Co-CEO of the Company, Sachin Oza, stated,
“We are very pleased with the progress being made across the Reabold portfolio. In particular, the increased cash flow generated from California is highly complementary to the larger scale assets in the UK and Romania.”
“We look forward to results from both the West Newton test programme and the IM-1 well in Romania during Q3, both of which have the potential to deliver material returns in a success case.”
The Company said the mineralisation was identified at a 250 metre high-gold zone, which plunges towards the North and provides a target for future exploration. Cora Gold added that the drilling stage of the current programme had been completed at the Sanankoro Gold Discovery during Q3 2019.
Company CEO Jonathan Forster, stated,
“These two deeper RC holes have demonstrated perfectly the continuity of high grades at Sanankoro that are present along strike and also to depths of over 100m at the Zone A prospect.”
“The depth of oxidation in this part of Zone A appears to be around 110m, enhancing the prospect’s overall mineability, which would likely consist of an open pit operation with potential for depth extensions. The results of these two holes are then an important step in the objective of identifying potential starter pit areas for any future mining project.”
“The results highlight the apparent northerly plunge of the higher-grade zone, which remains open to depth and as such remains an attractive exploration target. This latest drill programme has highlighted the inherent potential at Sanankoro that is still to be fully realised and I look forward to updating shareholders with further upcoming results.”
The Group stated that the recovery witnessed in global equities had yet to fully filter through to private equities, and subsequently the -1.4% returns of their Private Equity portfolio were ‘detrimental’ to the overall returns of their investment portfolio. In the long run, the F&C Investment Trust expects private equity to continue enhancing its returns.
The Company also told investors that gearing stood at 6.9%, the latest issue of debt has a blended rate of 2.2% and Beatrice Hollond will succeed Simon Fraser as Chairman upon his retirement, effective 31 December 2019.
Paul Niven, Fund Manager of FCIT, said:
“Equity markets remain supported by reasonable valuations and fundamentals and investors have so far viewed the more accommodative stance recently taken by policymakers as positive, despite increased risks. In any event we will adhere to our strategy of holding concentrated individual portfolios that are managed, as a whole and on a sustainable basis, to provide global diversification, lower volatility and lower risk with the aim of achieving outperformance and real rises in dividends over the longer term.”
Incumbent chairman, Simon Fraser, said:“The political and economic backdrop can be expected to remain uncertain, particularly for the UK given the unclear outcome of the Brexit negotiations. As ever, there will be opportunities for FCIT. As a closed-ended listed investment company, we are not constrained by asset sales to meet redemptions. Our share capital structure gives us the flexibility to take a longer term view and stay invested while taking advantage of illiquidity throughout normal and volatile markets. Our debt profile is now highly diversified by maturity and we have locked in borrowing at historically low rates of interest. This and our Ongoing Charges figure of 0.65% leaves us very well positioned to continue the delivery of long-term growth in capital and income for our shareholders.”
Company CEO James Barham, stated,
“This quarter has seen strong growth in AUM/NUM, with continued positive sales of structured equity mandates in Derivatives Solutions and global equity mandates in Institutional Equities. In addition, investment performance for the period was positive across all divisions.”
“We have discussed the benefits of our diversified business model for a number of years and in particular our low beta characteristics compared to many of our asset management peers. It was interesting to see this proven during the fourth calendar quarter when equity markets fell significantly, yet both our assets and revenues remained resilient. We continue to develop a range of Macro strategies, many of which will provide positive absolute returns in negative equity markets.”
“In the year, we have seen a strong return to growth from our Fiduciary Management business as the market normalises following the CMA review. We expect activity levels to increase as we move into a window during which we expect a significant number of legacy mandates across the market to undertake formal reviews.”
“We continue to have a positive outlook on markets, which we believe are supported by a stable environment. Globally, valuations still look fair, credit conditions are improving and overall economic conditions are on the up. Accordingly, our River FOURcast is indicating STABLE over the next six month period and we have therefore positioned our client portfolios for continued growth, however, there is obvious political risk in certain markets and we will continue to monitor developments in this area.”
AFC Energy also boasted what it described as a ‘strong’ balance sheet to fund product development and the launch of its Go-to-Market strategy.
The Group also announced; the finalisation of engineering and design for modular electric vehicle charger units, appointment of a dedicated sales team, development of industrial scale projects, expansion of its product range through ongoing development of auxiliary products with reduced footprint and operating costs, and the longest continued operation of electrode pairing delivered under the De Nora / AFC Energy Joint Development Agreement.Adam Bond, Company Chief Executive Officer, said,
“The productisation of AFC Energy’s fuel cell system is now well underway. Delivery of the first hydrogen fueled EV charger for deployment across the UK later this year, to be followed by modular stationary off grid power systems, highlights the corner AFC Energy has now turned in taking its hydrogen power units to market. This in no small way has been driven by the acceleration of Government policy towards decarbonization of the transportation sector in parallel with the push for reduced air pollution from the off-grid power market.”
“The last six months has seen several important landmarks in our history, including the achievement of record electrode lives in collaboration with De Nora, further progression on the cost reduction of electrode manufacture, the bringing together of the supply chain for our systems’ mass production and the introduction of AFC Energy’s new high power density alkaline fuel cell system. I am particularly excited about the growing success in system integration we are seeing, including the potential for the steps forward in the use of ammonia as a lower cost fuel for point of use hydrogen generation, which will allow us to target new growth markets for the fuel cell, seeing AFC Energy as a leading exponent of the rapidly emerging hydrogen economy, both in the UK and internationally.”
Underlying Trading Operating Profit reached 17.1% and Trading Operating Profit increased to 15.5%, up 100 and 90 basis points respectively. Underlying EPS also rose 15.7% on constant currency and 14.6% on a reported basis to CHF 2.13. Following last year’s hike led by the disposal of the Group’s confectionery business, this year’s EPS was down 12.3%.
Nestle noted that its free cash flow increased by 40.4% to CHF 4.1 billion. The Group said its portfolio management was on track and its full year guidance projected sales growth of 3.5%, alongside increases in profit margin and EPS.
Company CEO, Mark Schneider, stated,
“We are encouraged by our first half results and have made further progress toward our 2020 financial goals. Disciplined execution and fast innovation contributed to improved organic growth and profitability. Our growth was broad-based with our largest market, the United States, performing particularly well. Across our categories increased investment behind our brands and in innovation is clearly paying off, as reflected in our strong momentum in PetCare and the return to mid single-digit growth in coffee. Our Starbucks launch has been a great success so far and we plan on further geographic expansion and product innovation to make the most of this unique opportunity. Active portfolio management will continue to sharpen our strategic focus and position the company in attractive high-growth businesses. Our value creation model is clearly delivering the expected results and will support sustained profitable growth.”
