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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, 31 October 2008 - Volta Finance Limited has published its results for the financial year ended 31 July 2008. The Annual Report and Accounts 2008 is attached to this release and is available on Volta Finance Limited's financial website (www.voltafinance.com).
A conference call for analysts and investors will be held on 31 October 2008 at 15:00 (France time) / 14:00 (UK time) to discuss the annual results.
* Investors calling from the UK may access the conference by dialing +44 (0) 207 153 2027 * Investors calling from France may access the conference by dialing +33 (0) 1 70 99 35 14 * Investors calling from other countries can call either one of these numbers.
Highlights for the Financial Year
* Net Asset Value of €165.5 million (€5.57 per share) at 31 July 2008 * A recommended dividend of €0.25 per share for the semi-annual period from 1 February 2008 to 31 July 2008 * Distribution Income of the company for the annual period was negative €57.9 million, or negative €1.93 per share * Net loss of the Company for the annual period was €70.6 million, or €2.35 per share, taking into account the recognition of an impairment under IFRS accounting for six UK non-conforming Asset Backed Securities ("ABS"), the losses realised following the liquidation of the Total Return Swap ("TRS") and the unrealised mark-to-market losses of assets held for trading and derivative financial instruments * As of the end of the financial year, Volta Finance was invested in three underlying asset classes (CDO, Corporate Credit, ABS) following the liquidation of the Leveraged Loan TRS over the course of the annual period * The investments held by the Company generated €37.2 million of cash over the annual period. The cash holding was €23.4 million at financial year end * Following the increase in discount margins, the Company enlarged its investment horizon to assets that could benefit from larger subordination and/or lower leverage and/or have exposure to portfolios with better characteristics such as a higher average rating factor * Operating expenses as a percentage of average Net Asset Value for the year ended 31 July 2008 were 2.26% (2.21% for the period ended 31 July 2007)
The 2008 accounts of Volta Finance Limited have been audited by KPMG Channel Islands Limited.
STATEMENT BY PETER CROOK, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD (the following is an extract of the Chairman's Statement published in the Annual Report and Accounts 2008)
The global financial crisis has further reduced the value of the Company's assets during the second financial year of the Company.
The NAV has significantly declined over the period from €260.1 million as of 31 July 2007 to €165.5 million as of 31 July 2008.
This annual period was marked by significant events that have affected the value of the Company. In addition to the impairment announced on five UK non-conforming ABS residuals in the last semi-annual report, which was then followed by the liquidation of the Leveraged Loan Total Return Swap ("TRS"), further write-downs have been recognised on all of the Company's six UK non-conforming ABS residuals following a review of the expected cash flows of these assets as of the end of July 2008.
Consequently, there was a loss of €70.6 million (or €2.35 per share) for the financial year ended 31 July 2008, compared to a loss of €16.9 million (or €0.56 per share) for the previous financial year.
The Distribution Income for the financial year ended 31 July 2008 was negative €57.9 million (or negative €1.93 per share), with two consecutive semi-annual periods featuring negative Distribution Income. This compares to a positive Distribution Income of €14.1 million (or €0.47 per share) for the financial period ended 31 July 2007 and reflects primarily the losses incurred following the liquidation of the TRS and the impairments taken on all of the Company's UK non-conforming ABS residuals.
However, in spite of the sharp reduction in the value of the Company's assets, both in mark-to-market and expected cash flow terms, our assets have continued to generate cash, resulting in €23.4 million held in cash at the financial year-end.
Dividend
The Board of Directors of Volta Finance Limited recommends a dividend of €0.25 per share for the semi-annual period ended 31 July 2008, amounting to €7.5 million. This dividend will be paid out of the Company's distributable reserves. Its level corresponds to the originally anticipated net return on the Company's assets of approximately 10% applied to the Company's performing asset base as at 7 October 2008, the date of the Company's last Board Meeting.
Outlook
The results presented in this annual report, which covers the year from 1 August 2007 to 31 July 2008, do not take into account subsequent market events, among which is the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. ("LBHI"). These subsequent events have further negatively affected the value of the Company's assets.
The impact of these events, which have sent credit spreads to higher levels, has been felt throughout the credit markets. For the most part, the impact has been on the Company's three Corporate Credit assets, all of which are junior CDO tranches referencing investment grade names, among which is LBHI. Following this event, significant losses will be recognised on these three assets in the results for the semi-annual period ending 31 January 2009. As of end of September 2008, following LBHI's bankruptcy, the unaudited value of these assets has declined to €23.0 million, from €69.3m at end of July 2008. The end of September mark-to-market value of these three assets already priced in the probability of further defaults in the underlying portfolios.
