TIDMATY
RNS Number : 1895V
Athelney Trust PLC
20 July 2018
Athelney Trust PLC
Legal Entity Identifier:
213800ON67TJC7F4DL05
HALF YEARLY RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 30 JUNE 2018
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT AND BUSINESS REVIEW
I enclose the unaudited results for the six months to 30 June
2018. The salient points are as follows:
-- The overall return, which is the increase in NAV during the
half year plus the dividend paid, is minus 4.1 per cent.
-- Unaudited Net Asset Value (NAV) is 264.2p per share (31
December 2017: 284.8p, 30 June 2017: 268.7p), a decrease of 7.2 per
cent for the half year and a decrease of 1.7 per cent over the past
year.
-- Gross Revenue increased by 12.5 per cent to GBP141,907
compared with the half year ended 30 June 2017 of GBP126,098 (full
year to 31 December 2017 GBP238,832).
-- Revenue return per ordinary share was 5.8p (31 December 2017:
9.6p, 30 June 2017: 5.1p).
-- A final dividend of 8.9p was paid in April 2018 (2017: final dividend 8.6p).
Review of 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2018
Britain resembles nothing so much as a rather stuffy Victorian
family where the young are generally thwarted and most of the power
is in the hands of irresponsible uncles and bed-ridden aunts. -
George Orwell.
The difference between successful people and very successful
people is that very successful people say no to almost everything.
- Warren Buffett
Always travel first class, or your children will. - Neill
Collins, FT journalist.
The first quarter of 2018 was hit by worries over global trade,
the likely pace of interest rate rises in America and threats to
regulate technology companies. The London FTSE 100 index fell, for
instance, by 8 per cent during that period. So perhaps it would
have been counter-intuitive to buy pretty well everything in sight
but that, as it happens, was the right thing to do. In an episode
of Seinfeld, a 1990s comedy, George Costanza, a serial failure,
sees that every instinct he has is wrong and therefore decides to
do the complete opposite. Soon, he has a lovely girlfriend and gets
a great new job. Success in investing often means going against the
grain - and your own feelings. To do otherwise is to be swept along
by the general mood. Equities clawed their way back in the second
quarter and the more technology-laden the index, the better it
performed. Alas, there were a few exceptions: Athelney Trust has
had a wonderful nine-year run (from a 'low' NAV of 89.1 pence per
share in March 2009 to a 'high' of 284.8 pence per share in
December 2017) but that was ended by results in the first half with
a total return of minus 4.1 per cent. In the small cap value and
income sector, there were far more adverse trading statements,
profit warnings, disappointing company results and cut dividends
than I would have liked and there is not yet a strong signal that
the worst is over. For the reasons contained in this paragraph,
though, Athelney Trust will not be changing strategy any time soon.
Remember George Constanza!
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson was rather silly in trying to
bounce the prime minister into spending more on the military. But
he has a point: the defence budget has been slashed to such an
extent that the army is thinking of buying inflatable tanks to fool
the enemy. Or perhaps Corporal Jones could do a job with his
butcher's van from Dad's Army and issue bayonets fixed to
broomsticks. Maybe a better solution is on the way: I hear that the
army is working on invisibility cloaks for soldiers so that when
our American friends ask where our soldiers are, Britain can say
that they are invisible.
It's easy to win a trade war, said President Trump in March. He
appears not to have heard of the US Tariff Act of 1930, aka the
Smoot-Hawley Act, named after its two sponsors. The act made the
Great Depression much worse and led to a series of tit-for-tat
measures that took the global economic system decades to unravel.
Congress, determined to protect American jobs, launched a plan to
help agriculture but congressmen kept insisting on tariffs on all
kinds of goods in exchange for their support. The final version of
the bill increased nearly 900 US import duties: Canada and Europe
soon retaliated and a rapid and alarming squeeze on world trade
developed as exporting became harder and harder. US imports
declined by 40 per cent in the two years after the act was passed.
Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect about the outbreak of
protectionism was that, even though virtually all economists
realised that it was likely to backfire spectacularly, and advised
frantically against it, the act was passed. Bad ideas can develop
unstoppable momentum. The fact that politicians know something to
be madness does not stop them doing it, said the Economist. So here
we are three/ four months later at the start of, if not a war, then
certainly a trade skirmish.
Now is the time for that particularly spineless body, the WTO,
to intervene and negotiate with both America and China on behalf of
the global economy.
Consider the charges against Facebook, Google, Apple and others:
exposing youngsters to on-line grooming, sexting, cyber-bullying,
pornography and harassment; destroying entire industries without
replacing lost taxation; exploiting labour; encouraging eating
disorders and self-harm; enabling political extremism and promoting
fake news. Will tech end up like Big Tobacco, taxed aggressively to
pay for all the problems that they caused?
The children's television allowance is costing us GBP5m a year.
The zero rate on cycle helmets GBP45m. The GBP10 Christmas bonus
for every pensioner is costing GBP15m. In January, HMRC published a
list of what it calls minor tax reliefs, fiddly little tax breaks
and bonuses that cost the taxpayer GBP50m or less for each one.
Here are a few others: you can still claim relief on life assurance
premiums on policies taken out before 1984; also on the first GBP70
of interest on an account with the National Savings Bank; for
investing in video games development or for operating, er, a pet
cemetery. It is an open secret that the tax system is creaking
under the weight of its own complexity. Chancellor after chancellor
has stacked gimmick upon gimmick in an effort to please voters,
appease a special interest group or to ingratiate himself with his
prime minister. So now the British tax code is 20,000 pages long
and consists of ten million words. By way of contrast, Hong Kong
gets by with just 276 pages. Hard-pressed officials have to
administer the scheme and inspectors make sure that clever
accountants are not turning it into a tax-avoidance scheme such as
investment in films. It would be far better to scrap virtually all
the reliefs. President Trump, who may turn out to be the worst
holder of his office since Herbert Hoover, has insisted that
Congress repeals three old regulations for each one that it creates
- good for him!
Truth and advertising have always been uneasy bedfellows. But
there is a simple way for ex-WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell to stop
having to deny stories about a visit to a Mayfair brothel. He could
waive his rights under the Data Protection Act and insist that WPP
publishes its investigation into whatever did or did not happen.
What better way to clear the air and simultaneously put pressure on
the WPP Chairman.
When Wm Morrison agreed to buy the ailing Safeway in 2003 to
compete against the three main supermarkets, a dominant Tesco
immediately signalled a counter-offer. Sir Terry Leahy knew that
any proposal from his Tesco or Sainsbury or Asda would be blocked
by the Competition Commission so he successfully snared Morrison
into an investigation. By the time that the commission produced its
report with the obvious answer, Safeway was on its last legs and
Morrison's offer was allowed to proceed. The delay caused years of
chaos in the combined business and ultimately cost the Morrison
family control of the company. It is unlikely that Tesco will try
to disrupt the proposed merger between Asda and Sainsbury but it
should not need to. For all the bluster about new competitors such
as the two German companies and Amazon, the lack of overlap and the
prospect of lower prices for customers, this proposal is
anti-competitive. If the 25 per cent limit on market share is to
mean anything, the Competition and Markets Authority should block
the deal.
Are baby boomers drinking excessively at home? According to new
research, a whole generation of Britons put themselves at risk by
opening a bottle of wine as soon as they get home and spending the
evening in an increasingly drunken stupor. This is, of course,
total nonsense: as every stockbroker knows, they are half-cut by 11
am and really putting it away by lunch-time. By the time they get
home, they are merely topping up, which is much healthier. And
another thing, when you think about it, the nanny Shtate could do
with a few more of ush booby bamers popping our clogsh and
shortening the NSH waiting lishts. Almost time for lunsh!
