Geiger Counter Limited
Plc
Monthly Investor Report -
January
The full monthly factsheet is now
available on the Company's website and a summary can be found
below.
NCIM - Geiger Counter Ltd
- Fund Page for Geiger Counter Ltd
Enquiries:
For
the Investment Manager
CQS (UK) LLP
Craig Cleland
0207 201 5368
For
the Company Secretary and Administrator
BNP Paribas S.A., Jersey
Branch
Dean Plowman/Ann-Marie
Pereira
01534 813 967/ 01534
709198
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Fund Description
The objective of the Geiger Counter
Fund is to provide investors with the potential for capital growth
through investment primarily in the securities of companies
involved in the exploration, development and production of energy,
predominantly within the uranium industry. Up to 30% of the value
of the Company's investment portfolio may be invested in other
resource-related companies from outside the energy
sector.
Portfolio Managers
Keith Watson and Robert
Crayfourd
Key
Advantages for the Investor
· Access
to mining assets in the uranium sector
· May
benefit from embedded subscription share
· Low
correlation to major asset classes
Key
Fund Facts1
Total Gross
Assets
|
£116.7m
|
Reference
Currency
|
GBP
|
Ordinary Shares:
|
|
Net Asset Value
|
78.38p
|
Mid-Market Price
|
62.00p
|
Net gearing4
|
13.50%
|
Discount
|
(20.90%)
|
Ordinary Share and NAV Performance2
|
One
Month
|
Three
Months
|
One
Year
|
Three
Years
|
Five
Years
|
|
(%)
|
(%)
|
(%)
|
(%)
|
(%)
|
NAV
|
16.86
|
20.88
|
48.08
|
222.02
|
322.99
|
Share Price
|
14.81
|
28.50
|
32.62
|
141.25
|
217.95
|
Commentary3
The Fund's NAV gained 16.9% in
January, ahead of the Solactive Uranium Pure Play index, which
gained 10.5% in sterling terms, and the uranium price closed the
month up 9.3% at $100/lb. The Fund's share price lagged the
NAV.
The world's largest Uranium
producer, Kazatomprom, reduced its production guidance for 2024 by
14% to 56.6M lbs, citing a shortage of sulphuric acid as the cause.
Kazatomprom accounts for 24% of global production, but this impacts
their joint venture partners equally for a total of ~40% of global
production.4 This added to growing concerns from utilities on their
ability to contract future volumes which should continue to support
pricing.
The Fund remains weighted to
producers with little to no hedging, to benefit from the
anticipated pick up in contracting volumes at better terms than
prior contracting levels, such as those seen with Cameco. Cameco
and Kazatomprom are still buying material on the spot market,
partly as utilities are maximising their contract flexibility to
take larger volumes at lower prices given the fixed price
components to those contracts. We remain underweight Cameco,
relative to the Solactive Uranium Pure Play Index.
Following the US Senate vote to ban
imports of Russian nuclear material, reports suggest it is
increasingly likely to be voted through the House of
Representatives in the coming weeks. Russia has already warned, via
the state-owned uranium trader Tenex, that it could pre-emptively
act to ban trade of uranium and associated services to the US. This
continues to focus Western utility fuel buyers on the requirement
to secure material and further encourages the trend to increase
contracting with Western-friendly suppliers, where the Fund is
positioned.
Whilst Russia is only 7% of primary
uranium mined, they do have meaningful joint ventures with
Kazatomprom and therefore influence a much larger share of the
market than this figure implies. Importantly, they control a large
proportion of global enrichment market, over 40%, which presents
fuel supply risks for Western reactors should access be cut. In
2022 the US sourced 12% of its uranium and 24% of its enrichment
from Russia.5
The Company announced on 8 February
2024 that it is considering applying for admission of the Company's
ordinary shares to the Specialist Fund Segment of the London Stock
Exchange as a means of broadening the appeal of the Company to a
wider range of shareholders.
|
Gross
Leverage
(%)
|
Commitment
Leverage
(%)
|
Geiger Counter Ltd
|
114
|
114
|
CQS (UK) LLP
4th Floor, One Strand, London WC2N 5HR, United
Kingdom
T: +44 (0) 20 7201 6900 | F: +44 (0) 20 7201
1200
CQS (US), LLC
152 West 57th Street, 40th Floor, New York, NY
10019, US
T: +1 212 259 2900 | F: +1 212 259
2699
CQS (Hong Kong) Limited
3305 AIA Tower, 183 Electric Road, North Point,
Hong Kong, China
T: +852 3920 8600 | F: +852 2521
3189
Tavistock Communications
18 St. Swithin's Lane, London EC4N
8AD
T: +44 20 7920 3150 |
geigercounter@tavistock.co.uk
Sources: 1R&H Fund Services (Jersey)
Limited, as at the last business day of the month indicated at the
top of this report. 2R&H Fund Services Limited/DataStream, as
at the last business day of the month indicated at the top of this
report, total return performance net of fees and expenses based on
bid prices. These include historic returns and past performance is
not a reliable indicator of future results. The value of
investments can go down as well as up. Please read the important
legal notice at the end of this document. 3Market data sourced from
Bloomberg unless otherwise stated. The Fund may since have exited
some or all of the positions detailed in the commentary.