DJ M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc: Annual Financial Report
M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc (MGCI)
M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc: Annual Financial Report
28-Apr-2021 / 07:00 GMT/BST
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014
(MAR), transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc
Annual Report and audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2020
The full Annual Report and Accounts will shortly be available via the Company's website at www.mandg.co.uk/
creditincomeinvestmenttrust or by contacting the Company Secretary at mandgcredit@linkgroup.co.uk.
The Directors present the results of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2020.
The third party research commissioned by the Company from Kepler, published on 26 March 2021, can be found at the
following link: https://www.trustintelligence.co.uk/articles/fund-profile-m-g-credit-income-mar-2021
Company summary
M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc (the "Company") was incorporated on 17 July 2018 as a public company limited by
shares. Admission to the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) main market for listed securities and dealings in its Ordinary
Shares commenced on 14 November 2018. The Company is an investment trust within the meaning of section 1158 of the
Corporation Tax Act (CTA) 2010.
Financial highlights
Key data
As at As at
31 December 31 December
2020 2019
Net assets (GBP'000) 146,628 132,232
Net asset value (NAV) per Ordinary Share 101.40p 101.72p
Ordinary Share price (mid-market) 92.00p 106.00p
(Discount)/Premium to
(9.27)% 4.21%
NAVa
Ongoing charges figurea 0.87% 0.93%b
Returns and dividends per Ordinary Share
Year ended Period b ended
31 December 31 December
2020 2019
Capital return 1.3p 2.7p
Revenue return 2.9p 2.6p
NAV total returna 3.7% 5.6%
Share price total returna (9.7)% 8.2%
First interim dividend 0.85p 2.09p
Second interim dividend 0.77p 1.65pc
Third interim dividend 0.71p -
Fourth interim dividend 1.95pc -
Total dividends declared 4.28p 3.74p
a Alternative performance measure. Further information can be found on pages 108 to 109 of the full Annual Report and Accounts. b From the date of Initial Public Offering (IPO) 14 November 2018. c Paid after the year/period end. Please see note 7 for further information.
Chairman's Statement
Performance
I am delighted to report that your Company has exceeded the performance originally targeted at our Initial Public Offering (IPO). This target was to achieve an annualised dividend yield of LIBOR plus 2.5% (on the 100p issue price) from launch until 31 December 2019 and of LIBOR plus 4% (on the opening net asset value (NAV) per Ordinary Share) thereafter. Your Company's NAV at its launch on 14 November 2018, being the gross proceeds of the IPO less the IPO expenses, was 98.38p per Ordinary Share. The opening NAV on 1 January 2020 was 101.72p per Ordinary Share and the NAV on 31 December 2020 was 101.40p per Ordinary Share. Including dividends paid, the annualised NAV total return was 4.4% since launch although the NAV total return for the year to 31 December 2020 was 3.7%, reflecting the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Your Company navigated the difficult conditions of 2020 with great success and with no material deterioration to the credit quality of its portfolio, showing our Investment Manager's skill in delivering on its objective of low asset value volatility while building our ability to pay a regular and attractive level of income. The results showed the Company's ability to produce high risk-adjusted returns from a predominately investment-grade portfolio.
Having begun the year with relatively benign economic conditions, 2020 will be remembered for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies and society. The first half of the year showed NAV per Ordinary Share falling to 93.69p on 31 March 2020 as a result of the indiscriminate market sell-off before recovering to finish at 97.23p on 30 June 2020. The Company had been defensively positioned going into the March sell-off which allowed our Investment Manager to benefit from the market weakness by purchasing attractively priced public corporate bonds and then realising gains as the market recovered.
During the second half of the year credit markets recovered steadily and our Investment Manager was able to take advantage of a reopened flow of attractively priced private debt opportunities. By 31 December 2020 the amount of private debt instruments in your Company's portfolio, including irrevocable commitments, had increased to 49.25% (versus 27.41% at 31 December 2019) with an additional investment of some 10% in illiquid public assets which are intended to be held to maturity. These are largely higher-yielding assets which will support the payment of the regular quarterly dividend increase already announced in respect of the 2021 financial year.
The Board is of the view that the portfolio is now appropriately positioned with regard to its dividend target set at launch. In accordance with the agreement previously notified to Shareholders, the management fee paid by the Company to the Investment Manager will increase with effect from 1 April 2021 from 0.5% to 0.7% per annum of the Company's net asset value.
Share issuance and discount management
Your Directors believe that it is in the interests of shareholders for the Company to increase its assets under management over time as this should reduce its ongoing charges figure and provide greater market liquidity and diversification for holders. On 4 June 2020, given the favourable opportunities arising from the market dislocation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the reopening of the private debt markets, the Company announced that it had issued and placed 14,745,770 Ordinary Shares at a price of 97.0p per Ordinary Share, raising GBP14.2 million net of expenses. This represented a premium to the then last published NAV (adjusted for the payment of the first quarter dividend) of 1.98%.
