NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES
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Guernsey, 19 April 2012 - 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 30.03.12 | At 29.02.12 | |
| Gross Asset Value (GAV / € million) | 159.1 | 148.2 |
| GAV per share (€) | 5.14 | 4.79 |
At the end of March 2012, the Gross Asset Value (the "GAV") of Volta Finance Limited (the "Company", "Volta Finance" or "Volta") was €159.1 m or €5.14 per share, an increase of €0.35 per share (or 7.3%) from €4.79 GAV per share at the end of February 2012. This GAV does not take into account the scheduled dividend payments, on 19th April. Taking into account this payment the pro forma GAV of the company would be €4.92 per share.
After a 2011 +10.3% annual performance of Volta's assets reflecting a decrease in prices more than compensated by actual cash flows received from the assets, 2012 starts the year with a positive 18.3% increase in the first quarter.
The March mark-to-market variations* of Volta Finance's asset classes have been: +139.1% for ABS investments, +0.6% for mezzanine of CDO investments, +4.1% for residuals of CDO investments and +3.3% for Corporate Credit investments. The GAV increase in March was in line with the positive stance, overall, on credit markets and in particular the fact that the UK non-conforming ABS deals resumed paying significant cash flows. The value of these six deals increased by €4.7m or €0.15 per share in March (see further below).
Volta's assets generated the equivalent of €3.3m of cash flows in March 2012 (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. This amount can be compared with €12.9m for the previous six-month period ended in September 2011 (the most recent comparable period considering the seasonality of payments).
In March 2012, the Company purchased one asset (Prelude) for €0.1m.
At the end of March, Volta held €9.1m 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 need to keep cash available for the next dividend payment in April, Volta's capacity for new investments amounts to €2m.
MARKET ENVIRONMENT
In March 2012, credit spreads were almost unchanged in Europe and in the USA reflecting very modest changes in the overall economic situation. The spread of the 5 year European iTraxx index and of the 5 year iTraxx European Crossover Index (series 16) went respectively, from 129 and 568 bps at the end of February 2012 to 124 and 576 bps at the end of March 2012. During the same period, credit spreads in the US, as illustrated by the 5y CDX main index (series 17), went from 93 to 87 bps at the end of March 2012. According to the CSFB Leverage Loan Index, the average price for USA liquid first lien loans increased from 93.96% at the end of February 2012 to 94.41% at the end of March 2012.**
VOLTA FINANCE PORTFOLIO
In March 2012, no particular event materially affected the situation of the Corporate Credit holdings. The managed default of the Hellenic Republic has been priced in for months and had no material impact on Volta's GAV in March. The first loss positions in this bucket (ARIA III and the residual positions in JAZZ III) remain highly sensitive to any new credit event, especially to debt of financial institutions considering the significant exposures to banks held through these positions.
As regards the Company's investments in residual and mezzanine debt of CDOs, at the end of March 2012, all 53 positions in residual or mezzanine debt of CDOs are currently paying their coupons. No particular event materially affected the situation of these positions.
As regards the Company's ABS investments, at the end of March 2012, nothing special affected the main position (Promise Mobility) but the other investments in this bucket (6 UK non-conforming residual positions) appeared to have collectively provided strong cashflows recently. Thanks to the Bank of England's low rate policy, even borrowers in significant arrears have shown themselves able to pay substantial parts of their monthly payments and servicers had reduced cases of so-called "fire-sales" in repossession of homes. As a result, several UK non-conforming deals have seen their reserve fund being replenished and even provided excess spreads throughout 2011. This is actually the case now for all but one of Volta's' non-conforming ABS investments; they have produced GBP 1.4m in Q4 2011 and GBP 1.3m in Q1 2012. Although, the bulk of borrowers in significant arrears, even those currently paying their monthly instalment, remain an issue for these deals and the situation is still far from being resolved. Furthermore, these cashflows in our view remain too volatile and dependant on rates and servicers' policies in the medium term. Nevertheless with the global economic situation and low growth forecast, we can reasonably consider that rates will remain at their record low for the following quarters, and the servicers' practices of the past year reassure us they will likely continue to pursue this course of action during the coming months. Thus, the decision has been taken to estimate one to three years of current excess spread on these deals, in a reasonably conservative manner, revising the valuation of such UK non-conforming deals that collectively went from the end of February value of €0.2m to €4.7m for the end of March.
Please find in the table below the market value and average prices of Volta's main buckets (the ABS bucket is excluded as it is comprised of different asset types and its average price is meaningless):
| Market Value (€m) | Current Average Price | Last Month Average Price | |
| Corporate Credits | 28.4 | 44.2% | 44.0% |
| CDO Equities USD | 42.1 | 73.7% | 71.9% |
| CDO Equities EUR | 3.3 | 36.7% | 37.3% |
| CDO Debts USD | 35.3 | 74.6% | 72.8% |
| CDO Debts EUR | 30.6 | 56.6% | 55.1% |
The Company considers that opportunities could arise in several structured credit sectors in the current market environment. Amongst others, mezzanine or senior tranches of CLOs, 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. Depending on market opportunities, the Company may aim to take advantage of the current volatility in prices to sell some assets in order to reinvest the sale proceeds on assets representing, at the time of purchase, what the Company considers a better opportunity.
* "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)
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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 €512 billion in assets under management as of the end of December 2011. AXA IM employs approximately 2,367 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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