Final Results

Midas Income & Growth Trust PLC 03 July 2007 MIDAS INCOME AND GROWTH TRUST PLC PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF AUDITED ANNUAL RESULTS for the year ended 30 April 2007 Chairman's Statement Highlights • Strong investment performance - diluted net asset value total return of 13% • Diluted net asset value return since change of investment objective and manager almost double benchmark of 8% per annum. • Shares traded at a premium to NAV throughout the year • Quarterly dividends increased by 5% • Further significant increase in size of Trust following a second successful C share issue Performance I am delighted to report that the Company's diluted net asset value total return for the period (including dividends) was 13.0%, which compares favourably with the benchmark return of 8.0%. The equivalent figures for the period since Midas Capital Partners ('Midas') were appointed as managers to the Trust, on 19 August 2005, is 27.2%, which is well ahead of the benchmark return of 13.9%. The share price advanced by 12.0% over the year, which with dividends reinvested, gave a total return of 15.8%. (Source: Bloomberg). The Trust's shares have traded at a premium throughout the year, averaging 4.8% and finishing the period at a 5.3% premium. Market and Investment Commentary Equity markets have experienced a generally positive environment despite two periods of weakness during the year. The first, and most severe setback, came in May and early June last year, with a less severe fall being seen in late February. On both occasions the catalyst had been sharp falls experienced by the Chinese market, which was further compounded by concerns regarding the slow-down of the economy in the United States. However, in both cases, markets recovered quickly and investors' appetite for equities continues to be fuelled by corporate activity, which now appears to be moving into a different gear, as larger deals become much more the norm. Equity valuations have become stretched in many areas and the Trust has moved to a more defensive position over the period. Overall equity exposure has been reduced slightly with more being invested in larger companies, particularly in the UK market where the very large companies have lagged the general market, resulting in valuations being more attractive. In this year's Interim Report I commented on the difficulties being experienced in bond markets. This poor environment has continued into the second half of the period. Prices have continued to fall in most of the major bond markets, as concerns about inflation have become more prevalent in investors' minds. Central Banks have raised rates to dampen further inflationary pressures. However, prices in shorter dated fixed interest stocks may now be discounting much of the potential for further interest rate rises. Corporate bond yields still do not appear to offer much value compared to the higher level of security provided by government issues. The opportunity has been taken during the period to make a further investment although emphasis has been on more specialised markets rather than conventional gilts and bonds. The UK Commercial Property market is showing some signs of fatigue, with yields in many key sectors looking very low following aggressive buying, mainly by overseas and retail investors. The Trust has reduced exposure over the course of the year ending the period with less than 2.5% invested in UK Property. However, several new overseas property investments have been made, with emphasis on the improving economies in Germany and Japan, where property values have been depressed for many years and where yields look considerably more attractive than in the UK. In addition, further investment has been made over the second half of the year in Hedge Funds which show a very low level of correlation with other assets and just after the period end an investment was made into a vehicle investing in global forestry assets, thus adding another level of diversification to the Trust's portfolio of investments. Exercise of Warrants There were 1,043,589 warrants exercised at 100p at the end of August, which leaves a further 2,034,111 in issue. Fund raising A second C share issue was successfully concluded in March 2007 with net proceeds of £21.6 million being raised. The C shares were converted to Ordinary shares on 27 April at the respective net asset values prevailing at that date. