Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Item
2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
This
information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to the financial statements included in Item
1 of Part 1 of this Form 10-Q. The discussion and analysis that follows may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
and within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements may relate to the
Trust’s financial condition, operations, future performance and business. These statements can be identified by the use
of the words “may”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”,
“estimate”, “predict”, “potential” or similar words and phrases. These statements are based
upon certain assumptions and analyses the Sponsor has made based on its perception of historical trends, current conditions and
expected future developments. Neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is under a duty to update any of the forward-looking statements,
to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect a change in management’s expectations or predictions.
Introduction
The
Trust is a common law trust, formed under the laws of the state of New York on December 30, 2009. The Trust is not managed
like a corporation or an active investment vehicle. It does not have any officers, directors, or employees and is administered
by the Trustee pursuant to the Trust Agreement. The Trust is not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 and is not required to register under such act. It does not hold or trade in commodity futures contracts, nor is it
a commodity pool, or subject to regulation as a commodity pool operator or a commodity trading adviser in connection with issuing
Shares.
The
Trust holds platinum and is expected to issue Baskets in exchange for deposits of platinum and to distribute platinum
in connection with redemptions of Baskets. Shares issued by the Trust represent units of undivided beneficial interest in and
ownership of the Trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of platinum bullion,
less the Trust’s expenses. The Sponsor believes that, for many investors, the Shares will represent a cost effective
investment relative to traditional means of investing in platinum.
The
Trust issues and redeems Shares only with Authorized Participants in exchange for platinum and only in aggregations of 50,000
Shares or integral multiples thereof. A list of current Authorized Participants is available from the Sponsor or the Trustee.
Shares
of the Trust trade on the NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) under the symbol “PPLT”.
Valuation
of Platinum and Computation of Net Asset Value
On
each day that the NYSE Arca is open for regular trading, as promptly as practicable after 4:00 p.m. New York time on such day
(the “Evaluation Time”), the Trustee evaluates the platinum held by the Trust and determines the NAV of the Trust.
At
the Evaluation Time, the Trustee values the Trust’s platinum on the basis of that day’s LBMA Platinum Price PM. If no LBMA Platinum
Price PM on any day, the Trustee is authorized to use the LBMA Platinum Price AM announced on that day. If neither price is available
for that day, the Trustee will value the Trust’s platinum based on the most recently announced LBMA Platinum Price PM or LBMA
Platinum Price AM. Realized gains and losses on transfers of platinum, or platinum distributed for the redemption of Shares, are
calculated on a trade date basis as the difference between the fair value and average cost of platinum transferred.
The
LME is responsible for the administration of the electronic platinum price fixing system (“LMEbullion”) that replicates
electronically the manual London platinum fix processes previously employed by the LPPFCL, as well as providing electronic market
clearing processes for platinum bullion transactions at the fixed prices established by the LME pricing mechanism. LMEbullion,
like the previous London platinum fix processes, establishes and publishes fixed prices for troy ounces of platinum twice each
London trading day during fixing sessions beginning at 9:45 a.m. London time (the “LBMA Platinum Price AM”) and 2:00
p.m. London time (the “LBMA Platinum Price PM”).
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Once
the value of the platinum has been determined, the Trustee subtracts all estimated accrued but unpaid fees (other than the
fees accruing for such day on which the valuation takes place that are computed by reference to the value of the Trust or its
assets), expenses and other liabilities of the Trust from the total value of the platinum and all other assets of the Trust
(other than any amounts credited to the Trust’s reserve account, if established). The resulting figure is the ANAV of the
Trust. The ANAV of the Trust is used to compute the Sponsor’s Fee.
All
fees accruing for the day on which the valuation takes place that are computed by reference to the value of the Trust or its assets
are calculated using the ANAV calculated for such day. The Trustee subtracts from the ANAV the amount of accrued fees so computed
for such day and the resulting figure is the NAV of the Trust. The Trustee also determines the NAV per Share by dividing the NAV
of the Trust by the number of the Shares outstanding as of the close of trading on the NYSE Arca (which includes the net number
of any Shares created or redeemed on such evaluation day).
Any
estimate of the accrued but unpaid fees, expenses and liabilities of the Trust for purposes of computing the NAV of the Trust
and ANAV made by the Trustee in good faith shall be conclusive upon all persons interested in the Trust and no revision or correction
in any computation made under the Trust Agreement will be required by reason of any difference in amounts estimated from those
actually paid.
The
NAV of the Trust is obtained by subtracting the Trust’s liabilities on any day from the value of the platinum owned and
receivable by the Trust on that day; the NAV per Share is obtained by dividing the NAV of the Trust on a given day by the number
of Shares outstanding on that day.
