Portfolio Update
April 24 2008 - 10:55AM
UK Regulatory
MERRILL LYNCH NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY plc
All information is at 31 March 2008 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three Six One Five Since Launch
Month Months Months Year Years (23 Oct 00)
Net asset value 1.3% -13.0% 2.9% 14.2% 283.6% -31.1%
Share price -2.6% -8.2% 3.2% 10.7% 370.9% -35.3%
Source: BlackRock
At month end
Net asset value: 65.98p
Share price: 64.75p
Discount to NAV: 1.86%
Net yield: n/a
Total Assets: �160.0m
Gearing: 0.0%
Ordinary shares in issue: 241,750,000
Benchmark
Sector Analysis % of Total Country Analysis % of Total
Assets Assets
Renewable Energy 57.5 USA 32.2
Enabling Energy Technology 14.8 Spain 14.7
Alternative Fuels 13.2 Denmark 11.7
Materials Technology 5.6 Germany 8.4
Auto & On-Site Generation 2.6 United Kingdom 7.9
Energy Storage 0.7 Canada 5.7
Net current assets 5.6 India 2.7
----- South Africa 2.7
100.0 Belgium 2.4
===== France 2.0
Norway 2.0
China 1.1
Ireland 0.9
Net current assets 5.6
-----
100.0
=====
Ten Largest Investments
Company Country of Risk
American Superconductor USA
Climate Exchange United Kingdom
Clipper Windpower USA
FPL Group USA
Gamesa Corp Technologica Spain
Iberdrola Spain
Iberdrola Renovables Spain
Itron USA
Potash Canada
Vestas Wind Systems Denmark
Robin Batchelor and Poppy Allonby, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
Portfolio Performance
The Company's NAV gained 1.3% in March, as investor confidence steadied after a
turbulent January and the surging oil price focused attention on alternatives.
The Company's share price proved more vulnerable to weakness in the wider
equity markets, falling by 2.6%.
Although the market continues to reflect concerns over the potential for the
global liquidity crunch to reduce economic growth rates, investors continue to
appreciate the compelling growth fundamentals within the new energy sector,
underpinned by a positive legislative outlook (with particular regard to the US
election) and the high price of oil, gas and coal. The oil price remained above
$100 in March as strong emerging market demand for oil outpaced weakness in the
US and Europe.
Within the portfolio, we continue to favour the wind sector, which we believe
offers utilities the cheapest and most effective way to add new "clean" energy
to their generation fleet.
We saw some positive legislation from India this month, with a 10.5GW target
for wind power by 2012, a 35% uplift from today. The package, which includes
excise duty exemptions and a ten-year tax holiday for wind farm operators,
should stimulate business for turbine manufacturers such as Suzlon Energy. In
the medium term we are also looking forward to a wider renewable energy policy
which the government is known to be working on.
There has been much comment in the press recently surrounding the
sustainability and environmental credentials of biofuels. We see enduring
potential for biofuels derived from feedstocks that do not compete with food or
food farmland - for example jatropha oil for biodiesel and cellulosic material
for ethanol - and the Company has some small prospective investments in these
areas. In the meantime, government targets to diversify their fuel supplies (a
prime driver of policy in the US for example) will continue to benefit our
investments in the ancillary players in the industry - logistics and service
companies - as well as those working to alleviate the feedstock shortage.
During the month, Clipper Windpower announced that delays in their turbine
remediation programme had put a strain on their working capital. In order to
bolster the company's financial position, they raised $195m from a combination
of equity issuance to major shareholders, a customer credit facility and
customer prepayments. Shortly after the month-end, the company announced an
injection of $150m equity funding from JPMorgan's private equity arm One Equity
Partners. With its balance sheet in a more secure state, attention can now
return to the execution of the turbine manufacturing operations, as well as the
funding of Clipper's wind farm development business Capgen.
Portfolio Activity
We continued to add to the Company's large cap windpower holdings. This wind
sub-sector currently totals just under 40% of the portfolio. We trimmed our
exposure to solar cell manufacturers, whose margins could come under pressure
in future if end market demand is not able to absorb aggressive expansions in
cell manufacturing capacity.
Outlook
New energy stocks are not immune to the less predictable macro factors causing
heightened volatility and risk aversion in the broader equity markets. That
said, with energy prices still at record high levels and the momentum from `new
energy' policy and legislation on both sides of the Atlantic continuing
unabated, the long-term outlook for the sector remains positive.
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/its on the
internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV
terminal).
24 April 2008
END
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