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both existing and new shareholders for supporting the issue, which will not only improve the liquidity of the Trust but also help towards a lower total expense ratio (TER) going forward. Gearing A further £1 million was drawn down in March from the Trust's existing borrowing facility, bringing the increase in borrowings over the course of the year to £1,750,000. Total borrowings were £4,250,000 at the end of the financial year. However, the growth in the Trust's assets during the year from both asset performance, the successful C share issue (which converted towards the end of April) together with the increase in assets following the exercise of warrants has resulted in gearing being maintained at 5%. Management Fee In addition to their basic fee of 1% of net assets, Midas are entitled to receive a performance fee of 10% of any returns in excess of the benchmark of 8% per annum since 14 February 2006. This benchmark has been exceeded by 6.9% during the reporting period, therefore Midas are entitled to a performance fee of £450,000. Dividends On 16 April a fourth interim dividend of 1.45p was declared, bringing the total dividends declared in respect of the year to 5.8p. The quarterly dividends paid during the year represented a 5% increase over the two quarterly dividends paid in the previous year. Your Board and manager fully appreciate the importance of the quarterly dividends to many of the Company's shareholders and remain committed to following a progressive dividend policy. Annual General Meeting This year's AGM will be held at One Bow Churchyard, Cheapside, London at 12.30p.m. on 11 September 2007. I would be delighted for shareholders to take this opportunity to meet with Board members and the investment manager over a post AGM buffet lunch. Outlook The slow-down in the United States appears mainly confined, at this stage at least, to the housing market and global growth is expected to remain at, or slightly above 2006 levels, despite the recent increases in interest rates in the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan. Equity markets are likely to demonstrate further volatility and some markets now look fully valued. However, corporate activity seems set to continue, with record levels of takeovers and ever larger deals offering comfort to investors. The Trust's investment objective remains challenging but the multi asset, highly diversified approach employed by Midas continues to offer the potential for attractive returns whilst also managing risk. H V Reid Chairman 3 July 2007 Manager's Review We are pleased to report that in the year to 30 April 2007 the Company's diluted net asset value total return was 13.0%. Over the same period the share price increased by 12.0%, and the total return was 15.8% including net dividends. These returns bear favourable comparison to not only the benchmark return for the year of 8.0%, but also the return from the FT All Share Index which gave a total return of 12.7%. Quarterly dividends have increased by 5% over those paid last year, establishing a progressive dividend policy, which we know is very important to the shareholders of the Trust. Since we took over the management of the Trust on 19 August 2005 the fully diluted NAV total return has been 27.2%, nearly doubling the benchmark return of 13.9%, whilst the shares have given a total return of 35.3% which has beaten the return from the FT All Share, which has produced a total return of 32.7% over that period. We are particularly pleased to note that the Trust has now traded at a premium to net asset value since late December 2005 and the average premium to net asset value over the current period has been 4.8%. Market Commentary This year has again turned out to be generally very positive for equity market returns, despite two distinct 'wobbles' in May/early June last year, and again in late February/early March this year. On both occasions the catalyst for the falls was a severe setback of the rampant Chinese equity market, which combined with more fundamental issues elsewhere, then caused ripples to spread to other equity markets around the world. However, these setbacks have been absorbed by investors, whose appetite for riskier assets appears unrequited. Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity has continued to provide succour to equity markets with corporate and private equity buyers competing for deals. In addition companies have been buying back shares as strong balance sheets and cash-flows have been used to shrink their equity bases. Whilst earnings growth appears to be slowing in the United States and United Kingdom, with growth prospects in both countries coming under scrutiny, there appears to be more reason to be hopeful in Europe, with Germany now emerging from many years of poor economic conditions. As with the US and UK, M&A activity has been strong in Europe and even Japanese investors may begin to see a pick up in corporate deals as the value 'valve' is finally released, particularly from real estate and possibly supported by a recovery in domestic consumption. Although on a number of key valuation measures the UK equity market has appeared static over recent years, this aggregate valuation is somewhat misleading. There has been a significant re-rating within the small and particularly mid sized company sectors, driven by a combination of higher profits, strong cash-flows and more competent management. However, the corporate activity has also been concentrated in this part of the market, driving valuations to historically higher levels than may be sensible at this point