Subsequently, the Company's Ordinary Shares began to trade at a discount to NAV. Your Directors believe that this is not in the best interest of shareholders, both because the Company is unable to issue new shares and because existing shareholders are unable to value their holdings at or near to NAV. Accordingly, the Company announced on 18 November 2020 that it had given instructions to Winterflood Securities Limited to purchase the Company's Ordinary Shares, subject to certain pre-determined parameters and in accordance with the Company's discount management policy. As at 31 December 2020, 140,000 shares had been purchased and were held in treasury.
On 31 December 2020 the Ordinary Share price was 92.00p, representing a 9.27% discount to NAV as at that date.
Your Board is continuing to work with the Investment Manager in regard to the share price discount. To this end, the Company has commissioned third party research from Kepler Trust Intelligence which can be viewed at https:// wwwtrustintelligence.co.uk/investor/articles/fund-researchinvestor-m-g-credit-income-retail-mar-2021. In addition, the Investment Manager has held many meetings with existing and potential investors to increase demand for the Company's shares. The most recent investor presentation can be viewed on the Company's website at www.mandg.co.uk/investor/funds/ credit-income-investment-trust/gb00bfyyl325/. We have confidence that Winterflood will continue to purchase the Company's Ordinary Shares when it is effective to do so and the Board continues to consider other options available to it.
Dividends
Your Board is pleased that the Company paid dividends in respect of the year ended 31 December 2020 in accordance with the target set at launch. The Company paid quarterly dividends totalling 4.28p per Ordinary Share in respect of the year as a whole. This represented a dividend yield of LIBOR plus 4% on the opening NAV as at 1 January 2020, adjusted for the last dividend paid on 26 February 2021; and a dividend yield of 4.7% on the Ordinary Share price on 31 December 2020. Total dividends paid since launch have been fully covered by earnings derived from income and capital g ains.
Your Board believes that it should pay dividends from income and prior capital gains (including accumulated capital gains from previous years). It therefore proposes to continue hereafter with three, level quarterly interim dividends in respect of each financial year plus a variable, fourth interim dividend to be determined after each year end, which will take into account the net income over the whole financial year and, if appropriate, any capital gains.
The Company proposes to increase the first three interim quarterly dividends to be paid in respect of the 2021 financial year to an annual rate of LIBOR plus 3%, calculated by reference to the opening NAV as at 1 January 2021, adjusted for the payment of the last dividend in respect of the prior year.
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DJ M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc: Annual -2-
The Company uses the average daily three-month LIBOR as its reference for the purposes of its targeted dividend rate . LIBOR is in the process of being phased out by 31 December 2021 in favour of a new measure called Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA). Your Board will announce in due course the way in which SONIA will be substituted for LIBOR for the purpose of guidance on future dividends as well as for benchmarking the Company's investment performance.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and UK exit from the European Union
The information regarding ESG issues and the UK exit from the European Union can be found below.
Portfolio Manager
In May the Company announced that Adam English had been appointed as Portfolio Manager following Jeremy Richards's retirement from full time employment. Robert Whitten and Yiu-Wai Cheung have been named as Deputy Fund Managers. The Board has worked closely with Adam and the wider investment team since the launch of the Company and they have our full confidence.
Changes to the Articles of Association
The Board is proposing to make amendments to the Company's Articles of Association (the "Articles") to enable the Company to hold general meetings wholly or partially by electronic means and to give additional powers in respect of postponing or adjourning meetings in appropriate circumstances. The amendments are being sought to introduce flexibility to respond to challenges such as those posed by government restrictions on social interactions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have made it practically impossible at times for shareholders to attend general meetings in person.
The principal changes proposed to the Articles, and their effect, are set out in more detail on pages 40 to 41 of the full Annual Report and Accounts.
Annual General Meeting Arrangements
The Company's Annual General Meeting will be held at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, 9 June 2021 at the offices of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EG.
As at the date of this report, restrictions on gatherings and social distancing measures remain in place and, given the ongoing uncertainty and visibility on the level of Government guidelines in early June, the Board has again decided to proceed with this year's AGM, with the minimum quorum requirements of two members only present in person. Voting will be conducted by way of a poll. In the unlikely event of the situation changing, the Company will update shareholders through an announcement to the London Stock Exchange and on the Company's website.
The Board strongly advises that no shareholders attend the AGM in person. However, shareholders can be represented by the chairman of the meeting acting as their proxy. The Board therefore urges you to lodge your votes in respect of the meeting in advance, by completing your proxy forms this will ensure that your votes are registered. Shareholders are also invited to address any questions to the company secretary via email to mandgcredit@linkgroup.co.uk. The Board is aware that many shareholders welcome the views of the Investment Manager and a presentation from the Investment Manager will be uploaded to the Company's website on the day of the AGM for shareholders to view.
