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WAM ACTIVE LIMITED Interim / Quarterly Report 2012

Feb 12, 2012

66032_rns_2012-02-12_f4f3daa4-971e-4f69-83b5-b22896588071.pdf

Interim / Quarterly Report

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13 February 2012

WAM ACTIVE LIMITED ABN 49 126 420 719 MEDIA RELEASE RESULTS FOR HALF YEAR TO 31 DECEMBER 2011

“12.5% INCREASE IN FULLY FRANKED DIVIDEND”

Key Highlights

  • 12.5% increase in the interim fully franked dividend to 4.5 cents per share. This represents an annualised fully franked dividend yield of 8.6% based on the most recent closing price.

  • The gross portfolio outperformed the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index by 9.9% for the 6 months to 31 December 2011.

  • This outperformance was achieved with an average equity weighting of 45.9% over the last 6 months.

The strong performance of the investment portfolio against the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index is set out in the table below. The performance relates to investments only and does not take into account expenses and taxes.

Gross Performance
as at 31 December
2011
6 Mths
%
1 Year
%
2 Yrs
%pa
3 Yrs
%pa
Since
Inception
(Jan-08)
%pa
WAM Active Limited
S&P/ASX All Ordinaries
Accumulation Index
Outperformance
+0.3%
-9.6%
+9.9%
-0.4%
-11.4%
+11.0%
+2.9%
-4.3%
+7.2%
+19.3%
+8.5%
+10.8%
+11.3%
-6.6%
+17.9%

Level 11, 139 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | GPO Box 4658 Sydney NSW 2001 | ABN 49 126 420 719 Phone 02 9247 6755 | Fax 02 9247 6855 | [email protected] | www.wamfunds.com.au

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WAM ACTIVE LIMITED

WAM Active Limited (WAM Active) today announced an operating loss before tax for the 6 months to 31 December 2011 of $212,670, and an after tax operating loss of $44,644. This was a reflection of the costs being higher than the 0.3% increase in the gross performance. During the half year to 31 December 2011, the gross portfolio outperformed the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index by 9.9%.

“As an absolute return fund this is a positive result given the weakness in the equity market in the last six months” said Geoff Wilson, Chairman of WAM Active.

The Boards policy of paying a growing stream of fully franked dividends when possible continued with a 12.5% increase in the interim dividend to 4.5 cents per share fully franked having been declared by the Board.

“It is pleasing to be in a position to deliver another increased dividend in what we believe has been a challenging six months” said Geoff Wilson, Chairman of WAM Active.

In the 6 months to 31 December 2011, the equity component of the Market Driven portfolio turned over 3.8 times. The most utilised strategies employed during this period were trades based on takeover arbitrages, market themes and trends and relative value arbitrages (low price to earnings multiples or discount to NTA).

Dividends

A fully franked interim dividend of 4.5 cents per share has been declared by the Board and will be paid on 24 April 2012. The shares will trade ex dividend on 11 April 2012. This is a 12.5% increase on prior year’s interim dividend.

The Board is committed to paying an increasing stream of fully franked dividends to shareholders provided the Company has sufficient franking credits and it is within prudent business practices. It must also comply with Government legislation and the ATO’s interpretation of a company’s ability to pay franked dividends. Dividends are paid on a six-monthly basis.

Government legislation introduced in June 2010 now enables companies to pay dividends if the company is deemed solvent. Dividend payments will be made with consideration to cash flow, cash holdings, available franking credits and ability to pay franked dividends. Essentially, WAM Active will always be in a position to pay dividends providing it is solvent.

The dividend reinvestment plan will operate with a 2.5% discount. The current share price ($1.05 being closing price 10 February 2012) is a 2.1% discount to the 31 December 2011 pre-tax NTA. To participate in the dividend reinvestment plan, please send your election to our share registrar no later than 17 April 2012.

