Half Year Review to 31 December 2020
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23 February 2021 The Manager ASX Market Announcements Australian Securities Exchange Exchange Centre Level 4 20 Bridge Street Sydney NSW 2000 Electronic Lodgement AMCIL Limited Half Year Review to 31 December 2020 Dear Sir / Madam Please find attached the Half Year Review to 31 December 2020 that is being sent to shareholders. Yours faithfully Matthew Rowe Company Secretary Release authorised by Matthew Rowe, Company Secretary Half-Year Review to 31 December 2020 A Focused Portfolio of Australian Equities Contents 1 Half-Year in Summary 14 Summarised Statement of Changes in Equity 2 About the Company 15 Holdings of Securities 4 Review of Operations and Activities 19 Major Transactions in the Investment Portfolio 11 Top 20 Investments 20 Company Particulars 12 Income Statement 21 Shareholder Information 13 Balance Sheet AMCIL MANAGES A FOCUSED PORTFOLIO COVERING LARGE AND SMALL COMPANIES IN THE AUSTRALIAN EQUITY MARKET. AS A RESULT, SMALL COMPANIES BY MARKET SIZE CAN HAVE AN EQUALLY IMPORTANT IMPACT ON PORTFOLIO RETURNS AS LARGER COMPANIES IN THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET. AMCIL Limited ABN 57 073 990 735 Half-Year in Summary 2020 Profit for Down 49.2% the Half-Year $1.9m from 2019 Net Asset $1.02 Backing in 2019 Per Share $1.15 6 Month S&P/ASX 200 Index Total Portfolio 18.6% including franking* Return Including franking* 13.7% Share Price at $0.97 31 December in 2019 2020 $1. 0 9 6 Month Total Share price Shareholder plus dividend Return 19.0% Management 0.59% Expense Ratio in 2019 (Annualised) 0.53% Total Portfolio (Including Cash) $287.0 million at 31 December in 2019 2020 $344.5m Share 27.1% of shareholders Purchase $18.2m participated Plan Raised * Assumes an investor can take full advantage of the franking credits. AMCIL Limited 1 Half-Year Review to 31 December 2020 About the Company AMCIL manages a focused portfolio covering large and small companies in the Australian equity market. As a result, small companies by market size can have an equally important impact on portfolio returns as larger companies in the Australian market. Investment Objectives Attractive returns through strong The generation of fully capital growth in the portfolio over franked dividends. the medium to long term. How AMCIL Invests – What We Look For in Companies Portfolio of small and large companies Quality First Growth Value that is managed to Including dividends deliver superior returns. AMCIL Limited 2 Half-Year Review to 31 December 2020 Approach to Investing We seek to create a diversified portfolio Recognising value is also an important of quality companies which are likely to aspect of AMCIL’s investment approach. sustainably grow their earnings and dividends Our assessment of value tries to reflect over a medium to long term timeframe. the opportunity a business has to prosper and thrive over the medium to long term. Our assessment of quality includes criteria such as the board and management, financial Given the focused nature of the portfolio, position, pricing power as well as some key AMCIL is more active in managing the financial metrics such as return on capital holdings. Our preference is that positions employed, return on equity, the level of will be held for the long term. However, gearing in the balance sheet, margins and in managing the risk in the portfolio, the free cash flow. The structure of the industry Company is prepared to scale back or and a company’s competitive position in its exit holdings completely if the investment industry are also important indicators of quality. case alters markedly, the position becomes Linked to this assessment of quality is the too large in the portfolio or share prices ability of companies to grow earnings over become excessively high. In managing the time, which ultimately should produce good portfolio in this way, we believe AMCIL can dividend and capital growth. offer investors returns in excess of the S&P/ASX 200 over the long term. As a long term investor, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) analysis is integrated Given the greater concentration of the portfolio, into AMCIL’s investment framework: there may be periods when the performance of • AMCIL will seek to invest in companies AMCIL can vary quite markedly from the Index. that have strong governance and risk The objective is to deliver outperformance management processes that include over the medium to long term. environmental and social risks. From time to time, the Company also uses • The remuneration structures proposed options written against some of its investments and used by the boards of the companies and a small trading portfolio to generate in which AMCIL invests are assessed additional income. as we are seeking remuneration plans and outcomes that align with AMCIL’s The other important feature to