Outlook
Your Company's portfolio is now approaching a good balance between higher-yielding private assets and the more liquid public assets which allow us to take advantage of market volatility and future opportunities. It is defensively positioned and it benefits from the flexibility provided by our currently undrawn GBP25 million revolving credit facility: together these should enable us to weather any future market shocks while having the firepower to purchase suitable assets as they arise.
Our Investment Manager believes that an annual total return, and thus ultimately a dividend yield, of LIBOR plus 4% will continue to be achievable in the future although there can be no guarantee that this will occur in any individual year.
The first quarter of the current year has started very well, with a NAV total return of over 2%, and our Investment Manager remains confident that it will continue to find attractive opportunities, particularly in private assets.
David Simpson
Chairman
27 April 2021
Investment manager's report
We are pleased to provide commentary on the factors that have impacted our investment approach over the last year, with particular reference to the performance and shape of the portfolio as we have sought to build it in accordance with the mandate agreed at IPO.
During 2020, we saw significant levels of volatility across financial markets. The broad recovery across asset classes has been remarkable, aided by swift and significant policy responses from governments and central banks. In March, the significant re-pricing across corporate bond markets presented attractive medium-term opportunities for investors with patient capital and the extensive resources required to evaluate individual opportunities.
The Investment Manager was able to use the initial period of market dislocation to increase credit exposure and yield in the portfolio. Asset valuations recovered in the second half of 2020, resulting in the NAV of 101.40p per Ordinary Share as at 31 December 2020 being above the NAV at launch.
For the year ended 31 December 2020, the Company declared dividends of 4.28p per Ordinary Share (of which 0.85p per Ordinary Share was paid in May 2020, 0.77p per Ordinary Share was paid in August 2020, 0.71p per Ordinary Share was paid in November 2020 and 1.95p per Ordinary Share paid in February 2021).
The portfolio is 79% invested in investment grade assets, with a weighted average credit rating across the whole portfolio of BBB. The annualised dividend yield in respect of last year was equivalent to an annual rate of 4% over LIBOR on the opening NAV (adjusted for the final interim dividend in respect of the period ended 31 December 2019). The NAV total return for the same period was 3.7%.
Portfolio activity and positioning
The Company entered 2020 cautiously positioned. Attractively priced assets were hard to find as a result of tight spreads on corporate credit and low government bond yields, so we remained defensively positioned with allocations to high grade asset-backed securities (ABS) and covered bonds. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe led to a fast and dramatic repricing across all risk assets. The speed and severity of the spread widening across all sectors, regardless of credit quality or duration, was extraordinary. As a result, the NAV of the Company declined. However, this dislocation presented attractive opportunities in the public markets. We were able to use existing cash holdings alongside proceeds from the sale of ABS and covered bonds to redeploy into mispriced, longer dated, fixed rate investment grade and high yield corporate bonds. Private transactions were put on hold, with almost all lenders and borrowers awaiting some semblance of market stabilisation and the establishment of a "new normal" before re-engaging.
As a result of the fiscal and monetary policy measures implemented by governments and central banks around the world, investor confidence started to return by the end of the second quarter. As liquidity in the ABS market improved, we were able to continue adding credit risk to the portfolio and increase the yield by switching into longer dated, fixed rate bonds. The Company was able to add attractively priced new issues as companies sought to improve balance sheets and liquidity alongside bonds from the secondary market where valuations had become misaligned relative to the underlying credit fundamentals.
Towards the end of the second quarter, we saw the reopening of the private credit markets with a significant number of borrowers seeking finance. Those private transactions that came to market in the second half of the year were very attractive; improved covenants, more conservative structures and better pricing than prior to the start of the pandemic . The Company committed to a number of private deals in the second half of the year across a variety of sectors, including the first direct investment into the social housing/infrastructure sector. This project relates to the maintenance of residential dwellings in the London borough of Lambeth and the provision of green spaces; a community centre; and a district heating network. As at 31 December 2020, the private asset portion of the portfolio, including irrevocable commitments, had increased to 49.25% (versus 27.41% at 31 December 2019) with an additional investment of approximately 10% in illiquid publicly listed assets, which are intended to be held to maturity. There continues to be a strong pipeline of private lending opportunities. The Company increased it's holding in the M&G European Loan Fund ('ELF') in the second half of the year (11.98% as at 31 December 2020) as it offered good relative value to public high yield bonds. This loan portfolio was not immune from the fall in asset prices at the end of March and, whilst that NAV recovered in 2020, the loans market lagged the recovery seen in the public high yield market. This is a long-term holding intended to provide a steady and attractive stream of income.
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