A key argument of the Corbynistas that wish to renationalise the
water companies is that the state can borrow more cheaply than can
the privately owned industry, which would lead to lower bills. The
problem with this argument is its assumption that the water
companies would be just as efficient as they are in the private
sector. It is interesting to note that productivity growth in the
years post-1989 was about 3 per cent per annum, about double that
of broadly comparable sectors. That tots up to 60 per cent on a
cumulative basis. These productivity gains more than offset the
higher cost of capital to the extent of GBP400 per year per
customer. State-owned water companies in Northern Ireland and the
Republic are between 15 and 40 per cent less productive than in
England. Scotland has done rather better but only by its regulator
insisting on benchmarking against the best in England. Thus we must
doubt whether productivity would remain high after nationalisation
- anyone who has misgivings should remind
himself of the industry's track record when it was last publicly
owned. It is a tale of underinvestment, poor water quality,
desultory attention to environmental standards, river pollution,
vast amounts of leakage and, in 1976, millions of households in the
regions cut off during a drought. Do we really want to go back
there?
I am indebted to Private Eye for details of how the Homebase DIY
chain was sold for just GBP1. The boss of Retail Economics has
described his amazement after he snapped up an incredible bank-
holiday bargain, buying the Company for 100p. I only went in there
to buy a cordless drill which had been reduced to GBP45. You can
imagine how chuffed I was to walk out with the entire chain of 250
shops and 11,500 workers for less than a cup of coffee. A spokesman
for the Australian sellers said that while they were disappointed
with the price, they were not surprised. We kept meaning to do the
place up to make it more attractive to a buyer, but you know what
it is with DIY jobs, you just never get round to them..
The date is 19 March 1868: three lawyers and businessmen put
their names to one of the greatest financial innovations ever - the
pooled investment fund, or investment trust if you prefer. The
initial portfolio included 18 stocks, some in markets such as
Argentina and Peru (Foreign) and some that were ruled by Britain
such as New South Wales and Nova Scotia (Colonial). So, the Foreign
and Colonial Investment Trust was born. The initial dividend yield
was 6 per cent, not too bad considering that the prevailing yield
on British Government issues was 3.3 per cent. The 20(th) Century
saw a rise in inflation, which made a bond portfolio hazardous to
investors' health. The trust moved into equities in the 1920s: the
first such holding being Shell, which is still in the portfolio
today. The concept of pooled investing has stood the test of time,
even if the closed-end investment trust has been overtaken by the
open-ended funds. Of all the advantages enjoyed by investment
trusts, the one I like most is the ability to hold back some of the
dividend income received by the trust each year to smooth the path
of the pay-outs they, in turn, provide to shareholders.. This is
why there are now 21 investment trusts that have paid rising
dividends for 20 consecutive years: four have achieved this target
for over 50 years. By way of comparison, Athelney Trust has
increased its divided every year for the last 15 years. Long may
this continue!
Theresa May's predicament, as she seeks a path away from the EU,
is that it is impossible to negotiate with people who are so
unreasonable. No matter what she puts to them, they say no. United
in contemptuous hostility to any suggestion, they delphically
pretend they have no need to compromise while offering no
constructive proposal of their own. I feel for the prime minister
having to negotiate with these dreadful people. After failing to
get any sense out of David Davis, Boris Johnson and Jacob
Rees-Fogg, it must be a relief to go to Brussels and talk to that
nice Mr Barnier...........
Surprise, surprise, the Financial Reporting Council, hitherto
considered to be rather too cuddly for its own good, has slammed
KPMG for an unacceptable deterioration in its auditing. So much so
that it is quite conceivable that the accountant could drop out of
the Big Four as potential clients and smart trainees look
elsewhere. Auditors are in the reputation business. They must be
seen to be true and fair in order to pass the same judgement on
company accounts with credibility. But KPMG's good reputation has
been debased by scandals, not least Carillion. KPMG's proportion of
good (or limited improvements required) audits has dropped to only
61 per cent having been a persistent laggard in recent years. There
is no danger that KPMG partners, even if profits have fallen to
GBP300m, will have to exchange their Cayennes for Yarises. But it
is interesting to speculate how competitive UK auditing would be if
KPMG slipped down to the middle rank of bean-counters. The case for
breaking up the Big Three would then be compelling.