in the economic cycle. Meanwhile, the larger (so called 'mega cap') companies have seen their market valuations fall as investors have sought their equity exposure elsewhere. There now appears to be evidence that this trend may reverse as the strong financial position of the larger FTSE 100 constituents may begin to attract attention from the private equity industry, which is both awash with cash and struggling to justify valuations on smaller deals. In any event there now appears to be more latent potential in the larger cap universe, which will either be released by current management, or perhaps by others. Concerns over inflation have been prevalent, particularly to those central bank representatives entrusted with controlling price rises, and interest rates have been increased in most major economies over the course of the year. Commodity and energy prices rises look set to remain a feature as the emerging economies of China and India demand more resources. This more inflationary backdrop has weighed heavily on sentiment towards bond markets, which have turned from being seen as safe haven investments, to assets which will see their value eroded by any prolonged uplift in inflation. The dull environment for bonds seen in the first half of the period has turned into something of a rout in the second part of the year, with major losses being experienced in long dated issues. Whilst the rate of price falls can be expected to reduce, there can still be little confidence that yields will not have to rise further to reward investors properly for holding long dated, fixed return assets, especially from corporate issuers. UK commercial property has continued to attract interest from investors following several years of impressive performance. Headline yields have now come down to levels which make further yield compression unlikely. Whilst rental growth is still positive in many sectors, there would appear to be a need for a period of catch-up, as yields now look poor in comparison with cash, bonds and other 'real' assets. Although there is still evidence that money flows into property are positive, we feel that more astute investors will increasingly look elsewhere for their returns. Portfolio Report We have maintained our preference for equities throughout the year but have reduced exposure slightly over the course of the period. We have also changed the emphasis towards overseas equities to further diversify the portfolio, but also in the belief that sterling may come under some pressure later this year. The C share issue in March was used to move the UK equity portfolio exposure towards larger companies, where we now see greater value. Investment in alternative assets has been increased with even more attention being paid to investments with a strong degree of capital protection and low correlation with other assets held. Whilst property exposure has been increased slightly over the period, the UK commercial property element has been reduced in favour of more internationally based real estate opportunities. Fixed interest exposure has been reduced and new investment has been committed outside of the more conventional bond markets. Asset Allocation The asset allocation across the portfolio at 30 April 2007 is shown in the table below. Asset Class Portfolio Weight Core Allocation Allocation Range % % % UK Equities 36.6 35 20-50 Overseas Equities 16.3 15 10-20 Total equities 52.9 50 35-65 Fixed Interest (inc Cash) 20.1 25 15-40 Alternative Assets 16.2 15 10-20 Property 10.8 10 5-15 All figures are as % of Total (Gross) assets. UK Equities (36.6%) The UK market has developed something of a split personality over recent years, with the mid and small cap sectors being revalued, whilst their larger brethren have fallen from grace. This trend was still very much in evidence through the majority of this year, as merger activity swept across many mid cap sectors, and investors sought evidence of the next company to be acquired or taken private. However, the relative cheapness of the larger cap stocks and potential for leverage to be used to finance very large deals, has more recently thrown focus back onto the larger UK companies. Although investment in some of these companies still requires something of a leap of faith, there is little doubt that valuations offer good value. During the second half of the year, we have been selling some of our old favourites, which have been substantially re-rated, such as Wolverhampton & Dudley (now renamed Marstons) and Enterprise Inns. These remain well managed cash generative companies but they have been caught up in the market's search for property plays and we feel valuations, based on the prospects for their core businesses, are now full. We have then used the money raised to increase exposure to the very large companies (so called mega caps) such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, GlaxoSmithKline and Vodafone. This process was further advanced by deploying the C share proceeds towards these very large companies, whilst