As reported at the end of August, and prior to LBHI's default, the Gross Asset Value of the Company had declined to €159 million. As of end of September 2008, after LBHI's default, the Gross Asset Value of the Company was €111.7 million (€3.72 per share).
At the time of writing, and after the payment of the dividend and taking into account other commitments, the Company is expected to have nearly €10 million in cash available. As for the previous semi-annual period, considering that the present volatility and price declines could last for several months, and taking into account the Investment Manager's advice, the Company will aim to take time to deploy capital in order to take advantage of stressed market conditions.
The Company is fully committed to managing the situation in the best interests of its shareholders in these extremely challenging conditions.
STATEMENT BY THE INVESTMENT MANAGER (the following is an extract of the Overview and the Outlook sections of the Invesmtent Manager's Report published in the Annual Report and Accounts 2008)
OVERVIEW During the last financial year, the particularly severe market conditions and the deterioration of the global economic environment significantly affected the Company's assets both in mark-to-market value and in expected cash flow terms:
* the TRS has been liquidated in 2008 under the pressure of what proved to be the first phase of an unprecedented decrease in loan market prices. The TRS liquidation has resulted in the recovery of €17 million from a total posted collateral of €71.25 million. The deleveraging process of the TRS was initiated in August 2007, resumed in January 2008 and ended in April 2008 in anticipation of further market deterioration. This investment would have been even more adversely affected by the second phase of price decline in the loan markets that occurred following the default of LBHI; and * the continuing deterioration in UK housing prices combined with significant changes in the prepayment rate for UK non-conforming mortgage pools resulted in the value of six UK non-conforming residuals decreasing dramatically from a combined value of €61 million as of the end of July 2007 (including one asset earmarked at the end of the previous financial period and settled in October 2007) to €9.7 million as of the end of July 2008.
(...)
As a matter of fact, given the uncertainties on the market, the Investment Manager decided
* to overweight cash allocation throughout the financial period; and * to aim at identifying investment opportunities that could benefit from increased subordination and/or lower leverage and/or have exposure to portfolios with better characteristics such as a higher average rating factor, thanks to global spread widening.
Since the end of July 2008, a further decline in the mark-to-market value of all Volta's assets has been recorded. The failure of LBHI, in September, has significantly affected all the Corporate Credit assets held by the Company, both in mark-to-market value and expected cash flow terms as the underlying portfolios of those assets were exposed to LBHI. A significant part of their mark-to-market reduction during September (from an aggregate valuation of €62.7 million at the end of August 2008 to €22.8 million at the end of September 2008) is the direct consequence of LBHI's bankruptcy and will be reflected in a reduction in expected cash flows from these assets.
OUTLOOK
The significant difficulties that are facing most banks in developed countries will continue to bring a lot of uncertainties as these difficulties now spread to the rest of the economy. The economic weakness expected for the coming quarters will affect most of industries to various degrees. Defaults are expected to increase and the uncertainty as to the level at which corporate defaults will culminate in the coming years creates uncertainty on the different structured markets, affecting assets both in terms of mark-to-market value and expected cash flows.
However, given the determination of the G7 authorities to tackle this crisis, such a challenging environment may provide investment opportunities specifically for a company such as Volta Finance that does not face refinancing risk. Due to the excess of sellers over buyers in some market segments and for certain type of assets, part of the increase in discount margin can be considered as having overshot the increase in risk premium based on objective credit fundamentals. Liquidity issues, as well as uncertainty about maturity or rating methodology, are now much more priced in than they were a few quarters ago.
The Investment Manager will continue to closely monitor the impact of the current crisis on the Company's investments. Considering that the volatility in the structured finance markets as well as in credit markets is likely to last, the Company prefers maintaining cash in its portfolio and waiting for more visibility before selecting investment opportunities as they arise in the midst of such turbulent market conditions.
For the full text of the Chairman's Statement and the Investment Manager's Report, please refer to the Annual Report and Accounts 2008
PROVISIONAL FINANCIAL CALENDAR
20 November 2008 Annual General Meeting 24 November 2008 Ex-dividend date 26 November 2008 Record date 3 December 2008 Dividend payment date
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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.
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This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
