DJ HUGIN NEWS/A solid first quarter; ways of minimizing the discount are being reviewed
The past quarter was highlighted by recessionary worries in the first
two months and corporate results that, at least in some cases, fell
short of analyst expectations, two factors that led to a massive wave
of selling on stock markets. A slight recovery set in during the
month of March. The Swiss Market
Index (SMI) retreated 11% in the
first quarter of 2009 while in Germany the DAX index lost an even
greater 15%. The Net
Asset Value of BB MEDTECH was unable to
completely avoid the negative market trend but it nevertheless
clearly outperformed the benchmark indices.
The dividend adjusted Net
Asset Value declined 4%, which represents
an outperformance of 7% versus the SMI and 10% versus the DAX. In the
wake of the continuing financial market crisis, and the ensuing
widespread selling pressure on stock markets, or rather the absence
of buyers, BB MEDTECH shares were also marked down 11%
notwithstanding the solid development in its portfolio value. Trading
volumes were low and a second reason for the decline was, in our
opinion, the convertible bond maturing on March 6, 2009, which had a
mandatory conversion ratio of 50% and prompted some investors to
engage in arbitrage trading. The divergent trends between Net
Asset Value and share price caused the discount to widen to 18% as at March
31, 2009. At the Annual General Meeting of shareholders on March 30,
2009, the Board of Directors of BB MEDTECH
AG made clear that it
regards itself as obligated to review all potential means of reducing
the discount. It has therefore passed a resolution to have the
corresponding legal, tax and financial requirements and conditions of
the various alternatives clarified by specialized firms.
Shareholders' equity (excl. treasury shares) amounted to CHF 488 mn
as at March 31, 2009 (-6% since December 31, 2008). Shareholders at
the Annual General Meeting on March 30, 2009, approved all proposals
submitted by the Board of Directors, including the dividend payout of
CHF 0.90 per registered share and the re-election of the sitting
Board members Heino von Prondzynski and Dr. Wolfgang Reim as well as
the election of Laura Rossi as a new Board member. Dr. Ernst Thomke
did not stand for re-election. We thank Dr. Thomke for his great
dedication and support during his nine years of service as Chairman
of the Board of Directors and as a Board member. Upon her election to
the Board of Directors, Laura Rossi resigned from the BB MEDTECH
management team after nine successful years. The management team is
now headed by Stefan Blum.
As part of its efforts to promote the continual development of BB
MEDTECH, the Board of Directors confirmed the cornerstones of the
company's investment strategy. Detailed fundamental market and
company analysis and regular close contact with the management of our
portfolio holdings remain the focal point of our activities as in the
past. The expertise of the Board of Directors and the management team
in the medtech market and our extensive industry network will
likewise remain the key elements of our investment process. Our
objective is to have a portfolio of 10 to 15 participations in
mid-sized, well managed companies positioned in highly attractive
segments of the medical technology market such as molecular
diagnostics. The geographic focuses are on Europe and North America
but may
be widened to include individual participations in Asia. In
addition, we also have the possibility of becoming an active investor
in a company.
Our investment focus on defensive sectors within the medtech industry
paid off during the first quarter. Only minor changes were made to
our portfolio during the past quarter. We slightly reduced our
positions in Qiagen and Masimo. The position in Axis-Shield was
increased somewhat. The management and supervisory boards of
Epigenomics decided to conduct a capital increase without
subscription rights. We were able to more than double our
participation in Epigenomics through this capital increase.
As of March 31, 2009, 77% of BB MEDTECH's assets were invested. As in
the preceding months, the high cash allocation is a reflection of the
portfolio realignment process as well as the volatile market
environment. Last year revealed that not every subsector of the
global medtech market is immune to macroeconomic cycles.
Nevertheless, we are confident that the current weakness on stock
markets also offers opportunities to profit from historically low
valuation levels and selectively add positions in attractive,
fundamentally sound medtech companies to our portfolio in the coming
months.
We remain convinced that the medical technology market offers
investors above-average returns over the long term driven by
demographic developments and innovation. BB MEDTECH's share price
gained 82% (incl. dividends) between early 2000 and March 31, 2009,
and we are optimistic that we will sustain this trend for our
shareholders in the remaining quarters of 2009.
The composition of BB MEDTECH's portfolio as at March 31, 2009 is the
following (in % of equity, rounded values):
Qiagen 20.5%
Fresenius preferred shares 11.5%
Fresenius common shares 2.4%
Tecan 8.9%
Illumina 7.2%
Masimo 7.2%
Mindray 5.3%
Galenica 3.7%
Celera 3.7%
Carl Zeiss Meditec 2.9%
Epigenomics 2.5%
Axis-Shield 1.2%
Optos 0.4%
Vascular Innovation preferred shares1) <0.1%
SWAP agreement on treasury shares <0.1%
Total securities CHF 377.8 mn 77.5%
Liquid funds (net) CHF 105.8 mn 21.7%
Other assets CHF 10.1 mn 2.1%
Other payables CHF (6.0) mn (1.2)%
Total shareholders' equity CHF 487.7 mn 100.0%
Own shares (in % of company) 12.8%
1) unlisted company
The Quarterly Report as at March 31, 2009 is available on
www.bbmedtech.com
For further information please contact:
Bellevue
Asset Management
AG, Seestrasse 16, CH-8700 Kusnacht/Zurich
Thomas Egger or Anja Stubenrauch, phone +41 44 267 67 00
Company profile
BB MEDTECH acquires shares in companies in the growth market of
medical technology. BB MEDTECH is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange
and in Germany. The focus of the shareholdings is on listed companies
in Europe and North America that are taking on a market leadership
role in their area of activities and demonstrate sustained turnover
and income potential. For its selection of holdings, BB MEDTECH
relies on fundamental analysis by industry experts. The Board of
Directors has many years of industrial and scientific experience
behind it.
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
http://hugin.info/130286/R/1308816/301953.pdf
http://www.bbmedtech.ch
Copyright © Hugin
AS 2009. All rights reserved.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 28, 2009 01:31 ET (05:31 GMT)
