NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO
THE UNITED STATES
*****
Guernsey, 17 January 2014 - Volta Finance Limited (the "Company" or "Volta
Finance" or "Volta") has published its 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
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Â | At 31.12.13 | At 29.11.13 |
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Gross Asset Value (GAV / € million) | 266.8 | 270.0 |
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| GAV per share (€) | 7.36 | 7.57 |
+-------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
At the end of December 2013, the Gross Asset Value* (the "GAV") of Volta Finance
Limited (the "Company", "Volta Finance" or "Volta") was €266.8 m or €7.36 per
share, a decrease of €0.21 per share from the end of November 2013 after the
payment of €0.31 per share in December. Including the dividend payment it
reflects a +1.2% monthly performance.
For 2013, the performance is +25.3%.
The December mark-to-market variations* of Volta's asset classes have been:
+0.8% for Synthetic Corporate Credit deals, +2.9% for CLO Equity tranches;
+0.7% for CLO Debt tranches, -2.1% for Cash Corporate Credit deals and +2.0% for
ABS. The positive performance of assets in December is explained by positive
credit markets as well as by ongoing payments from the assets.
Volta's assets generated the equivalent of €1.8m cash flows in December 2013
(non-Euro amounts converted to Euro using end-of-month cross currency rates and
excluding principal payments from debt assets) bringing the total cash generated
during the last six months to €15.2m compared with €16.0m for the previous six-
month period ended in June 2013.
In December, the Company purchased 3 assets for the equivalent of €14.1m from
which €10.5m will be settled in February 2014 (1 equity CLO position and 2 debts
of CLOs) and unwound one synthetic position for €4.8m. Under standard
assumptions the average projected IRR of these purchases was 9.1%, the projected
IRR on the unwound position was 2.3%.
At the end of December, Volta held €19.1m in cash, including €0.3m in relation
to the Liquidity Enhancement Contract and excluding €0.4m paid in relation to
its currency hedge and T-Notes positions. Volta could be considered to have €7m
available to invest when considering the need to finance the already known €10.5
late settlement.
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
In December 2013, credit spreads pursued their tightening in Europe and in the
US. The 5 year iTraxx European Main index and 5 year iTraxx European Crossover
Index (series 20) spreads went respectively, from 79 and 320 bps at the end of
November 2013 to 70 and 286 bps at the end of December 2013. During the same
period, credit spreads in the US, as illustrated by the 5y CDX main index
(series 21) went  from 70 to 62 bps. According to the CSFB Leverage Loan Index,
the average price for USA liquid first lien loans increased from 98.44% at the
end of November 2013 to 98.54% at the end of December 2013. In Europe, the price
of the S&P European Leveraged Loan Index increased from 95.15% to 95.27% at the
end of December 2013.**
VOLTA FINANCE PORTFOLIO
In December 2013, no particular event materially affected the situation of the
Synthetic Corporate Credit deals.
Regarding the Cash Corporate Credit Deals, no particular event or information
materially affected the situation of the positions in this bucket during the
month.
Regarding the Company's investments in Equity or Debt tranches of CLOs, in
December 2013, no particular event materially affected the situation of the
positions in this bucket. All the positions are currently paying coupons.
Regarding the Company's ABS investments, no particular event affected the
situation of these investments.
The Company considers that opportunities could arise in several structured
credit sectors in the current market environment. Amongst others, mezzanine or
equity tranches of CLOs, RMBS tranches as well as tranches of Cash or Synthetic
Corporate Credit portfolios could be considered for investment.
The Company took the opportunity of this summer's increases in US government
rates to put in place a long position on US December T-notes futures generating
a USD1m gain. A more modest position was put in place on the March contract as
opportunities to enter into a fixed rate position have been considered weak in
November and December. At the end of December the P&L of this position was
slightly positive and this position was comparable to a long USD10m position on
the US T-notes.
* "Mark-to-market variation" is calculated as the Dietz-performance of the
assets in each bucket, taking into account the Mark-to-Market of the assets at
month-end, payments received from the assets over the period, and ignoring
changes in cross currency rates Nevertheless, some residual currency effects
could impact the aggregate value of the portfolio when aggregating each bucket.
** Index data source: Markit, Bloomberg.
(Full monthly report in attachment or on www.voltafinance.com)
*****
ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED
Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey)
Law, 2008 (as amended) and listed on NYSE 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. The assets that the
Company may invest in either directly or indirectly include, but are not limited
to: corporate credits; sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt; residential mortgage
loans; automobile loans. Volta Finance Limited's basic approach to its
underlying assets is through vehicles and arrangements that provide leveraged
exposure to some of those underlying assets.
Volta Finance Limited 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 €553
billion in assets under management as of the end of December 2012. AXA IM
employs approximately 2,450 people around the world and operates out of 21
countries.
CONTACTS
Company Secretary
Sanne Group (Guernsey) Limited
voltafinance@sannegroup.com
+44 (0) 1481 739810
Portfolio Administrator
Deutsche Bank
voltaadmin@list.db.com
For the Investment Manager
AXA Investment Managers Paris
Serge Demay
serge.demay@axa-im.com
+33 (0) 1 44 45 84 47
*****
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 document is not an offer for sale of the securities referred to herein in
the United States or to persons who are "U.S. persons" for purposes of
Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities
Act"), or otherwise in circumstances where such offer would be restricted by
applicable law. Such securities may not be sold in the United States absent
registration or an exemption from registration from the Securities Act. The
company does not intend to register any portion of the offer of such securities
in the United States or to conduct a public offering of such securities in the
United States.
*****
This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i)
persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals
falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000
(Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth
companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling
within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being
referred to as "relevant persons"). The securities referred to herein are only
available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or
otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in 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.
*****
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.
*****
December Monthly Report:
http://hugin.info/137695/R/1755530/592759.pdf
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originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Volta Finance Limited via GlobeNewswire
[HUG#1755530]