N. B. In July, just after Athelney's half-year end, PwC was
ordered by a US federal judge to pay $625m to the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation due to the firm's failure to detect criminal
fraud that led to the collapse of Colonial Bank. PwC is to
appeal.
How to keep your personal data secure on Facebook:-
1) Delete your Facebook account
2) Go outside, take a walk, enjoy the fresh air, pop into the pub and talk to other customers.
3) Er
4) That's it.
The government has sought to ease concerns that Russia may
retaliate for the Syria bombing with a series of debilitating
attacks on the NHS. We can assure the British public that the
government has cleverly outmanoeuvred the Russians by totally
devastating the NHS years ago said a spokesman for No10, so, even
if Russia did a launch a counter-attack, patients would be
hard-pressed to notice any difference. We will continue to run our
public services into the ground to deprive the Russian hackers of
the opportunity of bringing the NHS to a standstill.
A rather more hawkish Bank of England last raised rates in
November, 2017 and seems likely to do so again this August. For my
money, though, I would be in no hurry to do so. On close
inspection, the case for tighter money looks rather thin.
Above-target inflation was caused by the Brexit-related
depreciation of sterling, which raised the cost of imports. The
impact of that depreciation is fast falling out of the figures. If
recent trends continue, then there is every chance that inflation
will be back on track at 2 per cent by the end of the year, even if
there is a small upward blip from higher oil prices. In the first
quarter of 2018, the economy grew by only 0.2 per cent, although
that reflects the Carillion smash in January and the Beast from the
East in March. Furthermore, nominal wage growth is below 3 per
cent, which is measly by historical standards. Inflation in the
dominant service sector, largely generated by domestic activity, is
low and falling. Make no mistake, the economy will need tighter
money at some point but for now I would leave rates where they
are.
Does anyone think that the railways were better run in the
halcyon days of state ownership? [Yes, is the answer]. British Rail
was starved of investment, having to plead for cash from the same
pot that funded schools, hospitals, the armed forces and much else.
In the five years before privatisation, there was almost no
investment in new trains; since then, GBP10bn has been spent on new
rolling stock. The railways are much safer these days, both for
passengers and staff and, what is more, a great deal more popular
than before. Passenger journeys have doubled to 1.6bn per year in
the 18 years since privatisation despite rising fares. QED?
The meeting at Chequers to vote on Theresa May's plan for Brexit
occurred just after Athelney Trust's half-year end. Her plan was to
combine two previous ideas: Mrs May had tried a customs union plan
without technology and another with technology. The new plan would
be, in effect, an amalgam of her customs partnership (rejected) and
her maximum facilitation plan (invented). It would see the UK
collecting duties at our borders at a rate set by the EU. The UK
would win the right to negotiate trade agreements with other
nations and importers would claim the difference in the tariff from
the exchequer. This is a sort of a fudge to stay in a sort of
customs union and it sort of deals with the Northern Ireland border
question. Short of staying in the EU, this is the best idea yet
although I have absolutely no idea how it might be received in
Brussels or indeed whether the technology required to make her plan
work yet exists. Snags they are in plenty: 80 per cent of the UK
economy is services. The UK has the highest share of services
exports of any leading economy. More than 40 per cent of exports to
the EU last year were services with a large majority absolutely
nothing to do with banking and the City of London. Great exporting
jobs include the technicians who service Rolls-Royce engines across
the world, university lecturers who teach overseas students, lorry
drivers who criss-cross Europe, musicians on a tour, international
tax lawyers and estate agents who flog flats in London. The jobs
are just as important for Britain's exports as, say, the Airbus
wing manufacturer yet the services sector has hardly had a word
said in its favour since the referendum. Back to the drawing
board?
It is jarring for EU leaders to hear Britain asking for special
deals when its membership package is the most bespoke of the lot:
outside the euro; outside the Schengen border-free zone; treaty
opt-outs on social protection and criminal justice and a budget
rebate. Surely the best that Britain can do is to raise the UK up
to the first among third countries. Theresa May might claim that as
a success or she could admit that there was once a better deal -
before Britain voted to leave.....