Level 11, 139 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | GPO Box 4658 Sydney NSW 2001 | ABN 49 126 420 719 Phone 02 9247 6755 | Fax 02 9247 6855 | [email protected] | www.wamfunds.com.au

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Dividends (continued)

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* Annualised interim dividend
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Net Asset Backing

The net tangible assets (NTA) on listing in January 2008 was 98.4 cents per share. Below is a table of the company’s position as at 31 December 2011.

NTA before tax (cents per share) 107.23c NTA after tax and before tax on unrealised gains (cents per share) 109.43c [] NTA after tax (cents per share) 108.32c [*]

*Includes tax assets of 2.20 cents per share

  • **Includes the net effect of 2.20 cents of tax assets and 1.11 cents of deferred tax liabilities

The above figures are after the payment of 16.0 cents a share in fully franked dividends since inception in 2008.

Performance

  • The gross portfolio increased 0.3% for the 6 months to 31 December 2011, significantly outperforming the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index which fell 9.6%, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index which fell 12.3% and the S&P/ASX Small Industrials Accumulation Index which fell 10.5%.

  • The after tax NTA, adjusted for dividends, decreased 0.3%. This was after the payment of 0.15 cents a share in tax during this period.

  • The share price, adjusted for dividends, rose 2.5%.

These performance results were achieved while holding an average of 54.1% in cash during the 6 months to 31 December 2011.

Level 11, 139 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | GPO Box 4658 Sydney NSW 2001 | ABN 49 126 420 719 Phone 02 9247 6755 | Fax 02 9247 6855 | [email protected] | www.wamfunds.com.au

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Performance (continued)

Set out below is the investment performance of WAM Active since listing to 31 December 2011. The performance data is before all expenses, fees and taxes is used as a guide to how the company has performed against the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index, which is also a before tax and expenses measure.

Financial Year
WAM Active
Gross
Performance
S&P/ASX All
Ordinaries
Accumulation Index
Outperformance
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2011
YTD2011/2012
+2.2%
+9.6%
+22.7%
+11.5%
+0.3%
-15.2%
-22.2%
+13.8%
+12.2%
-9.6%
+17.4%
+31.8%
+8.9%
-0.7%
+9.9%

Investment Process and Strategy

WAM Active’s philosophy is to take advantage of relative short term arbitrages and mispricing of securities listed on the ASX, rather than investing in listed entities for a prolonged period of time. These opportunities are not limited to company size or sector. The portfolio turnover generally ranges between 5 to 10 times a year depending on the opportunities available.

WAM Active has a Market Driven investment process where we scour the market for trading opportunities. These could include participating in initial public offerings, placements, block trades, rights issues, corporate transactions (such as takeovers, mergers, schemes of arrangements), corporate spin-offs, restructurings, arbitrage opportunities, LIC discount arbitrages, relative value arbitrages and trading market themes or trends.

In a bid to preserve shareholder’s capital, the Manager of WAM Active spends a significant amount of time attempting to mitigate the risk associated with trading in listed securities. The following measures are taken to implement this strategy;

  • An investment in cash if no trades can be identified. On average the fund has held approximately 55.5% since listing in January 2008;

  • A spread of investments;

  • A strong awareness of each investee company’s liquidity;

  • The ability to short sell securities in a bid to profit from a decline in a company’s share price; and

  • A stop loss for short term trading opportunities.

Level 11, 139 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | GPO Box 4658 Sydney NSW 2001 | ABN 49 126 420 719 Phone 02 9247 6755 | Fax 02 9247 6855 | [email protected] | www.wamfunds.com.au

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Portfolio Structure

Investment Type As at 30 June 2011 As at 30 June 2011 As at 31 December
2011
As at 31 December
2011
$m
%
$m
%
Listed Equities 7.3 39.0% 6.9 39.1%
Fixed Interest and Cash 11.4 61.0% 10.8 60.9%
Long Portfolio 18.7 100.0% 17.7 100.0%
Short Portfolio (0.2) (0.3)
Total Fund Size $18.5m $17.4m
Ordinary shares on issue No.
16,066,653
No.
16,176,213

