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ALTUS is an entrepreneurial team of resource professionals. Our business is to develop exceptional opportunities and our approach is to be an innovator, an investor and a valued partner. We are powered by the inspiration, the enthusiasm and the vision of our talented team members, who we are proud to work alongside and who combine to create an energetic and lateral thinking mindset in everything we seek to achieve.
Altus Resource Capital NAV down at interim stage
Closed-ended investment company Altus Resource Capital (LON:ARCL) reported a sharp drop in its net asset value (NAV) at the end of the first half to December 2011.
In its results statement, ARC said its focus on the junior resources sector and spread of exposure to non-gold equities meant that it could not remain immune from the worst of the market turmoil and sustained a loss of 7.4 per cent to a NAV of £71 million or £1.79 per share as at December 31, compared with £76 million or 192.8 pence per share on June 30 2011.
“This loss in value was not as dramatic as in much of the junior resource sector due primarily to the company's weighting towards quality gold equities and significant cash position,” it said.
ARC is managed by Altus Capital Ltd which in turn is controlled by Altus Strategies. ARC listed on the Specialist Fund Market of the London Stock Exchange on June 30 2009 and the Channel Island Stock Exchange on December 22 2009 under ‘ARC’.
ARC invests in companies engaged in the exploration, development and/or mining of metals and minerals with a focus on companies that operate in the gold sector. Portfolio companies will be predominantly, but not exclusively, listed or quoted on either UK markets or other recognised stock exchanges including the Canadian and Australian markets.
They will typically be capitalised at less than £500 million at the time of investment.
ARC said today that, despite the relative strength of gold, which rose 3.9 per cent over the first half, major gold mining indices lost value with the FTSE Gold Mines Index and the S&P/ TSX Gold Index falling 6.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively. Industrial commodities and miners performed less well with the copper price and the FTSE 350 Mining Index losing 19.4 per cent and 25.1 per cent respectively.
ARC said the causes of the market volatility and weakness during 2011 have not gone away. A solution to the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is yet to materialise and there is little clarity on the strength and sustainability of the global economic recovery. It expects markets to remain volatile over the next six to twelve months.
China's industrialisation and urbanisation continues apace albeit now at more sustainable levels following rigorous fiscal tightening to curb over-exuberant growth and inflation.
Gold demand from other emerging economies continues to grow both from central bank buying and retail investors.
The investment manager still expects further quantitative easing measures to be deployed by Western economies to alleviate their sovereign debt burdens, creating additional money supply which is inflationary and another driver of the gold price.