Results
Gross revenue increased to GBP141,907 compared to the same
period last year of GBP126,098.
Portfolio Review
Holdings of Bonmarche and Paypoint were purchased for the first
time. Additional holdings of Cineworld, Braemar Shipping Services
and Epwin were also acquired. Countrywide, Debenhams, DX Group,
Juridica Investments, Slingsby and Sprue Aegis were sold. In
addition 4 shareholdings were top-sliced to provide capital for new
purchases.
Dividend
As is the Board's practice, consideration of a dividend will be
left until the final results are known.
Interim management report
The important events that have occurred during the period under
review and the key factors influencing the financial statements are
set out in the Chairman's Report. The Board considers that the
principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company remain the
same as those disclosed in the Annual Report for the year ended 31
December 2017 and are listed below.
Risks
The Company's assets consist mainly of listed securities and its
principal risks are therefore market-related. The Company is also
exposed to currency risk in respect of a small number of
investments held in overseas markets.
The major risks associated with the Company are market and
liquidity risk. The Company has established a framework for
managing these risks. The directors have guidelines for the
management of investments and financial instruments.
Market Risk
Market risk arises from changes in interest rates, valuations
awarded to equities, movements in prices and the liquidity of
financial instruments.
Liquidity Risk
Liquidity Risk is the risk that the Company may have difficulty
in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities. The
Company has no borrowings; therefore there is no exposure to
interest rate changes.
The Company is able to reposition its investment portfolio when
required so as to accommodate liquidity needs.
Prospects
The consensus is for a Summer of Stress or Sell in May and Go
Away but if the trade skirmish can be contained and US interest
rates rise steadily (rather than in a rush because unfunded tax
cuts are resulting in an over-heated economy), it might pay to go
against one's instincts and stay fairly fully invested. Markets are
very thin over the summer holidays resulting in volatility: some of
that may be upward.
Dr. E.C. Pohl
19 July 2018
HALF YEARLY INCOME STATEMENT
(INCORPORATING THE REVENUE ACCOUNT)
Audited
Year ended
Unaudited Unaudited 31 December
6 months ended 30 June 6 months ended 30 June
2018 2017 2017
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Total
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Loss on
investments
held at fair
value - (60,942) (60,942) - 212,073 212,073 835,709
Income from
investments 141,907 - 141,907 126,098 - 126,098 238,832
Investment
Management
expenses (3,135) (30,076) (33,211) (2,968) (26,930) (29,898) (62,170)
Other expenses (13,863) (36,753) (50,616) (13,466) (33,663) (47,129) (100,344)
Net return
on ordinary
activities
before taxation 124,909 (127,771) (2,862) 109,664 151,480 261,144 912,027
Taxation - - - - - - -
Net return
on ordinary
activities
after taxation 124,909 (127,771) (2,862) 109,664 151,480 261,144 912,027
Dividends Paid:
Dividend (189,655) - (189,655) (185,036) - (185,036) (185,036)
Transferred
to reserves (64,746) (127,771) (192,517) (75,372) 151,480 76,108 726,991
============ ========== =========== ============ ========= =========== ============
Return per
ordinary share 5.8p (5.9)p (0.1)p 5.1p 7p 12.1p
The total column of this statement is the profit and loss
account of the Company prepared in accordance with Financial
Reporting Standards ("FRS"). The supplementary revenue return and
capital return columns are prepared in accordance with the
Statement of Recommended Practice issued in November 2014 and
updated in February 2018 with consequential amendments by the
Association of Investment Companies ("AIC SORP").
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from
continuing operations.
A separate Statement of Other Comprehensive Income has not been
prepared as all such gains and losses are included in the Income
Statement. The revenue column of the Income Statement includes all
income and expenses. The capital column accounts for the realised
profit or loss on investments and the management fees and other
costs charged to capital.