still ensuring that positions did not become too concentrated (shareholders may recall our strong belief in diversification). In general the UK portfolio has performed well over the period, with companies such as British Telecom, Scottish & Newcastle, Enterprise Inns, Halfords, Premier Foods and The Hotel Corporation providing excellent returns. More recently we have identified an apparent undervaluation not only in very large companies but also at the opposite end of the market in the very small (sub £100 million market cap) sector. To this end we have invested in Throgmorton Trust, which has significant exposure to this end of the market and trades on a worthwhile discount to its net asset value. There have been some disappointments during the year with the Trust's holdings in Royal Dutch, GlaxoSmithKline and HSBC showing small losses, whilst BP has been even more disappointing as they have managed to find a remarkable number of 'banana skins' which have led investors to lower their expectations for the company. However, we believe that valuations for these companies now represent good value and most potential disappointments are fully allowed for in prices. Europe continues to be an area offering considerable potential we believe for further corporate restructuring. With this in mind we have invested in ACP Capital, a company specialising in providing integrated financial solutions to mainly small and mid sized European companies. Remaining in the financial sectors our largest equity holding is now Legal & General, where we see an overcapitalised business, now growing strongly with potential to return considerable value to shareholders. We cannot leave the UK without some reference to the mining stocks, which have dominated sector performance over recent months, albeit with a very high level of volatility. We have been underweight within the UK equity portfolio, only holding BHP Billiton, but have preferred to have a broader based investment, in what we still believe to be a fundamentally attractive area, through the specialist managers at Blackrock, (Merrill Lynch Commodities Income Trust). European Equities (6.4%) European markets have performed well over the period supporting double digit returns and attracting the largest allocation within the Trust's international equity portfolio. At the country level the best performance came from Sweden, Germany and Spain, where markets showed 20% gains over the period. Laggards included Switzerland (mainly due to weak currency), the Netherlands and France. However even these markets supported gains in excess of 10%. Investment in European equities is held through three managers, all of whom have matched or beaten the headline market advance over the period. Emphasis has been very much on the small to mid cap area within Europe, where valuations appear more modest than in the UK. Of particular note has been the performance of the European Assets Trust, which through a combination of capital growth, dividend distributions and a narrowing discount, has produced a return of 25% over the period. As with our domestic market, larger companies have been lagging over recent years and it is likely that we will look to rebase holdings a little more towards larger companies early in the new financial year. United States Equities (1.8%) The United States market produced very satisfactory returns to US domestic investors over the period. However, the dollar weakened over the year to provide only anaemic returns to most international investors. The Trust entered the period with no direct allocation to the US market (although there was some exposure through international equity managers). However, investment was introduced through a Structured Product, issued by BNP Paribas, which offered an attractive yield of 7% with a limited exposure to the upside in some of the largest US companies. Importantly this product was hedged against further dollar falls and provided a degree of capital protection through a PUT option taken on the S&P 100 (the largest 100 companies in the United States). Later in the period, investment was increased in an unhedged version of this product, as we feel the US dollar may well perform better over the course of the coming year. Japanese Equities (3.0%) The Japanese market has been by far the worst performer of the major equity markets as conflicting signs of domestic recovery and severe Yen weakness have been met with little by way of policy response from the government. We continue to believe that value exists in corporate Japan, and feel that expected changes to the rules governing takeovers by foreign companies may well prove a catalyst to much needed M&A activity, currently largely absent from the Japanese landscape. The Trust's main exposure to Japan remains the Merrill Lynch Japan High Income Structured Product, which gives an attractive combination of capital protection, currency hedging (very important over the past year) and 1 for 1 participation in any rise in the TOPIX index. The Trust also invests in