Final Results

Personal Assets Trust PLC
20 May 2005



PERSONAL ASSETS TRUST PLC



To:                   RNS

From:              Personal Assets Trust plc

Date:               20 May 2005


Preliminary Results (unaudited) for the year to 30 April 2005


The Directors of Personal Assets Trust (PAT) are pleased to announce the Group's
unaudited preliminary results for the year to 30 April 2005.


The key points are as follows:



•           PAT is run to meet the requirements of individual investors who wish
to commit a significant proportion of their capital to an investment trust.



•           The Company has experienced a strong demand for its ISA and
Investment Plans.  During the year the Company issued 40,882 new Ordinary
Shares, raising £9.0 million.



•         Since PAT became independently managed in 1990 the Board has chosen to
measure PAT's performance over rolling three-year periods.  Over the three years
to 30 April 2005 the net asset value per share rose by 8.8 per cent compared to
the FTSE All-Share Index's fall of 4.6 per cent, an outperformance of 14.0 per
cent.



•           Over the year to 30 April 2005 PAT's net asset value per share rose
by 5.3 per cent.  This compares to a rise of 7.1 per cent in the Company's
benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index.  PAT's share price rose by £10.25 during
the year and at 30 April 2005 was £224.75.



•           During the year, PAT continued to maintain a high level of effective
liquidity (30 April 2005: 35  per cent, 30 April 2004: 31  per cent).



•         The Directors intend PAT's annual dividend rate to grow at least in
line with inflation. Two interim dividends have been declared during the year,
totalling £3.40 per ordinary share.  Together these represent an increase of 9.7
per cent over the corresponding payments for the previous year and compare to
inflation of 3.2 per cent.  The second interim dividend of £1.80 per share will
be paid on  27 May 2005.



•           The Board's stated policy is never to cut the dividend rate, so that
shareholders can be confident that each half-yearly payment will at least equal
the previous one.  Therefore, the first interim dividend for the year to 30
April 2006, expected to be paid in November 2005, will be at least £1.80 per
share and total dividends for the year to 30 April 2006 will be not less than
£3.60 per share.



The Chairman, Robert White, said:



'It has been possible to make money this past year and to a modest extent we
have done so, reflected in a £101/4 rise in our share price to £2243/4. Readers
of our Quarterlies will be aware, however, that we continue to take a bearish
view of equity markets. This is not solely, or even mainly, because of political
factors.  However, the result of the General Election earlier in the month makes
it even less likely that our view will change.



It is mildly astonishing to listen to Messrs. Blair and Brown tell us about the
outstanding success of the economy when the stockmarket is scarcely higher than
it was eight years ago and unproductive public spending has grown considerably.
As if this were not enough, most people have finally woken up to the fact that
their pension funds are in deep trouble, the consequence of the static
stockmarket and Gordon Brown's tax takeaway (now amounting to over £40 billion).
One cannot but wonder for how long an economy can be sustained on an ever higher
public sector payroll coupled with a consumer boom fuelled by borrowings secured
on house prices now far removed from long term trends.



Our liquidity together with our lack of exposure to smaller stocks meant that we
marginally underperformed our benchmark over the past year. We remain, however,
usefully ahead of our preferred measure, a three year rolling average, although
we are aware that even this yardstick can have its technical drawbacks and Robin
tells me he intends to examine these before long in a Quarterly. Furthermore, we
have been able to declare a substantial increase of nearly 10% in the dividend,
well ahead of inflation at 3.2% and our highest rate of increase in nearly a
decade. The minimum dividend we shall pay for the year to 30 April 2006 (the
sixteenth consecutive year in which we shall have increased our dividend) will
in consequence be nearly 6% higher at £3.60. This is more than three and a half
times the rate of dividend that was being paid when Personal Assets became
self-managed in 1990. During the bubble five years ago, dividends were regarded
as irrelevant. Investors should never forget that dividends are nothing less
than the lifeblood of equity valuation. If investment fundamentals leave the
stage, it's usually only to take an encore!



Our zero-charge investment plans continue to attract sizeable funds (£9 million
in this past year). Happily, Gordon Brown has (if only in this respect) seen the
error of his ways, restored the maximum ISA subscription to £7,000 and confirmed
that annual ISAs will remain in existence at least until 2011. As indicated in
Quarterly No. 34 last September, we are now adding to the range of options
offered in our Investment Plan a Cash Income Option whereby investors can choose
to receive an annual 4%, 7% or 10% of the initial amount they commit to this
option as a quarterly cash income from the sale of shares. Planholders can be
confident that the workings of the Cash Income Option will never cause shares to
be sold on their behalf at a significant discount. As Robin points out in
Quarterly No. 37 the shares of Personal Assets have not sold at more than a
nominal discount since the spring of 1995, a record in which we take
considerable pride. To keep costs to a minimum, the Cash Income Option is
available only to those shareholders who wish to withdraw a minimum of £1,000
per quarter.