HALF-YEARLY STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2018 (Unaudited)
Called-up Capital Capital Total
Share Share reserve reserve Retained Shareholders'
Capital Premium realised unrealised Earnings Funds
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Balance at 1 January
2018 539,470 881,087 1,913,853 2,391,839 419,275 6,145,524
Net loss on realisation
of investments - - (60,942) - - (60,942)
Decrease in unrealised
Appreciation - - - (251,415) - (251,415)
Expenses allocated
to
Capital - - (66,829) - - (66,829)
Profit for the
period - - - - 124,909 124,909
Dividend paid in
year - - - - (189,655) (189,655)
Shareholders' Funds
at 30 June 2018 539,470 881,087 1,786,082 2,140,424 354,529 5,701,592
========== ======== ========== =========== ========== ==============
For the Six Months Ended 30 June 2017 (Unaudited)
Called-up Capital Capital Total
Share Share reserve Reserve Retained Shareholders'
Capital Premium realised Unrealised earnings Funds
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Balance at 1 January
2017 539,470 881,087 1,747,083 1,852,759 398,134 5,418,533
Net gains on realisation
of investments - - 212,073 - - 212,073
Increase in unrealised
Appreciation - - - 303,799 - 303,799
Expenses allocated
to
Capital - - (60,593) - - (60,593)
Profit for the
year - - - - 109,664 109,664
Dividend paid in
year - - - - (185,036) (185,036)
Shareholders' Funds
at 30 June 2017 539,470 881,087 1,898,563 2,156,558 322,762 5,798,440
========== ======== ========== =========== ========== ==============
For the Year Ended 31 December 2017 (Audited)
Called-up Capital Capital Total
Share Share reserve Reserve Retained Shareholders'
Capital Premium realised Unrealised earnings Funds
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Balance at 1 January
2017 537,470 881,087 1,747,083 1,852,759 398,134 5,418,533
Net gains on realisation
of investments - - 296,629 - - 296,629
Increase in unrealised
appreciation - - - 539,080 - 539,080
Expenses allocated
to
Capital - - (129,859) - - (129,859)
Profit for the
year - - - - 206,177 206,177
Dividend paid in
year - - - - (185,036) (185,036)
Shareholders' Funds
at 31 December
2017 539,470 881,087 1,913,853 2,391,839 419,275 6,145,524
========== ======== ========== =========== ========== ==============
HALF YEARLY STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 30 JUNE
2018
Audited
Unaudited Unaudited 31 December
30 June 30 June
2018 2017 2017
GBP GBP GBP
Fixed assets
Investments held at
fair value through
profit and loss 5,612,641 5,660,338 5,966,679
---------- ---------- ------------
Current assets
Trade receivables 79,213 88,028 156,798
Cash at bank and in
hand 20,589 60,351 45,289
99,802 148,379 202,087
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year (10,851) (10,277) (23,242)
---------- ---------- ------------
Net current assets 88,951 138,102 178,845
---------- ---------- ------------
Total assets less current
liabilities 5,701,592 5,798,440 6,145,524
Provisions for liabilities
and charges - - -
Net assets 5,701,592 5,798,440 6,145,524
========== ========== ============
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 539,470 539,470 539,470
Share premium account 881,087 881,087 881,087
Other reserves (non
distributable)
Capital reserve - realised 1,786,082 1,898,563 1,913,853
Capital reserve - unrealised 2,140,424 2,156,558 2,391,839
Retained earnings 354,529 322,762 419,275
Shareholders' funds
- all equity 5,701,592 5,798,440 6,145,524
========== ========== ============
Net Asset Value per
share 264.2p 268.7p 284.8p
Number of shares in
issue 2,157,881 2,157,881 2,157,881
HALF YEARLY STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDING
30 JUNE 2018
Notes Unaudited Unaudited Audited
6 months 6 months
ended ended Year ended
30 June 31 December
30 June 2018 2017 2017
GBP GBP GBP
Cash flows from operating
activities
Net revenue return 124,909 109,664 206,177
Adjustments for:
Expenses charged to
capital (66,829) (60,593) (129,859)
(Decrease)/Increase
in creditors (12,391) (4,554) 8,410
Decrease in debtors 77,585 168,937 100,166
Cash from operations 123,274 213,454 184,894
------------- ---------- ------------
Cash flows from investing
activities
Purchase of investments (170,633) (452,748) (674,520)
Proceeds from sales
of investments 212,314 425,548 660,818
Net cash used in investing
activities 41,681 (27,200) (13,702)
------------- ---------- ------------
Equity dividends paid (189,655) (185,036) (185,036)
Net (Decrease)/ Increase (24,700) 1,218 (13,844)
Cash at the beginning
of the period 45,289 59,133 59,133
Cash at the end of the
period 20,589 60,351 45,289
============= ========== ============
NOTES TO THE HALF YEARLY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30 JUNE 2018
1. Accounting Policies
a) Statement of Compliance
The Company's Financial Statements for the period ended 30 June
2018 have been prepared under UK Generally Accepted Accounting
Practice (UK GAAP) and the 2014 Statement of Recommended Practice,
'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture
Capital Trusts' issued in November 2014 and updated in February
2018 with consequential amendments ('the SORP') issued by the
Association of Investment Companies.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with
the accounting policies set out in the statutory accounts for the
year ended 31 December 2017.
