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Volta Finance Limited (AMS:VTA) NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES
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Guernsey, 19 August 2008 - Volta Finance Limited (the "Company" or "Volta Finance" or "Volta") has published its July 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
As of the end of July 2008, the Gross Asset Value (the "GAV") of Volta Finance Limited (the "Company", "Volta Finance" or "Volta") was €166.2m or €5.53 per share, a decrease of €0.39 from €5.92 per share at the end of June 2008. This decrease of the GAV is the consequence of the decline in the value of the ABS portfolio.
The July mark-to-market variations* of Volta Finance's asset classes have been: -34.4% for ABS investments, -1.0% for CDO investments and -1.0% for Corporate Credit investments.
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
The financial environment has remained difficult in July. Markets still suffer from the ongoing difficulties of banks and financial institutions, depressed growth, as well as continuing inflationary pressures. Reflecting this contradictory picture, the European Central Bank raised its official interest rate by a quarter point in July, just when the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.2% over Q2 2008.
From the end of June to the end of July, the spread of the 5y European iTraxx index (series 9) tightened slightly from 101 bps to 92 bps, while its Crossover counterpart (5y iTraxx European Crossover index series 8) modestly widened from 516 bps to 523 bps. According to the iTraxx LevX Senior Series 2 Index, the average price for European liquid first lien loans increased from 98.585% to 98.77%.**
VOLTA FINANCE PORTFOLIO
At the end of June, the cash position of the Company was €23.2m equivalent. In July, the Company received the equivalent of €8.7m in cash from its assets. A significant part of the cash held by the Company is available for investment. The Company will consider to continue investing in its primary underlying asset classes (among which Leveraged Loans and/or Corporate credits) through embedded leverage at the residual or second loss level. Since the last monthly report, the Company has invested €2m of nominal in a BB tranche of European CLO. No investments were waiting for settlement as at the end of July.
As regards ABS investments, four out of five of the Company's UK non-conforming residuals experienced reserve draws over June and July. The spread dislocation between Libor and the Base rate played a role in reducing the cash flows for some assets. More importantly, these draws reflect the dramatic deterioration of the UK non-conforming lending industry. The withdrawal from the non-conforming market of most UK lenders has induced a dramatic slowdown in non-conforming lending over the first half of 2008. Moreover, statistics show that the house price decline has accelerated in June, becoming even more acute than the previous 1990s downturn.
The decline in value of ABS residuals in July reflects the information provided by the latest payment dates, as well as an increase in loss expectations following the increasing lack of refinancing alternatives for troubled borrowers and the decline in house prices. This decline in value for the Company's UK non-conforming residuals is reflective of diminished expected cash flows. As of the end of July, the GAV of the six UK non-conforming residuals owned by the Company represented €9.7m, or €0.32 per share.
Due to the current crisis and its consequences in terms of market prices, the positions of the Company in the CDO (mainly US CLOs) and Corporate Credit asset classes have continued to increase. Further concentration in these two asset classes is to be expected, although some diversification could be achieved through investments in first or second loss tranches of European or US Leveraged Loan portfolios.
The Company will continue to monitor and manage its current assets and to seek to seize reinvestment opportunities in a context of ongoing volatility and little liquidity.
* "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 assuming that changes in cross currency rates have no impact given that Volta Finance implements a currency hedge on non-euro assets. Nevertheless, some residual currency effects could impact the aggregate value of the portfolio when aggregating each bucket. ** Index data source: Bloomberg.
(Full monthly report in attachment or on www.voltafinance.com)
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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 €550 billion in assets under management as of the end of March 2007. AXA IM employs approximately 2,800 people around the world and operates out of 19 countries.
CONTACTS
Company Secretary Mourant Guernsey Limited volta.finance@mourant.com +44 (0) 1481 715601
Portfolio Administrator Deutsche Bank voltaadmin@list.db.com
For the Investment Manager AXA Investment Managers Paris Julien Laplante julien.laplante@axa-im.com +33 (0) 1 44 45 94 92
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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.
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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.
