Net Asset Value Update

RNS Number : 8782V

Athol Gold and Value Limited

18 January 2013

 



ATHOL GOLD & VALUE LIMITED

("Athol" or the "Company")

NET ASSET VALUE UPDATE

The Board of Athol announces that Net Asset Value of the Company as at 30 September 2012 was 0.14p per share. 

The Company's portfolio of mining and resources investments has performed reasonably well over the past three months, however one significant legacy asset, Ascot Mining plc, has underperformed significantly, and was responsible for the greater part of the decline in NAV from 0.16p at the end of the last quarter.

Athol currently holds 2.6 million Ascot shares, a reduction of just under 50 per cent of the peak holding of 5.1 million shares.

The Board of Athol has managed to reduce the Company's investment in Ascot at significantly higher prices than the current price, thereby minimising further losses.

However, the total loss the Company suffered in the value of Ascot shares across the whole of 2012 amounted to just over £500,000. The Company's investment in Ascot warrants also caused a loss of £157,000 to the portfolio.

At the time of reporting the company holds £633,000 in cash, following the return of the final amounts owing from Rivington Street Holdings plc. It is the intention of the Board to deploy this money rapidly in the mining and oil and gas space to take advantage of the wide discounting that is currently prevalent in the sector. The Directors of Athol believe that it is a stock pickers' market, but that there are also great bargains to be had. 

As at 31st December, the Company's major investments were as follows:

•           656,703 units in Sharefunds T1ps Growth Fund, representing 29% of the portfolio

•           97,723 units in the Sharefunds T1ps Gold Fund, representing 4.8% of the portfolio

•           A loan note to Silvermere Energy, representing 20% of the portfolio

•           584,800 shares in Jubilee Platinum, representing 3% of the portfolio

·              14,000 Toro Gold, representing 3% of the portfolio

The Company also holds smaller investments in Mwana Africa, Anglo Pacific, Northland Resources, Carpathian Gold, Aquarius Platinum, Aureus Mining, ZincOx, EMED, Amara, and in the Ishares Physical Gold ETF.

Your Board regards these companies as among the most promising in the junior resources space, and may well seek to increase its exposure to these companies if buying opportunities present themselves. It is especially gratifying to note that after the Company switched around 3.5% of the portfolio into platinum, the platinum price has reached a three month high.

Your Board continues to believe that gold equities offer significant value at current levels, having been severely discounted in a market where the gold price remains strong and in which ETFs continue to trade higher. It remains the view of Athol Gold that the gap between equity valuations and the gold price will close.

The current weighting of the portfolio by commodity is as follows:

Oil & Gas: 16%

Gold: 12.5%

Platinum: 3.5%

Base metals: 2%

Coal and other commodities: 2%

Cash: 33%

Other: 31%

Athol also holds 4.3 million shares in Sutherland Health Group, valued at £51,600 at the end of December, as well as a £100,000 eight per cent convertible loan note in Chapel Down plc, both of which under the terms of the mandate are regarded as non-core.

It should also be noted that the Board regards the holding in the Sharefunds T1ps Growth Fund as non-core, and that a phased programme of redemption, conducted on an orderly market basis is already underway.

Jennifer Allsop, chairperson of Athol, commented: "While we are disappointed at this quarter's NAV, we are optimistic that the Company has put the worst of its issues behind it and is now well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities offered in the current market".

For further information please call:

Athol Gold and Value Limited
Jennifer Allsop	[phone]
Libertas Capital Corporate Finance Limited
Sandy Jamieson	[phone]
XCAP Securities plc
John Grant / Jon Belliss	[phone]

 

END

 

 

NAVBPMLTMBABMJJ