6th Aug 2012 07:00
6 August 2012
Origo Partners PLC
Interim Management Statement for the three month period from
April 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012
This Interim Management Statement by Origo Partners Plc ("Origo" or "the Company") and its subsidiaries ("the Group") relates to the three month period from April 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012 ("the Period").
Highlights from the Period:
·; Unaudited net asset value of US$227.7 million compared to US$238.6 million for the period ending March 31, 2012 due primarily to the movement of fair market value of quoted investments and currency movements
·; Unaudited net asset value per share of US$0.64 at the end of the Period compared to US$0.67 per share for the period ending March 31, 2012
·; Total investments of US$3.1million
·; Net cash position of US$33.1 million
Chris Rynning, Origo's CEO, said:
"We continued to make good progress in executing on our strategy in Q2. Meanwhile, since the last revaluation of the Company's portfolio at the end of December 2011, global equity markets have fallen significantly. Global economic uncertainty and the ensuing downward pressure on asset prices has particularly impacted junior mining and commodity related companies, which make up the bulk of our portfolio. As a result, we anticipate downward adjustment in the carrying value of the portfolio in conjunction with the release of our Interim Results for the period ended 30 of June, 2012."
"Origo remains confident in China's growth prospects and we have both a strong portfolio and a promising pipeline of investment opportunities in China and its neighboring territories. Whilst we cannot ignore prevailing market conditions and the related impact on asset prices, we continue to build value across the portfolio through our broad operational involvement and remain confident that we will be able to realise such value going forward."
1. Resources and Commitments
At June 30, 2012, Origo had cash and cash equivalents of US$35.6 million. Payables to debtors and other liabilities equaled US$2.5 million (excluding USR fair value movements and provisions for performance incentives) leaving the Group with a net cash position of US$33.1 million.
2. Unaudited Net Asset Value
No revaluation of the portfolio took place during the Period as per Origo's policy to reassess the value of the Company's assets on a bi-annual basis. However, adjusting to reflect the purchase and sale of investments, currency movements and market values in respect of quoted investments, the Company estimates unaudited net asset value at the end of the Period was US$227.7 million (US$0.64 per share). The equivalent NAV per share translated into British Sterling at the prevailing exchange rate at the end of the Period was 40.9 pence compared to 43.7 pence for the period ending March 31, 2012. The decrease in NAV was primarily due to the movement of fair market value of quoted investments (US$7.2 million), currency movements (US$1.5 million) and non-cash based charges relating to the provision for long aged receivables with investee company (US$1.2 million) and interest accrued (US$1.0 million) to the zero-dividend preferred shares.
3. Portfolio composition
In line with the Group's strategy, investments are made predominately in privately held companies across various sectors of China's economy, and in companies and assets with exposure to the Chinese market, with the objective of providing shareholders with above market returns, primarily through capital appreciation. Currently, the Group focuses on the following sectors: metals & mining, agriculture and cleantech.
As at June 30, 2012, the portfolio was carried at the aggregate value (excluding revaluations of unquoted portfolios) of US$260.5 million compared to US$267.0 million for the period ending March 31, 2012. The top ten investments represented 88 per cent of the fair value of the portfolio, with the top five investments accounting for 71 per cent.
Table 1: Top 10 Investments (US$ million)
Company | Sector | Instrument | Ownership* | Cost | Fair value | % ofNAV |
Gobi Coal & Energy Ltd | Metals & Mining | Common Stock | 14.0% | 15.0 | 87.1 | 38.2% |
R. M. Williams Agricultural Holdings Pty Ltd | Agriculture | Common Stock & Loan | 17.5% | 23.1 | 32.6 | 14.3% |
China Rice Ltd | Agriculture | Preferred Stock & Loan | 32.1% | 28.0 | 28.0 | 12.3% |
Celadon Mining Ltd | Metals & Mining | Common Stock | 9.7% | 13.1 | 23.7 | 10.4% |
Unipower Battery Ltd | Cleantech | Preferred Stock & Loan | 16.5% | 13.3 | 13.3 | 5.8% |
China Cleantech Partners, L.P.** | Cleantech | Limited Partnership Interests | 50.1% | 12.5 | 12.5 | 5.5% |
Moly World Ltd | Metals & Mining | Common Stock | 20.0% | 10.0 | 10.0 | 4.4% |
IRCA Holdings Ltd | Metals & Mining | Common Stock & Loan | 49.1% | 24.3 | 8.7 | 3.8% |
Kincora Copper Ltd | Metals & Mining | Common Stock | 29.2% | 4.7 | 7.0 | 3.1% |
Niutech Energy Ltd | Cleantech | Preferred Stock | 21.1% | 6.4 | 6.4 | 2.8% |
* Legal & beneficial interests, excluding impact of outstanding options/warrants and any outstanding convertible instruments
** A private equity fund focusing on China's cleantech sectors, jointly formed and co-managed by the Group and Ecofin Limited
Reflecting the Group's strategy of investing in privately held companies, 94 per cent of the portfolio (in terms of fair value) at the end of the Period was invested in unquoted portfolio companies.
The Company's direct holdings in listed companies comprised stakes in HaloSource Inc. (LSE: HAL), Kincora Copper Limited (TSXV: KCC), Voyager Resources Ltd (ASX: VOR), SPT Energy Group Inc (HKE: SPT) and Hilong Holding Ltd (HKE: HILONG).
The Group also has indirect interests in other quoted investments through its investments in two funds managed by the Group - the China Commodities Absolute Return Ltd ("CCF") and the Mongolia Stock Exchange ("MSE") Liquidity Fund.
The weighted average holding period for the portfolio was 2.4 years, with 78 per cent of the Portfolio having been held for less than 3 years; 22 per cent having been held for 3 years or longer.
In terms of sectors, the composition of the portfolio at the end of Period comprised:
Metals & Mining (56 per cent)
Agriculture (26 per cent)
Cleantech (14 per cent)
Consumer, Technology and Media (4 per cent).
4. Investments
The Group invested a total of US$3.1 million during the period, comprising US$0.9 million of deployments to existing investee companies and US$2.1 million of investments in existing and new quoted portfolio companies through the CCF.
ENDS
Origo Partners plc Chris Rynning Niklas Ponnert |
|
Nominated Adviser and Broker: Liberum Capital Limited Simon Atkinson / Richard Bootle
| +44 (0)20 3100 2222 |
Public Relations: Aura Financial Andy Mills / Nina Legge | +44 (0)20 7321 0000 |
Related Shares:
OPP.L