VOLTA FINANCE - APRIL MONTHLY REPORT
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO
THE UNITED STATES
*****
Guernsey, 19 May 2010 - Volta Finance Limited (the "Company" or "Volta Finance"
or "Volta") has published its April monthly report. The full report is attached
to this release and is available on Volta Finance Limited's financial website
(www.voltafinance.com
Gross Asset Value
+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| | At 30.04.10 | At 31.03.10 |
+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Gross Asset Value (GAV / ?) | 100,184,834 | 97,571,728 |
+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| GAV per share (?) | 3.31 | 3.22 |
+-----------------------------+-------------+-------------+
At the end of April 2010, the Gross Asset Value (the "GAV") of Volta Finance
Limited (the "Company", "Volta Finance" or "Volta") was ?100.2m or ?3.31 per
share, an increase of ?0.09 per share from ?3.22 per share at the end of March
2010 despite taking into account the payment,on the 6(th) of April, of a ?3.9m
dividend (?0.13 per share).
The April mark-to-market variations* of Volta Finance's asset classes have been:
+1.2% for ABS investments, +5.9% for mezzanine of CDO investments, +6.0% for
residuals of CDO investments and +5.0% for Corporate Credit investments.
Excluding principal payments from short-term ABS investments (almost zero in
April), Volta's assets have generated the equivalent of ?2.2m of cash flows in
April 2010 (non-euro amounts converted into euro using end-of-month cross
currency rates) bringing the total cash generated during the last six months to
?8.5m.. This amount could be compared with ?7.8m for the previous six-month
period ended in October 2009 (the most recent period which is comparable
considering the seasonality of payments).
In April, the Company made one investment for ?0.6m in a mezzanine debt tranche
of CLO (Atrium D1 tranche) and sold 2 residual positions in CLOs (a USD8m
nominal position in Ocean Trail 2006 and a USD6m nominal position in Kingsland
2007) for a total of USD6.7m. It should be noted that those positions accounted
for USD4.1m in the GAV of Volta at the end of March, illustrating again that
some of Volta's positions are undervalued by the market prices that are
collected from banks or brokers and that are used when establishing the GAV.
At the end of April, Volta had ?9.7m in cash including ?1.5m posted for margin
calls coming from its currency hedge positions.
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
In April, some credit spreads modestly widened reflecting a nervous period in
some markets as tensions on sovereign debts seem to exacerbate again even if the
economic recovery, at least in the US, tends to be confirmed. The 5y European
iTraxx index (series 12) went from 75 bps at the end of March to 85 bps at the
end of March. Despite some intra-month volatility the 5y iTraxx European
Crossover Index (series 12) was stable at 392 bps. According to the CSFB
Leverage Loan Index, the average price for US liquid first lien loans modestly
increased from 90.63% to 91.85%.**
VOLTA FINANCE PORTFOLIO
In April, no particular event materially affected the situation of the Corporate
Credit holdings. However it should be mentioned that the first-loss positions in
Jazz III and ARIA III remain highly sensitive to any credit event that could
occur and that both positions are exposed, through CDS, to Republic of Greece
for the same percentage of their underlying portfolio: 0.5%. Such position if it
were to trigger an event of default could generate some direct losses on both
positions. Considering an hypothetical recovery of 70%, that circulates amongst
market participants when a Greece debt restructuring is evocated, such potential
default could represent an immediate direct loss of less than 2% of Volta's
current GAV from these positions. According to the most recent market
observations, the probability of a default of Republic of Greece seems to have
diminished in the immediate future.
At the end of April, these first-loss positions represented 10.9% of Volta's
GAV. The other Corporate Credit positions, representing 8.5% were two senior
tranches (initially rated AAA) and one mezzanine tranche (initially rated A).
As regards the Company's investments in residual and mezzanine debt of CLOs, the
company has succeeded in selling two residual positions at what seems to be
very good prices at this time when considering the prices at which those assets
were previously valued. At the end of April the sale proceeds have not been
reinvested but reinvestments could be expected to occur in the following weeks
or months.
At the end of April, from a total of 33 positions, two of the mezzanine
positions (Alpstar 2A E and Cheyne Credit Opp.) and two of the residual
positions (Carlyle IX and Northwoods VIII) are still unable to pay their coupon
due to over collateralisation test breaches. The 29 other positions are
currently paying.
