Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9086F

Martin Currie Global Portfolio Tst

30 May 2013

 



Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust plc

Interim Management Statement

1 February 2013 - 30 April 2013

Manager's commentary

Global stockmarkets performed strongly over the three-month period, with monetary stimulus around the world proving to be a powerful driver of asset prices. Despite political issues like sequestration in the US and the obvious Italian disquiet regarding austerity - as reflected in the chaotic election result there - the FTSE World index rose 7.3% in sterling terms.

The portfolio lagged its benchmark, gaining 5.5% over the three months. With worries over commodity prices making it a weak period for the materials sector, the biggest detractors from our performance were global diversified miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. Cognizant, the IT-services group, also underperformed; new US legislation being proposed on visa restrictions may impact the company, which uses Indian workers in its outsourcing business model.

Financials proved the strongest-performing sector for the Trust. In line with other Japanese equities that have recently benefited from the new government's pro-growth strategy, the financial companies Orix and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group provided some of our best relative performance. The biggest contributor overall was the telecommunications company M1, which impressed the market with its first-quarter results.

During the period, we bought new holdings in Orix (mentioned above), Norwegian bank DNB, Samsung Electronics in Korea, French energy-management company Schneider Electric, and Toyota. On the sales side, we exited Babcock International, F&C Private Equity Trust, NII Holdings, Tesco, Ultra Petroleum and Union Pacific.

Tom Walker

Profile as at 30 April 2013

Objective: To achieve long-term capital growth in excess of the capital return of the FTSE World index.

Benchmark: FTSE World index

Sector: Global growth

Launch: 1999

Portfolio

Asset class          31 Jan    30 Apr

Equities                99.5%    98.1%

Cash                        0.5%       1.9%

Equity allocation                              31 Jan    30 Apr

North America                                    51.0%    48.0%

Europe                                                   30.2%    28.3%

Asia Pacific ex Japan                        10.4%    11.9%

Japan                                                        3.7%      7.8%

Emerging Markets                                4.7%      4.0%

Top 10 equity holdings (26.1% of total portfolio)

Philip Morris International 3.3%

Royal Dutch Shell 2.8%

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial 2.7%

Pfizer 2.7%

United Technologies 2.6%

Apple 2.5%

Taiwan Semiconductor 2.5%

LyondellBasell 2.4%

Prudential 2.3%

Seadrill 2.3%

Number of holdings        58

Number of countries       17

Key facts

Total net assets £168.6m

Share price (p) 154.8

Net asset value per share (p) 162.4

Discount (premium) 4.7%

Estimated net yield 2.5%

Source for historic yield: State Street as at 30 April 2013. The historic yield reflects dividends declared over the past 12 months as a percentage of the mid-market share, as at the date shown. Investors may be subject to tax on their dividends.

Performance

Discrete performance over 12 months to 30 April

	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009
Share Price	23.9%	2.9%	7.6%	34.6%	(25.0%)
NAV	18.5%	1.1%	11.5%	38.5%	(31.0%)
Benchmark	21.4%	(2.5%)	13.7%	36.6%	(26.9%)

Cumulative performance over periods to 30 April 2013

One month	Three months	Six months	One year	Three years	Five years
Share Price	0.7%	5.0%	10.1%	23.9%	37.2%	38.5%
NAV	1.0%	5.5%	12.4%	18.5%	33.6%	27.7%
Benchmark	0.6%	7.3%	18.3%	21.4%	34.6%	34.5%

Source: Martin Currie and Morningstar. Bid to bid basis with net income reinvested over the periods shown in sterling terms. These figures do not include the costs of buying and selling shares in an investment trust. If these were included, performance figures would be reduced.

Prior to 31 May 2011 the Trust's benchmark was the FTSE All-Share index and the FTSE World index thereafter.  Past performance is not a guide to future returns.

The NAV stated in our reporting is inclusive of current year revenue.

Capital structure

Ordinary shares 103,794,548*

*Source: Martin Currie as at 30 April 2013.

Board of Directors

Neil Gaskell (Chairman)

Gillian Nott

David Kidd

Ben Thomson

Mike Balfour

Gillian Watson

Key information

Year end  - 31 January

Annual general meeting  - May

Final dividend paid  - June

Interim dividend paid - October

Annual management fee as at  - 31 January 2013†  - 0.5%

Total expense ratio 31 January 2013*  - 0.8%

TIDM code  - MNP

Reuters code  - MNP.L

†Percentage of net assets.

*Percentage of shareholders' funds. Includes annual management and performance fees, where relevant.

Material events and transactions

During the period, the Company bought back 645,000 shares to be held in treasury.

On 1 April 2013, Gillian Watson was appointed as a director of the Company. Ben Thomson retired on 21 May 2013 after twelve years on the Board.

At the AGM on 21 May 2013, the members approved the directors' recommendation to pay a final dividend of 2.70p per share for the year ended 31 January 2013, which will be paid on 21 June 2013 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 31 May 2013. On 21 May 2013, the Company also announced a move to paying quarterly dividends. The first interim dividend of 0.9p for the year ended 31 January 2014 will be on 26 July 2013 to shareholders on the register on the 5 July 2013. Thereafter, quarterly dividends will be paid in October, January and April.

Website

The Trust has its own website at www.martincurrieglobal.com. There you will find further details about the Trust, information on Martin Currie, daily share prices (and associated risks), and you can access regular webcasts by the manager.

Net asset value and dividend history

As at 31 January	Share price	NAV per share	Discount/ (premium)	Dividend per share
2000	89.5p	110.0p	18.6%	1.42p
2001	101.0p	115.7p	12.7%	1.47p
2002	80.5p	89.9p	10.5%	1.50p
2003	57.8p	65.1p	11.2%	1.55p
2004	79.0p	83.0p	4.8%	1.87p
2005	85.0p	91.5p	7.1%	1.99p*
2006	109.0p	116.9p	6.8%	2.20p
2007	117.3p	127.5p	8.0%	2.40p
2008	124.3p	134.8p	7.8%	2.60p
2009	89.8p	93.1p	3.5%	3.50p
2010	113.5p	122.2p	7.1%	3.50p
2011	125.0p	135.5p	7.7%	3.50p
2012	129.0p	139.2p	7.3%	3.70p
2013	147.4p	152.6p	3.4%	3.90p

*Plus special dividend of 1.61p.

Past performance is not a guide to future returns.

 

END

 

 

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