Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 6560A

Montanaro European Smaller C.TstPLC

03 February 2011

 



Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust plc

Interim Management Statement

For the Period from 1 October 2010 to 3 February 2011

Investment Objective

Montanaro European Smaller Companies Trust plc aims to achieve capital growth by investing principally in European quoted smaller companies.

Performance Summary

Capital Return	As at 31 December 2010	As at  30 September 2010	Movement
Net asset value (000's)	£85,894	£75,630	+13.6%
Net asset value per share	518.27p	456.34p	+13.6%
Benchmark*	181.75	160.85	+13.0%
Share price	453.00p	401.00p	+13.0%
Discount	-12.6%	-12.1%
Net gearing	8.8%	12.6%

* MSCI Europe SmallCap (ex UK) Index (in Sterling terms)

Review for the Period

The Company's net asset value per share increased by 13.6% during the three month period ended 31 December 2010. This compares to an increase of 13.0% in the benchmark index.

The European SmallCap market finished the year strongly. Within the region, there was strong GDP data reported by the Northern European countries. However, this is in marked contrast to Southern Europe where problems persist and investors remain concerned in particular about Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece. Company announcements during the quarter continued to be positive with over 80% of companies beating earnings expectations, and nearly 60% of companies raising earnings targets.

Within the portfolio, the best performing stocks included Lem (Swiss electric current measurement business) which is likely to be a major beneficiary of rising energy prices as companies look to use their energy resources more efficiently; Outotec, (Finnish consultant to the global mining industry) which has seen a significant improvement in its order book; and Virbac (French veterinary products) which announced sales and profits numbers well ahead of consensus.

Top Ten Holdings as at 31 December 2010

Company	Country	Percentage of total assets
Fuchs Petrolub	Germany	3.4
AF Group	Sweden	3.2
Outotec	Finland	3.2
Viscofan	Spain	3.1
GFK	Germany	3.0
Virbac	France	3.0
Fugro	Netherlands	3.0
Lem	Switzerland	3.0
Christian Hansen	Denmark	2.7
Prosegur Seguridad	Spain	2.6
Total		30.2

Geographical Analysis as at 31 December 2010

Country	Percentage of total assets
Germany	15.5
Sweden	14.9
Finland	12.8
France	10.7
Switzerland	9.0
Spain	7.1
Netherlands	6.4
Norway	5.2
Austria	3.7
Ireland	2.9
Denmark	2.7
Italy	2.5
Greece	2.2
Belgium	1.1
Liquidity	3.3
Total	100.0

Sector Distribution as at 31 December 2010

Sector	Percentage of total assets
Industrials	32.9
Consumer Discretionary	13.9
Energy	12.5
Healthcare	10.7
Financials	9.1
Information Technology	8.4
Materials	6.1
Consumer Staples	3.1
Liquidity	3.3
Total	100.0

Dividend

An interim dividend in respect of the year ended 31 March 2011, of 1.75p per share, was paid on 7 January 2011.

The Board is not aware of any other significant events or transactions which have occurred since 31 December 2010 and the date of publication of this statement which would have a material impact on the financial position of the Company.

Daily and Key Information

This statement and further information regarding the Company, including monthly factsheets, can be found at the Manager's website: www.montanaro.co.uk.

For further information please contact:

Charles Montanaro

Montanaro Asset Management Limited

Tel: [phone]

 

END

 

 

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