At 31 December 2011 the top 20 securities held in the portfolio were:

Code Company Market
Value
$
Market Value
as % Gross
Assets
SGI Signature Capital Investments Limited* 1,448,762 8.3%
CCQ Contango Capital Partners Limited 525,690 3.0%
MSF Maryborough Sugar FactoryLimited(The) 430,215 2.5%
BSL Bluescope Steel Limited 391,838 2.2%
WBC Westpac BankingCorporation 345,000 2.0%
NAB National Australia Bank Limited 343,392 2.0%
SDG Sunland GroupLimited 337,763 1.9%
NHC New Hope Corporation Limited 336,539 1.9%
RHG RHG Limited 302,237 1.7%
CYG CoventryGroupLimited 211,243 1.2%
MIO Miclyn Express Offshore Limited 189,381 1.1%
BHP BHP Billiton Limited 180,705 1.0%
HHY Hastings High Yield Fund 168,669 1.0%
FMS Flinders Mines Limited 168,000 1.0%
IMFG IMF (Australia) Ltd 10.25% Sec Red Conv Note 149,795 0.9%
EPX Ethane Pipeline Income Fund 141,979 0.8%
FRI Finbar GroupLimited 132,750 0.8%
CLO Clough Limited 128,467 0.7%
TGP Trafalgar Corporate Group 124,914 0.7%
PGA Photon GroupLimited 113,563 0.6%

*We participated in the SGI buy-back with the proceeds received on 31 January 2012.

Level 11, 139 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | GPO Box 4658 Sydney NSW 2001 | ABN 49 126 420 719 Phone 02 9247 6755 | Fax 02 9247 6855 | [email protected] | www.wamfunds.com.au

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Market Outlook

The last six months have been a torrid time for equity investors with increased levels of uncertainty and volatility in equity markets, primarily stemming from the European sovereign debt crisis. However we are cautiously optimistic that 2012 will be a better year for equity markets.

The RBA cut interest rates by 0.50% in late 2011 and we believe they will loosen again in the coming months. This should be a positive for the Australian equity market. These interest rate cuts will, lower the funding costs for businesses and may lead to increased corporate activity in the coming 6 months, given that some companies are trading on attractive multiples following the declines of last year. Given the current high cash position in the WAM Active portfolio we will be nicely positioned to take advantage on any trading opportunities that may arise.

Positive economic data emanating for the US in recent months has hinted at the potential for a US a sustained US economic recovery during 2012. A strong recovery may also lead to realigning of the AUD/USD exchange rate to more historical norms. Should these events unfold, they have the potential to provide us with some interesting trading opportunities over the coming months for Australian companies with large exposures to the US market.

China has been growing at a more moderate pace in recent times but still at a pace far above developed nations. Some commentators have started raising concerns about a housing bubble and if it can be sustainable at these high levels for much longer. However in the short to medium term it appears China can still move forward at pace to sustain the current mining boom. An improvement in equity markets and investor sentiment may see many smaller mining and mining services companies coming to market with IPO’s and placements to fund expansion or even be taken over by Chinese buyers. These placements, IPO’s and takeover arbitrages are the trading opportunities WAM Active will look to capitalise on should they become available.

We would like to thank our investors for their continued support throughout the period which once again has been a volatile one for equity markets. We look forward to seeing you at our shareholder presentation in May, where we will give you a further update on the Company’s performance and the broader equity markets.

CONTACT US:

Mr Geoff Wilson Mr Chris Stott Ms Kate Thorley
Chairman/Portfolio Manager CIO/Portfolio Manager CEO & Company Secretary
T (02) 9247 6755 T (02) 9258 4906 T (02) 9247 6755
M 0412 242 712 M 0404 099 402
M 0405 115 644

Level 11, 139 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | GPO Box 4658 Sydney NSW 2001 | ABN 49 126 420 719 Phone 02 9247 6755 | Fax 02 9247 6855 | [email protected] | www.wamfunds.com.au

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