GCL Geiger Counter Limited

Geiger Counter Limited Plc 

Monthly Investor Report - 28^th October 2024

( All Factsheet data is at 30 September 2024)

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 

R&H Fund Services (Jersey) Limited

Jane De Barros/Katie De La Cour

01534 825259/01534 825337 

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Fund Description 

The objective of Geiger Counter Limited 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 

Ordinary Share and NAV Performance² 

Commentary³ 

The spot U3O8 price rose to $81.75/lb, a rise of over 3% in September. Sentiment improved considerably towards the end of the month after Microsoft announced an agreement with US utility Constellation Energy to restart their Three Mile reactor to power a data centre.

The US Department of Energy announced intentions to investigate whether Russian uranium, currently prohibited from entering the country except under grandfathered contracts, is being shipped through China to circumvent restrictions. This followed substantial increases in US uranium imports from China, which had been negligible before 2023. Such restrictions on importing material from China would further limit the supply options available to the US, potentially supporting uranium prices. Subsequently, news reports indicated that Russia could take the initiative and limit uranium exports in retaliation to sanctions, which helped inject further positive momentum into uranium mining equities.

The news helped revitalise the recent lackluster investor interest and related uranium mining equities performed well. Despite the drag from sterling's strength, which rose nearly 2% against the dollar, the Fund NAV rose 9.5% in September, similar to the 8.8% sterling return registered by the Solactive Global Uranium Pure-Play Index. Reinforcing the improved sentiment, the share price of the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust also moved back to parity with its NAV, allowing it to make some minor purchases of physical material late in the month. Positive contributions were made by Nexgen, Paladin, and UEC, which saw considerable rebounds in their share prices, which rose 18%, 20% and 32% respectively over the month.

Encouraging data for uranium demand continued with France's state-owned utility EDF increasing its estimate for domestic nuclear power generation to 340-360TWh this year, up from a previous estimate of 315-345TWh, as reactors are brought back online following stress corrosion investigations. Meanwhile, dovetailing with Russia's comments regarding possible limits on its nuclear fuel exports, the government also opened a public consultation into plans to construct as many as 34 new nuclear power plants over the coming two decades.

Elsewhere, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) also made headlines as the UK advances plans to standardise reactor technology, honing the number of designs under consideration to a final four. More than one of these designs could receive government support to progress, with Rolls Royce a clear front-runner given the company's political capital as a UK industry champion. However, the adoption rate of SMRs will also need to be harmonised international regulatory standards, which are currently challenging.

Also helpful was the improvement in the outlook for the availability of funding to support the construction of nuclear capacity. At a Global Climate conference in New York, 14 international financial institutions (including, among others, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Brookfield, Credit Agricole, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale) expressed support for the long-term objectives of growing nuclear power generation and improved availability of debt funding structures. The move was backed up by comments by the Swedish government, which has recently lifted a ban on the construction of new nuclear facilities, that it is exploring financing models, including government-backed loans, contracts-for-difference (CfDs) and risk-sharing mechanisms. The aim of the proposal is to significantly improve the conditions for nuclear new builds.

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

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. ⁴ BMO, UxC, Company data September 2023. ⁵ www.eia.gov. ⁶CQS, as at the last business day of the month indicated at the top of this report. For methodology details see Article 4(3) of Directive 2011/61/EU (AIFMD) and Articles 6, 7, 9 and 10 of Delegated Regulation 231/2013. ⁷CQS, as at the last business day of the month indicated at the top of this report. For methodology details see Article 4(3) of Directive 2011/61/EU (AIFMD) and Articles 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of Delegated Regulation 231/2013.