Performance at Month End
October 13 2003 - 12:49PM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:8488Q
Merrill Lynch New Energy Tech. PLC
13 October 2003
MERRILL LYNCH NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY plc
All information is at 30 September 2003 and unaudited
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three Six One Since
Month Months Months Year Launch*
Net asset value -2.0% 23.9% 42.1% 22.6% -74.5%
Share price 3.6% 34.4% 56.4% 41.0% -78.9%
*23 October 2000
Source: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers
At month end
Net asset value: 24.44p
Share price: 21.50p
Discount to NAV: 12.03%
Net yield: N/A
Total assets: #49.1m
Gearing: Nil
Ordinary shares in issue: 198,950,000
Sector % Total Country % Total
Analysis Assets Analysis Assets
Auto & On-Site Generation 37.6 USA 48.7
Enabling Energy Technology 24.4 Canada 28.4
Renewable Energy 21.9 Denmark 5.7
Energy Storage 13.3 Germany 5.0
Net Current Assets 2.7 Spain 4.8
Cash 0.1 United Kingdom 3.6
Australia 1.0
Net Current Assets 2.7
Cash 0.1
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100.0 100.0
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Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company % of Investments Country of Risk
Fuelcell Energy 6.8 USA
Ballard Power 6.3 Canada
American Superconductor 6.3 USA
Active Power 5.9 USA
Intermagnetics 5.8 USA
Hydrogenics 5.5 Canada
Gamesa 5.0 Spain
Vestas Wind 4.2 Denmark
Westport Innovations 4.1 Canada
Xantrex 4.0 Canada
----
Total 53.9
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Robin Batchelor and Poppy Buxton, representing the Investment Manager, noted:
Fund Performance Attribution:
Performance Review
During the month under review, the Trust continued to benefit from continued
positive momentum in the sector. The share price increased by 3.6% during the
month whilst the Net Asset Value per share ("NAV") remained relatively neutral.
The period was characterised by generally strong share price performance across
our North American holdings which tend to focus on back up power, fuel cells and
enabling energy technology.
This month, black outs in Denmark, Scandinavia and Italy highlighted the fact
that power reliability is not only a serious problem in the US but also in
Europe. It now seems clear the utilities will have to invest in new technologies
to improve electricity transmission (and in some cases generation), to help
alleviate the problem. We believe that this investment will ultimately benefit
many of the Trust's holdings that offer solutions in this area.
One such company is American Superconductor, which manufactures superconducting
wire to support and upgrade the transmission grid. This month, American
Superconductor successfully completed its well-flagged US$47m equity raising.
The deal was 2.5x oversubscribed and consequently the share price is now 21%
above the issue price. This financing will allow the company to commercialise
its second generation superconducting wire (first generation is already
commercial).
Following American Superconductor's successful equity issue, Energy Conversion
Devices and Quantum Fuel Cell have likewise decided to do similar deals, which
should be completed over the next few months.
Active Power, a manufacturer of flywheels, announced the first order for the
international version of its new high power uninterruptible power supply (UPS),
a 1000 kVA unit and the shipment of its first 1200 kVA system. The Vice
President of Sales and Marketing commented that, "the quote activity and general
interest in our 1000 and 1200 kVA systems has been very strong. Given the
typical 6-18 month sales cycle for these high power systems, we are excited
about our early success in this project."
Portfolio Activity
We took some profits in FuelCell Energy following a period of strong
performance. We added to our position in Hydrogenics following a positive
meeting with management.
Outlook
Over the past 3 months both the US and several countries in Europe have suffered
severe blackouts. These events will continue to focus government, industry and
investors on the fragility of our current energy systems and consequently on the
benefits of energy technology. We believe that this renewed interest will
benefit share prices and may accelerate the progression of the industry.
Latest information is available by typing www.mlim.co.uk/its on the internet,
"MNE.L" on Reuters, "MNE LN" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).
13 October 2003
During the month under review, the Trust continued to benefit from continued
positive momentum in the sector. The share price increased by 3.6% during the
month whilst the Net Asset Value per share ("NAV") remained relatively neutral.
The period was characterised by generally strong share price performance across
our North American holdings which tend to focus on back up power, fuel cells and
enabling energy technology.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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