Recent Events
On April 22, 2026, the Sponsor announced a 10-for-1 forward share split (the "Split") of the Shares issued by the Trust.
The Split will
apply to shareholders of record as of the close of the markets on May 14, 2026, and will be payable after the close of the markets on
May 15, 2026. The Split will be effective prior to the market open on May 18, 2026, when the Shares of the Registrant will trade at their
post-Split prices. The ticker symbol and CUSIP number for the Shares will not change.
The Split will decrease the price per Share of the
Trust with a proportionate increase in the number of Shares outstanding. In the Split, shareholders will receive ten post-Split-Shares
for every Share held of record as of the close of the markets on May 14, 2026. The post-Split Shares will be priced at one-tenth the NAV
of a pre-Split Share.
The
Quarter Ended March 31, 2026
The
Trust’s NAV decreased from $2,862,967,538 at December 31, 2025 to $2,396,712,689 at March 31, 2026, a 16.24% decrease for the
quarter. The change in the Trust’s NAV resulted primarily from a decrease in the price per ounce of platinum, which fell 5.87%
from $2,027.00 at December 31, 2025 to $1,908.00 at March 31, 2026 and a decrease outstanding shares, which fell from 15,550,000
Shares at December 31, 2025 to 13,850,000 Shares at March 31, 2026, as a result of 1,150,000 (23 Baskets) being created and 2,850,000
Shares (57 Baskets) being redeemed during the quarter.
The
NAV per Share decreased 6.01% from $184.11 at December 31, 2025 to $173.05 at March 31, 2026. The Trust’s NAV per Share fell slightly
more than the price per ounce of platinum on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s Fee, which was $4,357,955 for the quarter,
or 0.60% of the Trust’s ANAV on an annualized basis.
The
NAV per Share of $255.22 at January 26, 2026 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low of $167.70 at March 29, 2026.
The
decrease in net assets from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2026 was $184,201,736, resulting from a change in unrealized
loss on investment in platinum of $403,019,657 and the Sponsor’s Fee of $4,357,955, offset by a realized gain of $1,887,245 on
the transfer of platinum to pay expenses and a
realized gain of $221,288,631 on platinum distributed for the redemption of Shares .
Other than the Sponsor’s Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
The
Quarter Ended March 31, 2025
The
Trust’s NAV increased from $1,018,947,768 at December 31, 2024 to $1,064,605,134 at March 31, 2025, a 4.48% increase for
the quarter. The change in the Trust’s NAV resulted from an increase in the price per ounce of platinum, which rose 8.76%
from $913.00 at December 31, 2024 to $993.00 at March 31, 2025 and a decrease in outstanding Shares, which fell from 12,200,000
at December 31, 2024 to 11,750,000 at March 31, 2025, a result of 250,000 Shares (5 Baskets) being created and 700,000 Shares
(14 Baskets) being redeemed during the quarter.
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The
NAV per Share increased 8.48% from $83.52 at December 31, 2024 to $90.60 at March 31, 2025. The Trust’s NAV per Share increased
slightly less than the price per ounce of platinum on a percentage basis due to the Sponsor’s Fee, which was $1,561,511
for the quarter, or 0.60% of the Trust’s ANAV.
The
NAV per Share of $91.35 at March 18, 2025 was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low of $84.16 at January 2, 2025.
The
increase in net assets from operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2025 was $84,842,789 resulting from a realized gain of
$6,117 on platinum distributed for the redemption of Shares and a change in unrealized gain on investment in platinum of $86,426,015,
offset by a realized loss of $27,831 on the transfer of platinum to pay expenses and the Sponsor’s Fee of $1,561,511. Other
than the Sponsor’s Fee, the Trust had no expenses during the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
Liquidity
& Capital Resources
The
Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that are reasonably likely to result in material
changes to its liquidity needs. In exchange for the Sponsor’s Fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses
incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the period covered by this report was the Sponsor’s
Fee. The Trust’s only source of liquidity is its transfer and sales of platinum.
The
Trustee will, at the direction of the Sponsor or in its own discretion, sell the Trust’s platinum as necessary
to pay the Trust’s expenses not otherwise assumed by the Sponsor. The Trustee will not sell platinum to pay the Sponsor’s
Fee but will pay the Sponsor’s Fee through in-kind transfers of platinum to the Sponsor. At March 31, 2026, the
Trust did not have any cash balances.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
The
Trust is not a party to any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical
Accounting Policies
The
financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America. The preparation of these financial statements relies on estimates and assumptions that impact the Trust’s
financial position and results of operations. These estimates and assumptions affect the Trust’s application of accounting
policies. Refer to Note 2 to the Financial Statements for further information on accounting policies.
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