BPET.L Regulatory News (BPET)

23 May 2008 10:42



To: Stock Exchange	For immediate release:
	23 May 2008

F&C Private Equity Trust plc

 

 

Quarterly results for the three months to 31 March 2008 

NAV total return for the three months of 2.9 per cent for the B shares;

NAV total return for the three months of 1.2 per cent for the A shares;

A share special dividend of 1.0 pence declared;

Realisation of private equity assets of £8.2 million;

New investment in private equity assets of £ 17.4 million;

Manager's Review

Introduction

F&C Private Equity Trust has continued to make good progress during the first quarter of 2008. The fully diluted net asset value ("NAV") per ordinary share (formerly the B shares) at 31 March was 237.84 pence, an increase of 2.9 per cent since 31 December 2007. The NAV per restricted voting share (formerly the A shares) was 8.85 pence per share, an increase of 6.5 per cent, after adjusting for the return of capital of 36.25p per share on 25 January.

The Board has declared a special dividend of 1.0 pence per restricted voting share, reflecting the continuing progress in realising that pool's assets. This dividend will be paid on 27 June 2008.

The net assets of the Company at 31 March were £180m, of which £174m was attributable to the ordinary shares and £6m to the restricted voting shares. £0.7m of the latter will be returned to the holders of the restricted voting shares by the special dividend. The Company had cash and near cash equivalents of £13m at 31 March and a revolving credit facility of £40m which is completely undrawn. The outstanding undrawn commitments of the company total £168m.

It is anticipated that at the Annual General Meeting later today shareholders will approve the renaming of the A shares as Restricted Voting shares and the B shares as Ordinary shares.

New Investments

New investment activity has continued fairly strongly into 2008 with total new investments of £17.4m. This included £4m invested directly into the Inflexion led buy-out of SMD Hydrovision, the world's leading privately owned designer and manufacturer of specialised systems for laying subsea cables and pipelines in trenches and the world's second largest supplier of Workclass Remotely Operated Vehicles "WROVs" (electrically powered unmanned submarines that are able to work in depths and conditions that would otherwise be inaccessible for human divers). The company primarily supplies the oil and gas sector as well as providing equipment for the telecoms, renewable energy, mining and defence industries. F&C Private Equity Trust acquired 9.6% of SMD Hydrovision in the £70m buy-out. A further £1m was invested in SMD Hydrovision through the Inflexion 2006 Buy-out Fund. There was a wide range of other new investments from 28 funds. Some of the larger ones include £1.6m by Candover 2005 into Dutch engineering conglomerate Stork NV; £0.5m by AIG New Europe fund into Orzel Bialy, a Polish waste management company specializing in recycling car batteries; £0.9m by TDR Capital into Algeco/ Scotsman, the modular buildings manufacturer; £0.4m by DBAG V in ICTS, a leading company in aviation security systems; and, £0.4m by Gilde Buy-out Fund III in Hofmann Menu, a market leading provider of frozen food products. These diverse companies have the common characteristics of strong positions in growing niche markets.

Realisations

The quarter has seen considerable exit activity and this has lead to distributions of £8.2m. Notable examples include the sale of Algeco/Scotsman by TDR I yielding £2.3m, a 3.5x investment multiple and 90% IRR. As noted above we have rolled forward part of the proceeds of the sale into a new co-investment vehicle as part of a larger deal alongside TDR Fund II. The sale of dental company IDH by LGV Fund 5 achieved an investment multiple of 4.3x, an IRR of 127% and an inflow of £1.9m to F&C PET. The earlier LGV Fund 4 also had a realisation in the healthcare sector with the sale of Classic Hospitals which yielded £0.9m with an investment multiple of 2.7x and IRR of 50%. Candover 2005 fund have sold Norwegian cable company GET returning £0.7m for F&C PET, a multiple of 2.2x and IRR of 50%.

 

New Commitments

We continue to broaden and strengthen the portfolio with commitments to new funds. F&C PET made three new commitments during the quarter; €9m to Spanish fund N+1 Fund II, €9m to Swiss based fund Capvis III and £5m to Environmental Technologies Fund, our first investment in the 'cleantech' area.

 

Valuation changes

There were many small valuation changes in the quarter reflecting the trading performance and progress towards exit of underlying companies. Most of the exits described above had already been reflected in the valuation of the previous quarter. The Company also reaped a significant currency benefit from its exposure to Euro denominated assets during the quarter. On a fundamental basis our investment in metal shelving and locker manufacturer Whittan has performed well and there is an uplift of £0.9m this quarter.

Outlook

The initial quarter of 2008 has not seen any significant set backs in our portfolio, while a number of successes have been recorded. The economic and financial background is widely anticipated to become more challenging and we are closely monitoring how our investment partners and the managers with whom they work are coping with the more difficult conditions. The degree of economic slowdown, which sectors are affected, how badly and where and when are all still debatable. It is our belief that the focused and motivated ownership which is the hallmark of private equity investment and the specific skills of our investment partners will be critical to achieving a strong performance for our shareholders for the remainder of 2008. We will continue to strengthen the portfolio and particularly to take advantage of investment opportunities which these changing conditions present.