In conclusion, I am pleased to welcome those shareholders who joined us when we
were invited last year by the Board of Private Investors Capital Trust ('PICT')
to provide a roll-over option into Personal Assets shares at a small premium to
net asset value. This proved to be the preferred option of holders of over 20%
of PICT's share capital.'





For further information contact:



Ian Rushbrook
Managing Director
Tel:  [phone]



The Group's Statement of Total Return, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement
follow.


GROUP STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN
(Incorporating the Revenue Account)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2005






                                                                              Revenue      Capital        Total
                                                                                £'000        £'000        £'000

Gains on investments                                                                -        2,222        2,222
Gains on derivative arrangements                                                    -        1,924        1,924
Exchange differences                                                                -        3,824        3,824
Income                                                                          3,097            -        3,097
Expenses                                                                        (775)        (837)      (1,612)

Return on ordinary activities before tax                                        2,322        7,133        9,455

Tax on ordinary activities                                                       (76)           41         (35)

Return attributable to ordinary shareholders                                    2,246        7,174        9,420

Dividends in respect of ordinary shares                                       (2,263)            -      (2,263)

Transfer (from)/to reserves                                                      (17)        7,174        7,157

Return per share                                                                £3.41       £10.88       £14.29







GROUP STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN
(Incorporating the Revenue Account)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL 2004




                                                                               Revenue     Capital         Total
                                                                                 £'000       £'000         £'000

Gains on investments                                                                 -       3,355         3,355
Gains on derivative arrangements                                                     -       6,013         6,013
Exchange differences                                                                 -       4,393         4,393
Income                                                                           3,358          12         3,370
Expenses                                                                         (729)       (696)       (1,425)

Return on ordinary activities before tax                                         2,629      13,077        15,706

Tax on ordinary activities                                                       (257)         209          (48)

Return attributable to ordinary shareholders                                     2,372      13,286        15,658

Dividends in respect of ordinary shares                                        (1,935)           -       (1,935)

Transfer to reserves                                                               437      13,286        13,723

Return per share                                                                 £3.98      £22.31        £26.29







GROUP BALANCE SHEET AT 30 APRIL                                                 2005                   2004
                                                                               £'000                  £'000



Investments                    - equities                                     62,114                 54,160
                               - fixed interest                               62,768                 73,078
                               - other investments                            21,289                  5,073
                                                                             146,171                132,311

Net Current Assets                                                             3,663                  2,459

Total Assets                                                                 149,834                134,770

Equity Shareholders' Funds                                                   149,834                134,770

Net Asset Value per share                                                    £221.26                £210.17



GROUP CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 APRIL                                2005                 2004
                                                                                    £'000                £'000
Operating activities

Investment income received                                                          2,648                2,509

Deposit interest received                                                             382                  628

Other income                                                                           48                   66

Expenses                                                                          (1,706)              (1,389)

Net cash inflow from operating activities                                           1,372                1,814

Taxation                                                                             (20)                 (30)


Capital expenditure and financial investment

Purchase of FTSE 100 Futures                                                          (9)                 (12)

Disposal of FTSE 100 Futures                                                        4,006               11,730

Purchase of investments                                                         (347,720)            (138,435)

Disposal of investments                                                           336,082               96,151
Net cash outflow from capital expenditure and financial investment                (7,641)             (30,566)

Dividends paid on ordinary shares                                                 (2,070)              (1,749)



Financing

Allotment of new shares                                                             8,969               16,723

Shares bought back                                                                (1,062)                    -

Net cash inflow from financing                                                      7,907               16,723



Decrease in cash                                                                    (452)             (13,808)



Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds

Decrease in cash                                                                    (452)             (13,808)

Effect of foreign exchange rates                                                      126                7,769

Change in net funds                                                                 (326)              (6,039)

Net funds at beginning of year                                                      6,201               12,240

Net funds at end of year                                                            5,875                6,201




Notes:



1.      Return per ordinary share is based on a weighted average of 659,358
ordinary shares in issue during the year (2004 - 595,622).



2.      Net asset value per ordinary share is based on the 677,185 ordinary
shares in issue as at 30 April 2005 (2004 - 641,253).



3.      During the year the Directors allotted 40,882 ordinary shares and bought
for cancellation 4,950 ordinary shares.



4.      At 30 April 2005 the sterling value of the US Treasury Strip and US
Equity exposure was protected by a forward currency contract.



5.      These are not full accounts in terms of Section 240 of the Companies Act
1985.  Full audited accounts for the year to 30 April 2004, which were
unqualified, have been lodged with the Registrar of Companies.  No full accounts
in respect of any period after 30 April 2004 have been reported on by the
Company's auditors or delivered to the Registrar of Companies.



6.      The Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to Shareholders during May
2005.  Copies will be available from the Company's registered office at 80
George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3BU.




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