HARGREAVE HALE AIM VCT1 PLC: Interim Management...
HARGREAVE HALE AIM VCT 1 PLC
Interim Management Statement
This statement covers the period from 1 April 2011 to the date of the release of
the statement on 17 August 2011.
As at close of business on 12 August 2011, the unaudited Net Asset Value (NAV)
for
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT 1 plc was as follows:
NAV per Ordinary 1p share - 60.63 pence.
Trading Statement (Qtr to 30 June 2011)
In the third quarter of the financial year the NAV rose from 67.6p to 68.6p, a
rise of 1.41%. Â By way of comparison, the FTSE 100 rose a marginal 0.63%, FTSE
Small Cap (Ex-IT) rose 1.15% whilst AIM saw a loss of -4.81%. For investors into
the 2004/5 Ordinary Share issue, the total return increased from 88.6p to
89.6p. Â For investors that came into the 2005/6 Convertible Share issue, the
total return increased from 95.7p to 96.8p.
We have continued to make selective investments in qualifying companies, adding
Microsaic (mass spectrometry) and Indeed (online property conveyancing service)
whilst completing the disposal of Rotala, Photonstar, Energetix and Invu. We
also lost Sports Media, which went into administration. We ended the quarter
with 44 qualifying investment and remained comfortably through the HMRC defined
investment test with 83.7% qualifying.
Net realised and unrealised gains in the qualifying investments totalled £0.26m
with £0.24m unrealised and £0.02m gains from disposals, equivalent to 0.97 pence
per share. 20 out of the 44 investments increased in value while 16 losing
ground and 8 staying flat.
Cohort (0.5p per share, £0.135m) was the largest contributor to the NAV
appreciation as the stock rallied more than 40% after a strong preliminary
earnings report that confirmed the recovery remained on track. Â Management's
explicit commitment to crystallising value was also of particular note. Abcam
(0.45p per share, £0.12m), Idox (0.45p per share, £0.12m) and Advanced Computer
Software (0.44p per share, £0.118m) were also significant contributors. Abcam's
share price saw an 11% jump following its announcement of its acquisition of
MitoSciences with analyst expecting the transition to be accretive after FY12.
Idox delivered strong interims and Advanced Computer Software's preliminary
result showed good delivery of forecast, cash generation and clear further
opportunity. These gains were partially offset by losses in Bglobal (-0.62p per
share, -£0.17m), Intercede (-0.53p per share, -£0.14m) and Pressure Technologies
(-0.5p per share, -£0.13m). Bglobal's share price has been under pressure since
the Government's announcement in March that the mass rollout of smart metering
would be pushed back to 2014, leading to customer deferrals and substantial
downward revisions to FY12 and FY13 profit forecasts. FY11 results were ahead of
expectations. Â Intercede, a strong performer in H1'11, gave up some of the gains
after the company signalled a reduced profit outlook FY12 due to increased
investment in future growth. Pressure Technologies released a disappointing
trading update in April in which the company noted that activity in its
principal market, the supply of ultra-large high pressure gas cylinders to the
offshore rig market, had not picked up as quickly as hoped. Â Subsequently,
Interims in June confirmed that leading indicators were continuing to improve in
their core markets, whilst the biogas business is expected to grow rapidly in
FY12.
Trading in non-qualifying equity investment remained disappointing following a
sluggish second quarter with a small gain of 0.01p per share. Â There was no
significant movement among the non-qualifying equities with all gains and losses
largely marginal. The allocation to non-qualifying equity investments stayed
flat around 6%.
Our cash position decreased slightly from £2.03m to £1.87m (11.2% to 10.1%).
Fixed income exposure remained at £3.1m (17%).
New Joint Offer for Subscription of Ordinary Shares
The Offer closed on the 29 July 2011 and since commencement on 9 March 2011, the
Offer resulted in funds being received of £372,000 and 536,572 shares were
issued in respect of Hargreave Hale Aim VCT 1 plc.
Issue of Ordinary Shares
April 2011
357,295 ordinary shares were issued during April resulting in funds being
received of £249,000. As at 30 April, there were 26,866,175 ordinary shares of
1p in issue (excluding shares held as treasury).
June 2011
79,872 ordinary shares were issued during June resulting in funds being received
of £54,000. As at 30 June, there were 26,832,663 ordinary shares of 1p in issue
(excluding shares held as treasury).
Market Update
The turmoil and uncertainty of recent weeks has triggered broad based and, at
times, indiscriminate selling. Â Although we are seeing higher level downward
revisions to the US, UK and European growth outlooks, we are yet to see this
filter through to individual companies. Â Since 30 June 2011, the NAV has dropped
5.92p to 60.63p (adjusting for the 2p dividend distributed on 14 July 2011),
equivalent to 8.64%. FTSE 100 fell 10.52% during the period and FTSE AIM All-
Share dropped a similar 10.75%.
Although a large number of our investments have seen their share prices under
pressure, the effect has been most pronounced amongst those companies on higher
ratings. Abcam (-0.74p per share, £0.197m), Intercede (-0.94p per share,
£0.251m) and Craneware (-0.38p per share, £0.102m) suffered sharp falls, as did
Animalcare (0.71p per share, £0.191m).
17 August 2011
For further information please contact:
Stuart Brookes
Company Secretary
Hargreave Hale AIM VCT2 plc
01253 754740
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Hargreave Hale AIM VCT 1 plc via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1539149]
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