NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES
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Guernsey, 19 December 2011 - 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
| At 30.11.11 | At 31.10.11 | |
| Gross Asset Value (GAV / € million) | 135.8 | 134.4 |
| GAV per share (€) | 4.41 | 4.36 |
At the end of November 2011, the Gross Asset Value (the "GAV") of Volta Finance Limited (the "Company", "Volta Finance" or "Volta") was €135.8m or €4.41 per share, an increase of €0.05 per share from €4.36 GAV per share at the end of October 2011.
Year to date performance of Volta's assets, as of the end of November, including April dividend payment and according to the GAV, is a positive 7.9%.
The November mark-to-market variations* of Volta Finance's asset classes have been: +2.1% for ABS investments, -0.2% for mezzanine of CDO investments, +4.0% for residuals of CDO investments and -7.8% for Corporate Credit investments. The almost stable GAV in November reflected the overall widening in credit spreads in line with the deepening of the European sovereign debt crisis and the overall downward revision of growth in developed economies but also in emerging countries. These downward effects on prices being overall compensated by cash flows received during the month.
Volta's assets generated the equivalent of €1.9m of cash flows in November 2011 (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 €13.3m. This amount can be compared with €11.9m for the previous six-month period ended in May 2011 (the most recent period which is comparable considering the seasonality of payments).
In November, one asset was purchased (Hermes 17- E), a mezzanine debt of ABS. No asset was sold by the Company.
At the end of November, Volta held €4.3m in cash (no margin calls received or posted in respect of the currency hedge). Considering the pace at which cash flows are generated and the necessity to keep cash available for the next dividend payment, Volta could be considered as almost fully invested.
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
In November, credit spreads widened significantly in Europe and were almost unchanged in the US reflecting the incapacity of Europe to propose a comprehensive answer to the Euro sovereign crisis. The spread of the 5y European iTraxx index and of the 5y iTraxx European Crossover Index (series 15) widened, respectively, from 160 and 598 bps at the end of October to 193 and 701 bps at the end of November. During the same period, credit spreads in the US, as illustrated by the 5y CDX main index (series 16), were almost unchanged from 97 to 94 bps at the end of November 2011. According to the CSFB Leverage Loan Index, the average price for US liquid first lien loans modestly decreased from 92.44% to 91.88% at the end of November.**
Overall, the tensions that have been present in most markets since March have affected structured finance markets since June. On average, prices are back to the end of 2010 levels. The significantly positive year-to-date performance of Volta roughly reflects the ability of the Company to generate cash flows from its assets.
VOLTA FINANCE PORTFOLIO
Regarding the Corporate Credit holdings of the Company, in November, in line with previous disclosures, Seat Pagine Gialle defaulted. This name represented 0.2% of Aria III's portfolio and 0.85% of Jazz III's portfolio. Such default had a limited impact on Volta's GAV as it was almost fully priced in for months. It should be remembered that the occurrence of such default from time to time is part of the normal life of this kind of asset. For example, looking at Aria III, the expected default rate based on the ratings of the underlying corporate credits in the current portfolio is 0.32% per annum. In fact, Seat Pagine Gialle was the first default for ARIA III's underlying portfolio since the Lehman default in September 2008. Overall the default of Seat Pagine Gialle should diminish expected cash flows on these two assets by less than 10%. Both assets represented 4.3% of Volta's GAV as of the end of November.
It should be remembered that the first-loss positions in Jazz III and ARIA III remain highly sensitive to any credit event that could occur, especially to financial debts considering the significant exposures to bank debt held through these positions.
At the end of November, the average price of the assets in this bucket declined from 42.5% to 39.6% in line with the significant widening in European credit spreads.
As regards the Company's investments in residual and mezzanine debt of CDOs, at the end of November, from a total of 53 positions in residual or mezzanine debt of CDOs, only one residual position (Carlyle IX) is still unable to pay its coupon due to an over collateralisation test breach. The 52 other positions are currently paying. No particular event materially affected the situation of these positions.
At the end of November the 40 mezzanine debt tranches of CDOs (38 tranches of CLOs, 1 tranche of Emerging Debt CDO and 1 tranche of CDO of ABS), totalling the equivalent of €101.2m of principal amount, were valued at an average price of 58% of par; the 12 classic residual tranches of CLOs, totalling the equivalent of €52.7m of principal amount, were valued at an average price of 63%; the rest of the bucket, one loan fund, for the equivalent of €10.8m of principal amount, was valued at 80% of par.
As regards the Company's ABS investments, at the end of November, nothing special affected the main position (Promise Mobility) or the other investments in this bucket (6 UK non-conforming residual positions).
The Company considers that opportunities could arise in several structured credit sectors in the current market environment. Amongst others, mezzanine tranches of CLOs and of European ABS as well as tranches of Corporate Credit portfolios could be considered for investments. Potential investments could be made depending on the pace at which market opportunities could be seized and cash is available. The recent widening of discount margins has been seized upon by the Company to invest most of the cash available. Depending on market opportunities, the Company is also in the position to take advantage of current volatility in prices to sell some assets in order to reinvest the sale proceeds on assets representing, at the time of purchase, a better opportunity for the Company.
* "Mark-to-market variation" is calculated as the Dietz-performance of the assets in each bucket, taking into account the MtM 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)
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ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED
Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under the Companies (Guernsey) Laws, 1994 to 1996 (as amended) and listed on 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 €514 billion in assets under management as of the end of June 2011. AXA IM employs approximately 2,389 people around the world and operates out of 21 countries.
CONTACTS
Company Secretary
State Street (Guernsey) Limited
volta.finance@ais.statestreet.com
+44 (0) 1481 715601
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
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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 press release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Volta Finance has not registered, and does not intend to register, any portion of any offering of its securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of any securities in the United States.
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This document is being distributed by Volta Finance Limited in the United Kingdom only to investment professionals falling within article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Market Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or high net worth companies and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within article 49(2)(A) to (E) of the Order ("Relevant persons"). The shares are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire the shares will be engaged 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.
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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.
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