For more information, please contact:

Hamish Mair	0131 465 1184
Martin Cassels	0131 465 1095
hamish.mair@fandc.com / martin.cassels@fandc.com

  F&C PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST plc

Income Statement for the 

three months ended 31 March 2008

			Unaudited
			Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000
Gains on investments			-	6,412	6,412
Currency losses			-	(21)	(21)
Income	- franked		-	-	-
	- unfranked		355	-	355
Investment management fee			(101)	(1,104)	(1,205)
Other expenses			(129)	-	(129)
			_______	_______	_______
Net return before finance costs and taxation			125	5,287	5,412
Interest payable and similar charges			(8)	(22)	(30)
			_______	_______	_______
Return on ordinary activities before taxation			117	5,265	5,382
Taxation on ordinary activities			(36)	36	-
			_______	_______	_______
Return on ordinary activities after taxation			81	5,301	5,382
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per A share - Basic			0.09p	0.46p	0.55p
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per B share - Basic			0.03p	6.91p	6.94p
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per B share - Fully diluted			0.03p	6.73p	6.76p
			_______	_______	_______

  F&C PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST plc

Income Statement for 

three months ended 31 March 2007

			Unaudited
			Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000
Gains on investments			-	6,567	6,567
Currency losses			-	(63)	(63)
Income	- franked		-	-	-
	- unfranked		464	-	464
Investment management fee			(80)	(216)	(296)
Other expenses			(120)	-	(120)
			_______	_______	_______
Net return before finance costs and taxation			264	6,288	6,552
Interest payable and similar charges			4	11	15
			_______	_______	_______
Return on ordinary activities before taxation			268	6,299	6,567
Taxation on ordinary activities			(60)	75	15
			_______	_______	_______
Return on ordinary activities after taxation			208	6,374	6,582
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per A share - Basic			0.19p	0.07p	0.26p
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per B share - Basic			0.28p	8.55p	8.83p
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per B share - Fully diluted			0.27p	8.38p	8.65p
			_______	_______	_______

  

F&C PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST plc

Income Statement for 

Year ended 31 December 2007

			Audited
			Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000
Gains on investments			-	57,141	57,141
Currency losses			-	(1,343)	(1,343)
Income	- franked		103	-	103
	- unfranked		2,915	-	2,915
Investment management fee			(391)	(1,994)	(2,385)
Other expenses			(631)	-	(631)
			_______	_______	_______
Net return before finance costs and taxation			1,996	53,804	55,800
Interest payable and similar charges			(17)	(49)	(66)
			_______	_______	_______
Return on ordinary activities before taxation			1,979	53,755	55,734
Taxation on ordinary activities			(587)	569	(18)
			_______	_______	_______
Return on ordinary activities after taxation			1,392	54,324	55,716
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per A share - Basic			0.60p	19.84p	20.44p
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per B share - Basic			1.37p	56.74p	58.11p
			_______	_______	_______
Returns per B share - Fully diluted			1.34p	55.52p	56.86p
			_______	_______	_______

  

F&C PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST plc

Balance Sheet

	As at 31 March 2008 (unaudited)		As at 31 March 2007  (unaudited)		As at 31 December 2007  (audited)
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000
Investments at market value
Listed on recognised exchanges	9,340		3,748		43,984
Unlisted at directors' valuation	165,976		129,196		150,597
	_______		_______		_______
		175,316		132,944		194,581
Current assets
Debtors	292		136		789
Cash at bank	7,041		18,057		5,822
	_______		_______		_______
	7,333		18,193		6,611
Creditors
Amounts falling due within one year	(1,054)		(511)		(1,462)
	_______		_______		_______
Net current assets		6,279		17,682		5,149
		_______		_______		_______
Total assets less current liabilities		181,595		150,626		199,730
Creditors
Amounts falling due after more than one year		(1,626)		-		(822)
		_______		_______		_______
Net assets		179,969		150,626		198,908
		_______		_______		_______
Capital and reserves
Called up ordinary capital		1,394		1,394		1,394
Special distributable capital reserve		15,679		40,000		40,000
Special distributable revenue reserve		38,363		38,363		38,363
Capital redemption reserve		664		664		664
Capital reserve		122,771		69,520		117,470
Revenue reserve		1,098		685		1,017
		_______		_______		_______
Total shareholders' funds		179,969		150,626		198,908
		_______		_______		_______
Net asset value per A share - Basic		8.85p		24.69p		44.56p
Net asset value per B share - Basic		240.77p		185.47p		233.82p
Net asset value per B share - Fully diluted		237.84p		183.25p		231.08p

  F&C PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST plc

Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholder's Funds

	Three months ended 31 March 2008 (unaudited)	Three months ended 31 March 2007 (unaudited)	Year ended  31 December 2007 (audited)
Opening shareholders' funds	198,908	146,233	146,233
Return on ordinary activities after taxation	5,382	6,582	55,716
Dividends paid	-	(2,189)	(3,041)
Return of capital paid	(24,321)	-	-
	_______	_______	_______
Closing shareholders' funds	179,969	150,626	198,908
	_______	_______	_______

   

 

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