note is AMCIL’s (and AMCIL’s own investors’) interests dividend policy of maximising the distribution of as long term shareholders. available franking credits each year. As a result, • AMCIL supports engagement with its the amount of fully franked dividends are likely investee companies on these issues, to fluctuate from year to year. and will vote as shareholders accordingly. AMCIL Limited 3 Half-Year Review to 31 December 2020 Review of Operations and Activities Profit and Dividend Portfolio Performance The half-year profit of $1.9 million, was down It has been a very unpredictable calendar from $3.8 million in the previous corresponding year in equity markets due to the impact period. Revenue from investments fell from of restrictions arising from the COVID-19 $4.4 million to $2.6 million, as companies pandemic and subsequent fiscal and reduced or suspended dividend payments monetary economic support measures, because of the uncertainty about trading which boosted the market following its conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. low point in March 2020. AMCIL’s normal practice is to pay a dividend As equity markets are constantly reassessing once a year with the full year result to distribute the profit outlook for companies for the next the franking credits that are available at financial 12 months and beyond, the unprecedented year end from its investment activities during nature of these events for investors has the year. In line with this practice no interim created significant share price volatility. In dividend was declared. this environment, while small and mid-sized companies, because of their perceived higher The management expense ratio for AMCIL risk, were hit hardest in the market decline in is 0.53 per cent (annualised), with no March, these sectors have recovered more performance fees. strongly than larger companies listed on the ASX over the reminder of the calendar year (Figure 1). Figure 1: Performance of S&P/ASX 50 Leaders, Small Ordinaries and Mid Cap 50 Indices, 12 months to 31 December 2020 120 110 100 90 Index 80 70 60 Jul 20 Jan 20 Feb 20 Mar 20 Apr 20 May 20 Jun 20 Aug 20 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 S&P/ASX 50 Leaders Index S&P/ASX Mid Cap 50 Index S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index Source: FactSet AMCIL Limited 4 Half-Year Review to 31 December 2020 The increase in the Australian market has Index, including franking, was up 13.7 per been driven by the information technology cent over this period (Figure 3 on page 7). sector, with strong performance of a number of companies in the sector, including Xero The most significant contributors to and NEXTDC and the ongoing momentum portfolio performance over the six months of Afterpay (which AMCIL does not hold). to 31 December 2020 have come from our The materials sector also delivered very holdings in Mainfreight, ARB Corporation, good returns on the back of a very high Reece, Xero, Objective Corporation, BHP and iron ore price. Industrials and banks James Hardie Industries, where share prices underperformed over the 12-month period, have rallied substantially, some up over although the banks performed more strongly 50 per cent over the period. There was little over the final six months of the calendar in the way of offsetting poor performers, year (Figure 2). which has enabled us to capture full value from these strong performing holdings and AMCIL’s focus on investing in high-quality deliver short term portfolio outperformance. companies and long-term investment approach has been suited to dealing with such Over 12 months to 31 December 2020, challenging conditions. AMCIL’s total portfolio AMCIL’s total portfolio return, including franking return, including franking, over the six months was 15.8 per cent whereas the S&P/ASX 200 to 31 December 2020 was 18.6 per cent. Accumulation Index, including franking, In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation was up 2.4 per cent. Figure 2: Selected Sectors, Total Return – 12 Months to 31 December 2020 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 Jan 20 Feb 20 Mar 20 Apr 20 May 20 Jun 20 Jul 20 Aug 20 Sep 20 Oct 20 Nov 20 Dec 20 S&P/ASX 200 Industrials S&P/ASX 200 Resources S&P/ASX 200 Banks S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Source: FactSet AMCIL Limited 5 Half-Year Review to 31 December 2020 Review of Operations and Activities continued The long-term performance of the portfolio, Opportunities to add to existing holdings which is more in line with the Company’s during periods of price weakness saw investment timeframes, was 11.4 per cent purchases in ASX and Woolworths. InvoCare, per annum for the 10 years to 31 December ResMed and Fineos, a software business for 2020, ahead of the Index return of 9.4 per cent insurance, were also added as new companies per annum (these returns include the full to the portfolio.