REG - Polar Cap Glb Health PCGH ZDP PLC - Final Results
12/12/2022 07:01
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RNS Number : 2864J Polar Capital Global Health Tst PLC 12 December 2022
POLAR CAPITAL GLOBAL HEALTHCARE TRUST PLC
Legal Entity Identifier: 549300YV7J2TWLE7PV84
AUDITED RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED
30 SEPTEMBER 2022
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
For the year to 30 September 2022
Performance
Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share (Total Return)* 5.59%
Benchmark index 6.93%
(MSCI ACWI Health Care Index (total return in sterling with dividends
reinvested))
Share Price Total Return* 10.11%
Since restructuring
Net asset value per Ordinary share (total return) since restructuring *~ 60.79%
Benchmark index total return since restructuring 64.05%
Expenses 2022 2021
Ongoing charges* 0.84% 0.83%
Financials As at As at Change %
30 September 2022 30 September 2021
Total net assets (Group and Company) £404,833,000 £385,728,000 +5.0%
Net asset value per Ordinary share 333.83p 318.07p +5.0%
Net asset value per ZDP share^ 116.91p 113.50p +3.0%
Price per Ordinary share 315.00p 288.00p +9.4%
Discount per Ordinary share* 5.6% 9.5%
Price per ZDP share^ 114.00p 113.50p +0.4%
Net gearing* 7.41% 6.04%
Ordinary shares in issue (excluding those held 121,270,000 121,270,000 -
in treasury)
Ordinary shares held in treasury 2,879,256 2,879,256 -
ZDP shares in issue^ 32,128,437 32,128,437 -
Dividends
The Company has paid or declared the following dividends relating to the
financial year ended 30 September 2022:
Pay date Amount per Record Date Ex-Date Declared Date
Ordinary share
First interim: 31 August 2022 1.00p 5 August 2022 4 August 2022 14 July 2022
Second interim: 28 February 2023 1.10p 3 February 2023 2 February 2023 9 December 2022
Total (2021: 2.00p) 2.10p
* See Alternative Performance Measures provided in the Annual Report.
~ The Company's portfolio was restructured on 20 June 2017. The total return
NAV performance since restructuring is calculated by reinvesting the dividends
in the assets of the Company from the relevant payment date.
^ For information purposes.
For further information please contact:
Ed Gascoigne-Pees Tracey Lago, FCG John Regnier-Wilson
Camarco Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust Plc Polar Capital LLP
Tele. 020 3757 4984 Tele. 020 7227 2742 Tele. 020 7227 2725
STATUS OF ANNOUNCEMENT
The figures and financial information contained in this announcement are
extracted from the Audited Annual Report for the year ended 30 September
2022 and do not constitute statutory accounts for the period. The Annual
Report and Financial Statements include the Report of the Independent
Auditors which is unqualified and does not contain a statement under either
section 498(2) or Section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September
2022 have not yet been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The figures
and financial information for the period ended 30 September 2021 are extracted
from the published Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period ended
30 September 2021 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for that
year. The Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period ended 30
September 2021 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included
the Report of the Independent Auditors which was unqualified and did not
contain a statement under either section 498(2) or Section 498(3) of the
Companies Act 2006.
The Directors' Remuneration Report and certain other helpful Shareholder
information have not been included in this announcement but forms part of
the Annual Report which will be available on the Company's website and will
be sent to Shareholders in December 2022.
CHAIR'S STATEMENT
Dear Shareholders,
On behalf of the Board I am pleased to provide to you the Company's Annual
Report for the year ended 30 September 2022.
Performance
The portfolio performed well over the financial year delivering absolute
returns of 5.59%, despite the challenging market and economic conditions,
especially following Russia's invasion of Ukraine which commenced in late
February 2022. Whilst ahead of the overall market and the peer group,
performance did slightly lag the benchmark (MCSI Global Healthcare Index) by
1.3%. In the financial year, the share price total return increased by 10.1%
as the discount narrowed. At the financial year end the discount was 5.6%
compared to the prior year of 9.5%. Further detail is provided within the
Investment Manager's Report.
Outlook
The industry fundamentals remain strong, valuations are still attractive, and
with the macro and political background supportive, we remain very optimistic
for the outlook for healthcare. Further information on the underlying themes
and drivers for the sector are provided in the Investment Manager's report.
The Board continues to monitor performance and remains confident that the
Company is well placed to generate attractive returns for shareholders
Board
The Board is aware of the FCA's Diversity and Inclusion Policy published in
April 2022 and, whilst the current Board composition does not currently meet
the following target requirements, a minimum of 40% female Board members and
at least one non-white ethnic minority Board member, it does meet the
requirement to have a senior female Board role in the form of myself as Chair.
We will continue to keep this under consideration as part of the Board's
future succession plans and will provide full disclosures in next year's
annual report as required under the FCA's policy. Further details are provided
in the ESG Statement and the Report on Corporate Governance.
