camp and that attractive opportunities now exist in both of these sectors. Greater reassurance concerning the state of the US economy, especially the prospects for consumer spending is needed for markets worldwide to make further headway. More encouragingly, the UK economy remains reasonably strong with low unemployment and inflation under control. The Company has used the gearing facility conservatively so far, but the Board remains alert to the possibility of increasing it when the time is felt appropriate. STATUS The Company operates as an approved investment trust within the meaning of Section 842 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988. Approval is expected to be granted for the accounting period under review. The Company is not a close company. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Annual General of the Company will be held at 20 Fenchurch Street, London EC3P 3DB on 20th March 2003. 10 Fenchurch Street By Order of the Board London EC3M 3LB P W I Ingram 13th December 2002 Company Secretary UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN for the period from 13th December 2001 to 31st October 2002 2002 £'000s £'000s £'000s Revenue Capital Total (Note 2) Net losses on investments - (13,889) (13,889) Income from investments 1,607 - 1,607 Other income 156 - 156 Investment management fee (172) (515) (687) Administration expenses (171) - (171) Net return before finance costs and taxation 1,420 (14,404) (12,984) Finance costs of borrowings (81) (242) (323) Return on ordinary activities before taxation 1,339 (14,646) (13,307) Taxation UK taxation - - - Return on ordinary activities after taxation 1,339 (14,646) (13,307) Dividends on Ordinary Shares: Interim 1.1p (476) - (476) Second Interim 1.9p (797) - (797) 3.0p (1,273) - (1,273) Transfer to (from) reserves 66 (14,646) (14,580) Return per Ordinary Share (Note 1) 3.11p (34.08)p (30.97)p UNAUDITED NET ASSET STATEMENT as at 31st October 2002 2002 £'000s Valuation of investments 48,926 Net current assets 3,246 Total Assets less Current Liabilities 52,172 Amounts falling due after more than one year (6,000) Net Assets 46,172 Ordinary Share Capital 419 Share Premium Account 1,445 Special Reserve 59,643 Capital Reserves : Realised (3,485) : Unrealised (11,917) Capital Redemption Reserve 17 Revenue Reserve 50 Shareholders' Funds 46,172 Net asset value per Ordinary Share 110.2p The net asset value is based on 41,905,521 Ordinary Shares in issue. UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN for the period from 29th May 2001 to 12th December 2001 2001 £'000s £'000s £'000s Revenue Capital Total (Note 2) Net losses on investments - (754) (754) Other income 7 - 7 Investment management fee (1) (1) (2) Administration expenses (22) - (22) Net return before finance costs and taxation (16) (755) (771) Finance costs of borrowings - (1) (1) Return on ordinary activities before taxation (16) (756) (772) Taxation UK taxation - - - Return on ordinary activities after taxation (16) (756) (772) Transfer to reserves (16) (756) (772) Return per Ordinary Share (Note 1) (0.04)p (1.77)p (1.81)p UNAUDITED NET ASSET STATEMENT as at 12th December 2001 2001 £'000s Valuation of investments 64,160 Net current assets 3,077 Total Assets less Current Liabilities 67,237 Amounts falling due after more than one year (6,000) Net Assets 61,237 Ordinary Share Capital 426 Share Premium Account 61,583 Capital Reserves : Realised (2) : Unrealised (754) Revenue Reserve (16) Shareholders' Funds 61,237 Net asset value per Ordinary Share 143.7p The net asset value is based on 42,617,490 Ordinary Shares in issue. UNAUDITED CASH FLOW STATEMENT For the period from 13th December 2001 to 31st October 2002 and comparative period from 29th May 2001 to 12th December 2001. 2002 2001 £'000s £'000s Net cash outflow from operating activities (926) - Servicing of Finance Interest paid (274) - Investing Activities Purchase of fixed asset investments (83,910) - Sale of fixed asset investments 20,160 - Net cash outflow from financial activities (63,750) - Equity dividends paid (476) - Net cash outflow before financing (65,426) - Financing Issue of Ordinary Shares 1,455 63,921 Sterling loan raised - 6,000 Purchase of Ordinary Shares for cancellation (1,940) - Net cash (outflow) inflow from financing (485) 69,921 (Decrease) increase in cash (65,911) 69,921 BRITISH PORTFOLIO TRUST TOP 20 HOLDINGS AS AT 31st October 2002 Valuation % of 31.10.02 Total Principal Activities £'000s Assets* BP 3,661 7.0% Oil and Gas GlaxoSmithKline 3,139 6.0% Pharmaceuticals Vodafone 3,056 5.9% Telecommunications Royal Bank of Scotland 2,697 5.2% Banking HSBC 2,333 4.5% Banking Shell Transport & Trading 1,871 3.6% Oil and Gas Barclays 1,552 3.0% Banking National Grid 1,335 2.6% Electricity AstraZeneca 1,154 2.2% Pharmaceuticals HBOS 1,130 2.2% Banking Lloyds 1,054 2.0% Banking Unilever 1,033 2.0% Household Durables Anglo American 957 1.8% Mining Abbey National 911 1.7% Banking BG Group 894 1.7% Oil and Gas Tate & Lyle 894 1.7% Sugar Imperial Tobacco 827 1.6% Tobacco ICAP 787 1.5% Speciality and Other Financial Rank 747 1.4% Leisure, Entertainment and Hotels BT 732 1.4% Telecommunications 30,764 59.0% * Total assets include current liabilities. Note 1 The Returns per Ordinary Share have been calculated using a weighted average number of shares in issue during the period of 42,981,078 shares (2001: 42,617,490 shares). Note 2 The revenue column of this statement is the profit and loss for the Company. All revenue and capital items derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the period. Note 3 The Company's accounting reference period was changed during the period under review from 12th December to 31st October. Note 4 The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the period ended 31st October 2002 or 12th December 2001. The financial information for the period ended 12th December 2001 is derived from the statutory accounts for that period which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the period ended 31st October 2002 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting. Note 5 The annual report will be sent to shareholders in late February 2003 and will be available to members of the public from the Company's registered office at 10 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 3LB. For further information, please contact: Dresdner RCM Global Investors (UK) Ltd Simon White, Head of Investment Trusts Tel: 020 7475 2700 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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