Interim Management Statement- Replacement

RNS Number : 6481S

Henderson Eurotrust PLC

23 November 2011

 



The Issuer advises that the following replaces the Interim Management Statement released on Tuesday 22 November 2011 at 17:05 under RNS 5827S.

The Interim Management Statement as previously announced was incorrect.

The full amended text appears below.

HENDERSON EUROTRUST PLC

HENDERSON GLOBAL INVESTORS

22 November 2011

HENDERSON EUROTRUST PLC

Interim Management Statement

Review of the period from 1 August 2011 to 31 October 2011

The Directors of Henderson EuroTrust plc hereby announce the following:

MATERIAL EVENTS OR TRANSACTIONS DURING THE PERIOD

The economic and market situation has deteriorated since our year end at 31^st July, even though company results have generally beaten expectations.

The simple reason for the worse situation now is what is becoming termed "the Euro crisis". The seemingly endless rounds of negotiations and deals have been exhausting, and the lack of clarity and leadership from Europe has warned global investors off the European markets, and it is now becoming clear that the uncertainty is affecting economies. The first meeting of new ECB chief Draghi has cut interest rates and been accompanied by a warning that GDP growth will be less than previously expected in 2012.

At one stage it had seemed that the summit meeting of European leaders at the end of October would finally sort out Greek debt, banks' financial strength, and bring a newly reprinted version of the "Book of Rules for being a Member of the Euro" (previously known as the Growth and Stability Pact). But that brief reprieve has been followed by intense uncertainty: firstly Greece (even if that is largely irrelevant in the greater scheme of things) but more importantly in Italy. Political change has begun, but the uncertainty over whether and to what extent 'austerity' measures are implemented is likely to remain.

Meanwhile, in the real world of investing in European companies, the shares have generally become cheaper in spite of results which have continued to meet expectations for 2011. However the outlook for global growth is certainly more subdued now than was the view three months ago. From that perspective it is reasonable that valuations should be lower. We have sold Commerzbank and UBS, leaving the portfolio with no banks. We have added Sampo which is a Nordic insurance company. We have sold Lufthansa, Siemens and Henkel in Germany, reducing the economic cyclicality of the portfolio. 

Outlook

The Euro crisis has not necessarily reached its low point yet however; considerable damage has been done and economic growth and earnings forecasts for 2012 have all been revised down in recent months. We continue to focus on quality, and this has helped restrict the fall in NAV.

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Gearing:  At the end of the quarter the Company was 2 % geared on a gross basis (at 31 July 2011:0%)

Annual General Meeting: The AGM was held on 15 November 2011 and all resolutions were duly passed.

Directors: At the close of the Annual General Meeting on 15 November 2011 Robert Bischof resigned as a Director of the Company.

Dividends:  Following shareholder approval at the AGM, a final dividend of 11.0p (2010: 7.0p) per ordinary share was paid on 18 November 2011 to shareholders on the register on 14 October 2011. The shares were quoted ex-dividend on 12 October 2011.

Discount: The share price discount to net asset value at 31 October 2011 was 11.1% (at 31 July 2011: 13.2%)

Share Capital: During the three month period the Company bought back 43,134 shares, all of which were cancelled immediately. Accordingly, the issued share capital at the quarter end was 20,478,541 shares and the total number of voting rights was 20,478,541.

There are no other material events or transactions to report.

PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Performance at 31 October 2011 (total return % change)

	3 months	6 months	1 year	3 years	5 years
Net asset value	-8.50	-14.25	-3.93	38.36	24.92
Share price	-5.98	-12.07	-3.45	46.40	17.52
Benchmark *	-11.66	-19.06	-9.31	30.02	4.82

(Source:  Morningstar/Funddata)           * The benchmark is the FTSE World Europe (ex UK) Index

Financial Position (excluding current financial year revenue items)

	at 31 October 2011	at 31 July 2011
Ordinary share price	498.0p	542.0p
Discount	11.1%	13.2%
Gross total assets	£117m	£129m
Net asset value (cum income)	560.5p	624.3p
Net asset value (ex income)	560.1p	610.7p
Gearing	2%	0%
Yield	3.30%	3.00%
Total Expense Ratio (ex performance fee)	0.96%	0.94%
Total Expense Ratio Inc performance fee)	1.45%	1.43%

(Source: Henderson/Factset/AIC)

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THE PORTFOLIO (Source: Henderson/Factset)

Top 10 Investments at 31 October 2011			Top 10 Investments at 31 July 2011
	% of total assets			% of total assets
Deutsche Post	4.4		Deutsche Post	4.5
Fresenius	3.8		Fresenius	4.2
Amadeus	3.0		Swedish Match	3.2
Ericsson	3.0		Amadeus	3.0
BIC	2.9		Ericsson	2.9
Brenntag	2.7		BIC	2.7
Linde	2.7		Linde	2.7
Saipem	2.4		SES	2.6
Sandvik	2.3		Saipem	2.5
Total	2.3		L'Oreal	2.5
	-------			-------
	29.5			30.8
	====			====

Geographic Breakdown

	% at 31 October 2011	% at  31 July 2011
Germany	28.9	33.0
France	22.6	21.1
Switzerland	18.5	19.8
Sweden	12.8	11.0
Spain	4.5	5.0
Italy	4.0	3.9
Others	8.7	6.2
	------	------
Total	100.0 ====	100.0 ====

Sector Breakdown

	% at 31 October 2011	% at  31 July 2011
Industrials	26.0	26.4
Health Care	15.3	14.1
Consumer Goods	12.6	13.8
Consumer Services	7.5	10.3
Technology	10.4	8.5
Financials	9.0	8.6
Oil & Gas	8.3	7.7
Basic Materials	7.2	6.8
Telecommunications	3.7	3.8
	------	-------
Total	100.0 ====	100.0 ====

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The objective of Henderson EuroTrust plc is to invest predominantly in large and medium sized companies which are perceived to be undervalued in view of their growth prospects or on account of a significant change in management or structure.  The Company's aim is to achieve a superior total return from a portfolio of high quality European investments.

The Manager is Henderson Global Investors Limited.   Further information on the Company, including an up to date net asset value and share price information, can be found on the Company's website at www.hendersoneurotrust.com.

For further information, please contact:

Tim Stevenson Fund Manager Henderson EuroTrust plc Telephone: [phone]
James de Sausmarez Head of Investment Trusts Henderson Global Investors Telephone: [phone]
Sarah Gibbons-Cook Investor Relations and PR Manager Henderson Global Investors Telephone: [phone]

-     ENDS -

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

 

END

 

 

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