the actively managed fund run by Close Finsbury and managed by Michael Lindsell, a manager with many years' experience of investing in Japan. This fund performed well relative to the market but saw gains pared by falls in the Yen. Other International Equities (5.1%) The Trust also has equity exposure through a range of diversely invested specialist investment trusts investing in Asian equities (Aberdeen Asian Income Fund), water and power industries worldwide (Ecofin Water & Power) and commodities (Merrill Lynch Commodities Income Trust). Of particular note was the Ecofin holding which produced a very healthy return of 46%. Fixed Interest (18.8%) Bond markets have been under pressure during the period and returns from this part of the portfolio have, on the whole, been pedestrian. However, the Trust's largest holding, the M&G Leveraged European Loan Fund, has produced a return of over 11%, fully justifying our decision to seek fixed interest exposure beyond the conventional bond markets. On a similar theme we invested in ACP Mezzanine (offering mezzanine finance to smaller European companies) and CQS Rig Finance Fund (a company investing in bonds issued to finance oil and gas infrastructure), both of which have provided solid returns. Preference share holdings have also produced satisfactory returns although they have seen price falls after the period end as longer dated bond markets have come under extreme pressure. The Trust's holding in Real Estate Opportunities Convertible has produced very strong returns, as the bond has now moved to reflect the strong gains being seen in the underlying shares of the Dublin based property company. Alternative Assets (7.8%) The most significant addition to the portfolio during the year was the investment in A J Bell Holdings, an unquoted company based in Manchester. The company is one of the market leaders in the provision of services to the fast growing SIPP market. The transaction was made in August at just over 100p per share, which offered a very attractive entry price to this fast growing company. In March Invesco Perpetual took a 15% stake in the business at 200p per share. This third party transaction enabled the holding to be written up to 200p, nearly double the price we had paid seven months earlier. We still believe there to be significant further potential for this holding and returns will be commensurate with the additional risk taken with any unquoted investment. On a less positive note the Trust's holding in Aberdeen Development Capital, a company involved in investing development capital to private companies, experienced a difficult year, with several portfolio write downs and one very large write off. We have had several meetings with the manager and believe the situation has stabilised and there remains potential for significant returns from the rest of their unquoted equity portfolio. Hedge fund exposure was increased during the second half of the year through an investment in Acencia Debt Strategies Limited, which invests across a range of managers involved in debt markets around the world. The Fund manager has demonstrated an ability to deliver low double digit returns with low volatility and little correlation with either equity or, more surprisingly, bond markets. The Fund will also deliver up to 3.5% of annual net asset value increases by way of a dividend. The Trust continues to hold exposure to gold through an investment in the CF Ruffer Baker Steel Gold Fund, which invests in small and mid sized producers on a global basis. The investment has disappointed over the course of the year as the price of Gold has shown only a small rise. However, we still believe that the case for Gold exposure in a portfolio remains strong and are hopeful that the increasingly tight supply and increased demand will lead to advances over the next 12 months. Structured Products (8.4%) Several further investments have been made in structured products during the year. All have in common the potential to produce a defined return coupled with very strong levels of capital protection. Potential for returns vary from 7% to 16.3% with varying degrees of risk and generally have very little correlation with either bond or equity markets at the point of investment. The most significant new investment during the year was in a one year note issued by Barclays Capital and offering a dividend of 16.3%, which is paid quarterly, provided any one of a basket of three companies, in this case Rio Tinto, Billiton and GlaxoSmithKline, do not fall by 30% during the year. Capital is protected unless one of the stocks breaches this level. Importantly the dividend is guaranteed. In this case we commissioned the note following the fall in markets in late February and we felt confident that all stocks had limited downside from that point. All three companies are now trading well above the levels at which this product was struck. Property (10.8%) The Trust's property holdings have made a major contribution to returns over the year. Interests now encompass