MARTIN CURRIE ASIA UNCONSTRAINED TRUST PLC 
By ?
Martin Currie Pacific Trust plc
Interim Management Statement
1 September 2013 to 30 November 2013
Manager's commentary
This was another macro-driven, but positive, period for Asian markets. At the start of the quarter, markets rallied as the Federal Reserve's decision to delay the tapering of quantitative easing was welcomed by investors. Markets were strong again in October, but fell back somewhat in November, as better economic news from the US once again prompted renewed speculation that the Fed would begin to rein in its stimulus measures sooner than expected; this was later confirmed in December. At the regional level, India and China led the field; elsewhere, Indonesia was by far the worst performer. By sector, IT, financials and industrials did the best, while utilities fared the worst and finished in negative numbers.
The Trust rose 2.7%, but underperformed its benchmark which was up by 3.8%. At the level of individual stocks, Singapore-listed Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, a port investor, developer and operator was the biggest detractor. Also among the worst performers were two Australian stocks: energy-services provider WorleyParsons and goldminer Newcrest. The former issued a profit warning for 2014, highlighting project delays by key customers. Meanwhile, November was a particularly weak month for Newcrest. The stock was dragged down by a lower gold price and concerns over the company's balance sheet.
On the other side, Japanese leasing company Orix was the biggest positive contributor as leasing demand picked up in Japan. The company also continues to make acquisitions overseas, which should be accretive to its return on equity. Chinese gas distributor ENN Energy was also among our top performers, supported by better volume growth trends and reported success in passing on higher wholesale gas prices to customers. Other outperformers included Australian financial Macquarie and Macau-based casino operator SJM.
Andrew Graham
Profile as at 30 November 2013
ObjectiveTo achieve long-term returns by investment in the mature and developing markets of Asia and the Pacific Basin.
BenchmarkMSCI AC Asia Pacific index (Japan fixedat 25%)
SectorFar East including Japan
Launch1985
Portfolio
Asset class
31 Aug | 30 Nov | |
Equities | 97.8% | 102.5% |
Cash | 2.2% | (2.5%) |
Equity allocation
31 Aug | 30 Nov | |
Japan | 23.1% | 25.3% |
Hong Kong | 14.4% | 14.1% |
Australia | 13.1% | 13.7% |
China | 15.7% | 13.4% |
Korea | 10.2% | 10.2% |
Taiwan | 6.2% | 6.8% |
Others | 7.0% | 6.2% |
Thailand | 6.0% | 5.4% |
Malaysia | 2.8% | 2.7% |
India | 1.5% | 2.2% |
Top 10 equity holdings (30.5% of total portfolio)
Samsung Electronics | 4.8% |
Taiwan Semiconductor | 3.4% |
Commonwealth Bank of Australia | 3.2% |
AIA | 3.2% |
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial | 3.1% |
Orix | 2.9% |
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial | 2.8% |
Hitachi Limited | 2.8% |
Toyota Motor | 2.6% |
China Mobile | 2.5% |
Number of holdings | 61 |
Number of countries | 12 |
Key facts
Total net assets £141.1m
Share price (p) 300.0
Net asset value per share (p) 333.9
Discount (premium) 10.2%
Historic net yield 2.2%
Performance
Discrete performance over 12 months to 30 November
2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | |
Share Price | 16.1% | 10.1% | (4.4%) | 17.8% | 36.2% |
NAV | 7.1% | 12.1% | (8.0%) | 19.0% | 34.9% |
Benchmark | 11.9% | 13.1% | (10.8%) | 18.1% | 36.5% |
Cumulative performance over periods to 30 November 2013
One month | Three months | Six months | One year | Three years | Five years | |
Share Price | (0.1%) | 9.5% | 0.5% | 16.1% | 22.2% | 96.1% |
NAV | (2.9%) | 2.7% | (3.0%) | 7.1% | 10.4% | 77.2% |
Benchmark | (2.3%) | 3.8% | (1.6%) | 11.9% | 12.9% | 82.0% |
Source: Martin Currie and Morningstar. Bid to bid basis with net income reinvested over the periods shown in sterling terms. These figures do not include the costs of buying and selling shares in an investment trust. If these were included, performance figures would be reduced.
On 1 July 2011 the index changed from MSCI AC Asia Pacific index to the MSCI AC Asia Pacific
(Japan fixedat 25%) index.
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Capital structure
Ordinary shares 42,250,097*
*Source: Martin Currie as at 30 November 2013.
Board of Directors
Patrick Gifford (chairman)
John Scott
Peter Edwards
Harry Wells
Gregory Shenkman
Anja Balfour
Key information
Year end - 28 February
Annual general meeting - June
Dividends paid (April in 2010) - July and October
Annual management fee as at 28 February 2013? - 1.0%
(0.85% on assets between £150m and £225m
0.75% on assets over £225m)
Ongoing charge - 28 February 2013* - 1.4%
TIDM code - MCP
Reuters code - MCP.L
?Percentage of net assets.
*Percentage of shareholders' funds. Includes annual management fee.
Net asset value and dividend history
As at | Share | NAV | Discount/ | Dividend |
28/29 Feb | price | per share | (premium) | per share |
2000 | 178.8p | 210.9p* | 15.2% | 0.90p |
2001 | 133.8p | 161.0p | 16.9% | 1.00p |
2002 | 112.0p | 140.6p | 20.3% | 1.50p |
2003 | 87.5p | 105.1p | 16.7% | 1.00p |
2004 | 145.0p | 155.6p | 6.8% | 1.40p |
2005 | 165.5p | 175.1p | 5.5% | 1.10p |
2006 | 244.3p | 239.5p | (2.0%) | 1.40p |
2007 | 246.0p | 265.6p | 7.4% | 2.80p |
2008 | 271.3p | 300.8p | 9.8% | 3.10p |
2009 | 169.5p | 209.3p | 19.0% | 3.30p |
2010 | 236.5p | 291.1p | 18.8% | 3.70p |
2011 | 274.3p | 320.7p | 14.5% | 4.50p |
2012 | 276.5p | 330.0p | 16.2% | 5.50p |
2013 | 298.5p | 359.4p | 17.0% | 6.50p |
* This is the diluted net asset value until 30 June 2000 when the warrants expired. From
2001 the net asset value is represented. Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Material events & transactions
The results for the six months to 31 August 2013 were announced on 9 October 2013. At that time, the Board announced a move to paying dividends bi-annually. An interim dividend of 2.5p per share was paid on 15 November 2013 to shareholders on the register on 25 October 2013.
The loan facility expired on 31 October 2013 and so the Company entered into a new loan agreement with The Royal Bank of Scotland plc on 8 November 2013 with a £20million facility.
This information is provided by RNS
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