As regards the Company's ABS investments, in April, no particular event affected
the six UK non-conforming residual holdings as well as Promise Mobility, a
residual position in a highly diversified portfolio of small and medium German
company loans. The various investments in short-term euro ABS senior tranches
held by the Company to enhance its cash management amounted to ?3.2m.
The Company considers that opportunities could arise in several structured
credit sectors in the current market environment. Amongst others, mezzanine
tranches of CLOs and of European ABS or senior tranches of Corporate Credit
portfolios could be considered for investments. Potential investments will be
made depending on the pace at which market opportunities could be seized and
cash is available. From time to time, as was the case in January 2010 and again
in April 2010, and in line with what has been described in the latest
semi-annual report of Volta, the Company could be expected to sell some previous
assets in order to reinvest the sale proceeds in almost similar investments for
which expected cash flows are anticipated to be less uncertain or higher than
the ones that were expected from the sold assets.
* "Mark-to-market variation" is calculated as the Dietz-performance of the
assets in each bucket, taking into account the MtM of the assets at month-end,
payments received from the assets over the period, and ignoring changes in cross
currency rates Nevertheless, some residual currency effects could impact the
aggregate value of the portfolio when aggregating each bucket.
** Index data source: Markit, Bloomberg.
(Full monthly report in attachment or on www.voltafinance.com
*****
ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED
Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey)
Laws, 1994 to 1996 (as amended) and listed on Euronext Amsterdam. Its investment
objectives are to preserve capital and to provide a stable stream of income to
its shareholders through dividends. For this purpose, it pursues a multi-asset
investment strategy targeting various underlying assets. Volta Finance's basic
approach to its underlying assets is through vehicles and arrangements that
provide leveraged exposure. The exposure to those underlying assets is gained
through direct and indirect investment in five principal asset classes:
corporate credits, CDOs, ABS, leveraged loans, and infrastructure assets.
Volta Finance has appointed AXA Investment Managers Paris, an investment
management company with a division specialised in structured credit, for the
investment management of all its assets.
ABOUT AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS
AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a multi-expert asset management company
within the AXA Group, a global leader in financial protection and wealth
management. AXA IM is one of the largest European-based asset managers with
nearly ?500 billion in assets under management as of the end of November 2009.
AXA IM employs approximately 2,875 people around the world and operates out
of 21 countries.
CONTACTS
Company Secretary
Mourant Guernsey Limited
volta.finance(at)mourant.com
+44 (0) 1481 715601
Portfolio Administrator
Deutsche Bank
voltaadmin(at)list.db.com
For the Investment Manager
AXA Investment Managers Paris
Serge Demay
serge.demay(at)axa-im.com
+33 (0) 1 44 45 84 47
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This press release is for information only and does not constitute an invitation
or inducement to acquire shares in Volta Finance. Its circulation may be
prohibited in certain jurisdictions and no recipient may circulate copies of
this document in breach of such limitations or restrictions.
This press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States.
Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from
registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
Act"). Volta Finance has not registered, and does not intend to register, any
portion of any offering of its securities in the United States or to conduct a
public offering of any securities in the United States.
*****
This document is being distributed by Volta Finance Limited in the United
Kingdom only to investment professionals falling within article 19(5) of the
Financial Services and Market Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the
"Order") or high net worth companies and other persons to whom it may lawfully
be communicated, falling within article 49(2)(A) to (E) of the Order ("Relevant
persons"). The shares are only available to, and any invitation, offer or
agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the shares will be engaged
only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not
act or rely on this document or any of its contents. Past performance cannot be
relied on as a guide to future performance.
*****
This press release contains statements that are, or may deemed to be,
"forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes",
"anticipated", "expects", "intends", "is/are expected", "may", "will" or
"should". They include the statements regarding the level of the dividend, the
current market context and its impact on the long-term return of Volta's
investments. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance. Volta Finance's actual results,
portfolio composition and performance may differ materially from the impression
created by the forward-looking statements. Volta Finance does not undertake any
obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements.
Any target information is based on certain assumptions as to future events which
may not prove to be realised. Due to the uncertainty surrounding these future
events, the targets are not intended to be and should not be regarded as profits
or earnings or any other type of forecasts. There can be no assurance that any
of these targets will be achieved. In addition, no assurance can be given that
the investment objective will be achieved.
*****
[HUG#1417224]
April Monthly Report: http://hugin.info/137695/R/1417224/367688.pdf
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 19.05.2010 - 12:46 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 21147
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Town:
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Kategorie:
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