a very diverse range of both commercial and residential investments, although through the year we have been reducing the Trust's exposure to UK commercial property. The most impressive performance seen during the year belongs to Dolphin Capital, a developer of high end resorts in Greece, Cyprus and Croatia. The company is managed by a very impressive and entrepreneurial team, who were previously part of the George Soros property empire. The Trust invested in a placing made by the company in October at 93p and the shares have risen sharply as the news-flow on new projects have pointed to the quality of the company's assets. The shares stood at 160p by the period end and have moved to even higher levels over recent weeks. Other property investments made during the year include Summit Germany, which has seen a strong run as the relative attractions of the German commercial property market have become more widely appreciated; Dawnay Day Carpathian, where the Trust's holding was increased following the C share issue in March with the company investing in shopping centres throughout Eastern Europe, where there remains huge potential to create value as yields converge with the more developed Western European markets; and in December we commissioned Credit Suisse to create a Structured Product which would give the Trust exposure to a basket of quoted Japanese residential real estate investment trusts (REITs), which were then trading at a significant discount to the value of their underlying property portfolios. This product provides 222% participation to any upward move in the basket of 10 REITs together with full currency hedging and capital protection up to a fall of 40% in that basket. Other areas of exposure for the Trust include German residential property and infrastructure assets in the UK, Europe and Australia. Outlook As we enter the fifth year of the current bull market for equities, there remains support for further advances, as recent interest rate rises around the world have still left monetary and economic conditions accommodative to further gains. Although headline valuations offer succour to this view, there are now some distinct pockets of forward looking pricing beginning to appear. With further interest rate hikes likely in the UK and Europe (and possibly the United States) over the course of the next year, there will be considerable attention on the inflation figures, which show more signs of stress than for many years. We commented in last year's annual report that the investment environment would become more challenging and this remains our belief. However, we continue to feel optimistic that we are able to identify enough investment opportunities to again look forward to further positive returns for the Trust's shareholders. Returns will continue to be achieved with a strong emphasis on capital preservation and from a broadly diversified range of assets. 3 July 2007 Midas Capital Partners Limited AUDITED INCOME STATEMENT Year ended 30 April 2007 Year ended 30 April 2006 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Gains on investments - 6,365 6,365 - 4,373 4,373 Income 2,892 - 2,892 1,330 - 1,330 Investment management fee (342) (342) (684) (213) (214) (427) Performance fee - (450) (450) - (61) (61) Administrative expenses (307) - (307) (432) (156) (588) Exchange losses - (23) (23) - (4) (4) Net return on ordinary activities before 2,243 5,550 7,793 685 3,938 4,623 interest payable and taxation Finance costs (105) (524) (629) (82) (653) (735) Return on ordinary activities before 2,138 5,026 7,164 603 3,285 3,888 taxation Taxation - - - - - - Return on ordinary activities after 2,138 5,026 7,164 603 3,285 3,888 taxation Return per share (pence): Basic 6.40 15.04 21.44 3.75 20.44 24.19 Diluted 6.22 14.62 20.84 3.54 19.29 22.83 The total column of this statement represents the profit & loss account of the Company. All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the year. A Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses has not been prepared as all gains and losses are recognised in the Income Statement. AUDITED BALANCE SHEET As at As at 30 April 2007 30 April 2006 £'000 £'000 Non-current assets Investments at fair value through profit or loss 84,861 55,537 Current assets Debtors and prepayments 839 367 Cash and short term deposits 1,614 272 2,453 639 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Bank loan (4,250) (2,500) Other creditors (1,608) (206) (5,858) (2,706) Net current liabilities (3,405) (2,067) Net assets 81,456 53,470 Capital and reserves Called-up share capital 11,564 8,147 Share premium account 40,918 22,067 Special reserve 10,538 10,538 Warrant reserve 648 980 Capital reserve - realised 10,468 8,527 Capital reserve - unrealised 6,528 2,688 Revenue reserve 792 523 Equity Shareholders' funds 81,456 53,470 Net asset value per share (pence): Basic 176.10 164.07 Diluted 172.90 158.54 AUDITED RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS For the year ended 30 April 2007 Share Share Special Warrant Capital