Dividends
The Company's focus remains on capital growth and consequently dividends are
expected to represent a relatively small part of shareholders' total return.
The Company has a policy to pay two small dividends per year but it is
recognised that these will not necessarily be of equal amounts and may be
reduced. In August 2022 the Company paid an interim dividend of 1.00p per
ordinary share. The Board has declared a further interim dividend of 1.10p per
ordinary share payable to shareholders on the register as at 3 February 2023.
This will bring the total dividend paid for the financial year under review to
2.10p per ordinary share, a small increase on the previous financial year.
Environmental, Social and Governance
During the year under review, the Board continued its ESG journey and further
extended its engagement with the Investment Manager on the progress that has
been made in integrating ESG into their investment approach and processes. As
stated previously the Board believes the Manager is best placed to integrate
ESG factors into the decision making process, with the Board providing
oversight and challenge, to gain assurance that the process is being executed
as expected. This year, particular focus has been on how ESG has influenced
our Manager's decision making and the methodology used to assess current and
potential investee companies. Whilst there is still some way to go in terms of
quality, comparable data for all companies, the Manager has recently
introduced an ESG dashboard which allows us to review the ratings of investee
companies within the portfolio and to inform discussions between the Board and
Manager at Board meetings. As at 30 September 2022, based on MSCI ESG ratings,
the portfolio and the benchmark were both AAA rated.
The Board also receives information on the progress that has been made at the
corporate side of Polar Capital's business. Please refer to the ESG statement
in the Annual Report which incorporates both the investment and corporate
approaches.
Share Capital
The Company has 121,270,000 ordinary shares in issue as at the date of writing
and no shares have been bought back or issued during the financial year under
review. The Company's share price on 30 September 2022 was 315.00p (2021:
288.00p). The Company's market capitalisation at the financial year end was
£382.0m (2021: £349.3m). The Company's share price traded in a discount
range of 3.9% to 15.5% throughout the year, ending at a discount of 5.6%
compared to 9.5% at the start of the year. The Board has reconfirmed the
authority given to the Manager to use discretion to purchase shares in the
market when deemed appropriate to do so.
Subsidiary Undertaking
The Company is parent to a wholly owned subsidiary, PCGH ZDP Plc. The
subsidiary was created as part of the Company's restructure in 2017; the
purpose of the subsidiary is to issue zero dividend preference ("ZDP") shares
and provide a loan to the parent in the form of structural gearing. The
subsidiary has a fixed life whereby the loan will be repaid and the ZDP shares
will be redeemed in June 2024 at which time the entity will be liquidated.
Further information can be found on the Company's website
www.polarcapitalglobalhealthcaretrust.co.uk
(http://www.polarcapitalglobalhealthcaretrust.co.uk) .
Annual General Meeting
The Company's twelfth Annual General Meeting ("AGM") will be held at 16 Palace Street at 2pm on Thursday 9 February 2023. The notice of AGM has been provided to shareholders and will also be available on the Company's website. Detailed explanations on the formal business and the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM is contained within the Shareholder Information section of the Annual Report and in the Notice of AGM. We look forward to welcoming you to the Company's AGM on 9 February 2023 should you choose to attend.
Lisa Arnold
Chair
9 December 2022
INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT - FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
The objective of Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust plc ("the Company") is
to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in a globally
diversified portfolio of healthcare companies.
The Company's diversification strategy, coupled with its focus on
large-capitalisation healthcare companies with robust, medium-term growth
outlooks, helps drive the positive risk/ return profile of the underlying
assets, relative to the more volatile areas of healthcare. Further, the broad
investment remit affords the opportunity to invest in growth areas regardless
of the economic, political and regulatory environment. Importantly, the
Company also has the opportunity to invest in earlier‑stage, more innovative
and disruptive companies that tend to be lower down the market-capitalisation
and liquidity scales. This is a key advantage of the Company's structure as a
closed-end company. Regardless of size, subsector or geography, stock
selection is central to the process, as we look to identify companies where
there is a disconnect between valuations and the near and medium-term growth
drivers.
In terms of structure, the majority of the Company's assets (calculated on a
gross basis and referred to as the Growth portfolio) will be invested in
companies with a market capitalisation >$5bn at the time of investment,
with the balance invested in companies with a market capitalisation <$5bn
(a maximum of 20% of gross assets and referred to as the Innovation
portfolio). At the end of the reporting period, 30 companies in the portfolio
were Growth investments (94.5% of net assets) and 11 were Innovative
investments (12.8%). Structural debt, in the form of Zero Dividend Preference
Shares, offers access to additional liquidity and the opportunity to enhance
returns.
Market Cap at 30 September 2022 30 September 2021
Large (>US$10bn) 78.5% 78.9%
Medium (US$5bn - US$10bn) 16.0% 14.8%
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