NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO
THE UNITED STATES
*****
Guernsey, 21 January 2013 - Volta Finance Limited (the "Company" or "Volta
Finance" or "Volta") has published its 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
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Â | At 31.12.12 | At 30.11.12 |
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Gross Asset Value (GAV / € million) | 205.1 | 209.8 |
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| GAV per share (€) | 6.37 | 6.60 |
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
At the end of December 2012, the Gross Asset Value (the "GAV") of Volta Finance
Limited (the "Company", "Volta Finance" or "Volta") was €205.1 m or €6.37 per
share, a decrease of €0.23 (-3.5%) since the end of November 2012 GAV that
roughly corresponds to the dividend payment (€0.26 per share paid the 28(th) of
December). Taking into account the dividend payment it is an increase in
shareholder's value by €0.03 per share.
2012 NAV performance (including dividend payments) is + 56.1%.
The December mark-to-market variations* of Volta Finance's asset classes have
been: +0.3% for Synthetic Corporate Credit deals, -0.1% for CLO Equity tranches;
+1.1% for CLO Debt tranches, +1.0% for Cash Corporate Credit deals and +16.5%
for ABS. The increase in the value of the portfolio (when taking into account
the dividend payment) in December is in line with a modestly positive credit
market in Europe over the month and mostly reflects ongoing cash flows from the
assets.
Volta's assets generated the equivalent of €2.2m cash flows in December 2012
(non-Euro amounts converted to Euro using end-of-month cross currency rates and
excluding principal payments from debt assets as well as the gain on the ABS
sale) bringing the total cash generated during the last six months to €15.9m. It
can be compared with €15.7m for the previous six-month period which ended in
June 2012.
In December, the company participated in one Bank Balance Sheet transactions,
executed by AXA Structured Finance with a large European bank and invested in a
BB tranche of CLO recently issued. These investments total €6.1m.
At the end of December, Volta held €3.4m in cash, including €0.2m posted in
respect to the currency hedge transactions as well as €0.3m in relation with the
Liquidity Enhancement Contract and excluding €2.3m to be settled that
corresponds to one of the most recent purchases. Considering the pace at which
cash flows are generated, Volta could be considered as being able to invest €1
to 2m presently.
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
In December 2012, credit spreads modestly tightened in Europe. The 5 year iTraxx
European Main index and 5 year iTraxx European Crossover Index (series 18)
spreads went respectively, from 123 and 497 bps at the end of November 2012 to
117 and 482 bps at the end of December 2012. During the same period, credit
spreads in the US, as illustrated by the 5y CDX main index (series 19), also
modestly tightened from 99 to 95 bps. According to the CSFB Leverage Loan Index,
the average price for USA liquid first lien loans slightly increased from 96.3%
at the end of November 2012 to 96.6% at the end of December 2012. It was almost
similar in Europe: the price of the S&P European Leveraged Loan Index went from
89.6% to 90.0% at the end of December 2012.**
VOLTA FINANCE PORTFOLIO
In December 2012, no particular event materially affected the situation of the
Synthetic Corporate Credit deals. However, the first loss positions in this
bucket (ARIA III and the residual positions in JAZZ III) remain highly sensitive
to any new credit event.
Regarding the Cash Corporate Credit Deals, no particular event materially
affected the situation of the 3 positions in this bucket during the month.
Regarding the Company's investments in Equity or Debt tranches of CLOs, at the
end of December 2012, except for one Euro CLO equity position affected by a
default, all 57 positions are currently paying their coupons.
Regarding the Company's ABS investments, no particular event materially affected
the situation of the positions in this bucket during the month.
The Company considers that opportunities could arise in several structured
credit sectors in the current market environment. Amongst others, mezzanine
tranches of CLOs as well as tranches of Cash or Synthetic Corporate Credit
portfolios could be considered for investment. Potential investments could be
done depending on the pace at which market opportunities could be seized and
cash is available. Depending on market opportunities, the Company may aim to
take advantage of the current volatility in prices to sell some assets in order
to reinvest the sale proceeds on assets representing, at the time of purchase,
those which the Company considers a better opportunity.
* "Mark-to-market variation" is calculated as the Dietz-performance of the
assets in each bucket, taking into account the Mark-to-Market 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. The assets that the
Company may invest in either directly or indirectly include, but are not limited
to: corporate credits; sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt; residential mortgage
loans; automobile loans. Volta Finance Limited's basic approach to its
underlying assets is through vehicles and arrangements that provide leveraged
exposure to some of those underlying assets.
Volta Finance Limited 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 €547
billion in assets under management as of the end of June 2012. AXA IM employs
approximately 2,415 people around the world and operates out of 21 countries.
CONTACTS
Company Secretary
State Street (Guernsey) Limited
volta.finance@ais.statestreet.com
+44 (0) 1481 715601
Portfolio Administrator
Deutsche Bank
voltaadmin@list.db.com
For the Investment Manager
AXA Investment Managers Paris
Serge Demay
serge.demay@axa-im.com
+33 (0) 1 44 45 84 47
*****
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.
*****
December Monthly Report:
http://hugin.info/137695/R/1671961/543557.pdf
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: Volta Finance Limited via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1671961]