Capital Revenue premium reserve - reserve - capital account reserve reserve realised unrealised reserve Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Balance at 30 April 2006 8,147 22,067 10,538 980 8,527 2,688 523 53,470 C shares issued 3,156 18,491 - - - - - 21,647 C share issue expenses - (423) - - 423 - - - Exercise of Warrants 261 783 - (332) 332 - - 1,044 Return on ordinary activities after - - - - 1,186 3,840 2,138 7,164 taxation Dividends paid (see note 2) - - - - - - (1,869) (1,869) Balance at 30 April 2007 11,564 40,918 10,538 648 10,468 6,528 792 81,456 For the year ended 30 April 2006 Share Share Special Warrant Capital Capital Revenue premium reserve - reserve - capital account reserve reserve realised unrealised reserve Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Balance at 30 April 2005 (restated) 3,984 - 10,536 981 550 6,832 220 23,103 C shares issued 4,162 22,614 - - - - - 26,776 C share issue expenses - (547) - - 547 - - - Exercise of Warrants 1 - 2 (1) 1 - - 3 Return on ordinary activities after - - - - 7,429 (4,144) 603 3,888 taxation Dividends paid (see note 2) - - - - - - (300) (300) Balance at 30 April 2006 8,147 22,067 10,538 980 8,527 2,688 523 53,470 The revenue reserve represents the amount of the Company's reserves distributable by way of dividend. AUDITED CASH FLOW STATEMENT Year ended Year ended 30 April 2007 30 April 2006 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating activities 1,956 (9) Servicing of finance Bank and loan interest paid (191) (202) Financial investment Purchases of investments (36,491) (57,812) Sales of investments 13,942 32,242 Net cash outflow from financial investment (22,549) (25,570) Equity dividends paid (1,869) (300) Net cash outflow before financing (22,653) (26,081) Financing Share capital issued - C shares 21,647 26,776 Share capital issue expenses (423) (547) Loan breakage costs - (27) Exercise of Warrants 1,044 3 Net cash inflow from financing 22,268 26,205 (Decrease)/increase in cash (385) 124 Reconciliation of net cash flow to movements in net debt (Decrease)/increase in cash as above (385) 124 Exchange movements (23) (4) Movement in net debt in the year (408) 120 Net debt at 1 May (2,228) (2,348) Net debt at 30 April (2,636) (2,228) Notes: 1. Income 2007 2006 £'000 £'000 Income from investments UK franked income 1,412 795 UK unfranked income 854 112 Overseas dividends 575 235 2,841 1,142 Other income Deposit interest 43 92 Treasury Bill interest - 96 Other commission 8 - 51 188 Total income 2,892 1,330 2. Dividends 2007 2006 £'000 £'000 Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period: Final dividend for 2005 - 0.50p - 80 Second interim dividend for 2006 - 1.38p (2005 - nil) 220 - Special C share dividend for 2006 - 0.75p (2005 - nil) 201 - First interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p (2006 - 1.38p) 473 220 Second interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p 488 - Third interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p 487 - 1,869 300 There is no final dividend proposed for the year (2006 - nil). We set out below the total dividends paid and proposed in respect of the financial year, which is the basis on which the requirements of Section 842 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 are considered. The revenue available for distribution by way of dividend for the year is £2,123,000 (2006 - £603,000). 2007 2006 £'000 £'000 To Ordinary Shareholders prior to C share conversion : First interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p (2006 - 1.38p) 473 220 Second interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p (2006 - 1.38p) 488 220 Third interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p (2006 - nil) 487 - Fourth interim dividend for 2007 - 1.45p (2006 - nil) 488 - To C Shareholders: Special dividend for 2007 - 0.4p (2006 - 0.75p) 87 201 2,023 641 3. The financial information above comprises non-statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The financial information for the year ended 30 April 2006 has been extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts of the Company which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors' report on those accounts was unqualified and contained no statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The auditors have reported on the statutory accounts for 2007 and their report is unqualified and contained no statement under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. Those accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Company's Annual General Meeting which will be held at, One Bow Churchyard, Cheapside, London EC4M 9HH on 11 September 2007 at 12.30 p.m. 4. Copies of the Annual Report will be posted to all Shareholders in due course and further copies may be obtained from the Registered Office, One Bow Churchyard, Cheapside, London EC4M 9HH. Aberdeen Asset Management PLC Secretaries 3 July 2007 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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