b) Financial information
The financial information contained in this report does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of the
Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the period ended
30 June 2018 and 30 June 2017 have not been audited or reviewed by
the Company's Auditor pursuant to the Auditing Practices Board
guidance on such reviews. The information for the year to 31
December 2017 has been extracted from the latest published Annual
Report and Financial Statements, which have been lodged with the
Registrar of Companies, contained an unqualified auditor's report
and did not contain a statement required under Section 498(2) or
(3) of the Companies Act 2006.
c) Going concern
The Company's assets consist mainly of equity shares in
companies which, in most circumstances, are realisable within a
short timescale. The Directors believe that the Company has
adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going
concern basis in preparing the accounts.
2. To the best of our knowledge and belief there are no related
party transactions within the meaning required by the Disclosure
and Transparency Rules 4.2.8R (disclosure of related party
transactions and changes therein).
3. Taxation
The tax charge for the six months to 30 June 2018 is nil (year
to 31 December 2017: nil; six months to 30 June 2017: nil).
The Company has an effective tax rate of 0% for the year ending
31 December 2018. The estimated effective tax rate is 0% as
investment gains are exempt from tax owing to the Company's status
as an Investment Trust and there is expected to be an excess of
management expenses over taxable income.
4. The calculation of earnings per share for the six months
ended 30 June 2018 is based on the attributable return on ordinary
activities after taxation and on the weighted average number of
shares in issue during the period.
6 months ended 30 June 6 months ended 30 June
2018 (Unaudited) 2017 (Unaudited)
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP
Attributable return
on
ordinary activities
after taxation 124,909 (127,771) (2,862) 110,205 151,480 261,685
Weighted average
number of shares 2,157,881 2,157,881
Return per ordinary
share 5.8p (5.9p) (0.1p) 5.1p 7p 12.1p
12 months ended 31 December
2017 (Audited)
Revenue Capital Total
GBP GBP GBP
Attributable return
on
ordinary activities
after taxation 206,177 705,850 912,027
Weighted average
number of shares 2,157,881
Return per ordinary
share 9.6p 32.2p 42.3p
5. Return per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the
attributable return on ordinary activities after taxation, by the
weighted average number of shares in issue at 30 June 2018 of
2,157,881 (30 June 2017: 2,157,881 and 31 December 2017:
2,157,881).
6. Net Assets Value per Share is calculated by dividing the net
assets by the weighted average number of shares in issue at 30 June
2018 of 2,157,881 (30 June 2017: 2,157,881 and 31 December 2017:
2,157,881).
7. Copies of the Half Yearly Financial Statements for the six
months ended 30 June 2018 will be available on the Company's
website www.athelneytrust.co.uk as soon as practicable.
For further information:
Robin Boyle
Managing Director Athelney Trust
020 7628 7937
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
IR LLFILDLIALIT
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July 20, 2018 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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