Half-yearly Report
BARING EMERGING EUROPE PLC
Preliminary unaudited announcement
in respect of the six Months ended 31 March 2007
INCOME STATEMENT
Six months ended 31 March
2007
Revenue Capital Total
£000 £000 £000
Gains on investments - 66,599 66,599
Income 813 - 813
Investment management fee (1,566 ) - (1,566 )
Other expenses (667 ) - (667 )
Net return before interest payable and
taxation (1,420 ) 66,599 65,179
Finance costs (5 ) - (5 )
Net return before taxation (1,425 ) 66,599 65,174
Taxation (75 ) - (75 )
Return attributable to ordinary shareholders (1,500 ) 66,599 65,099
Total
Return per ordinary share (pence) 150.49 p
INCOME STATEMENT
Six months ended 31 March
2006
Revenue Capital Total
£000 £000 £000
Gains on investments - 56,150 56,150
Income 566 - 566
Investment management fee (1,258 ) (561 ) (1,819 )
Other expenses (601 ) - (601 )
Return before interest payable and taxation (1,293 ) 55,589 54,296
Finance costs (2 ) - (2 )
Return on ordinary activities before taxation (1,295 ) 55,589 54,294
Taxation on ordinary activities (21 ) - (21 )
Return on ordinary activities after taxation (1,316 ) 55,589 54,273
Total
Return per ordinary share (pence) 125.45 p
INCOME STATEMENT
Year ended 30 September
2006
Revenue Capital Total
£000 £000 £000
Gains on investments - 37,493 37,493
Income 5,838 - 5,838
Investment management fee (2,661 ) 21 (2,640 )
Other expenses (1,142 ) - (1,142 )
Net return before interest payable and taxation 2,035 37,514 39,549
Finance costs (5 ) - (5 )
Net return before taxation 2,030 37,514 39,544
Taxation (731 ) - (731 )
Return attributable to ordinary shareholders 1,299 37,514 38,813
Total
Return per ordinary share (pence) 89.72 p
Dividend per ordinary share (pence) 2.70 p
BALANCE SHEET
31 March 31 March 30 September
2007 2006 2006
£000 £000 £000
Non current assets
Investments at fair value through the
profit or loss 349,417 305,360 285,415
Current assets
Debtors 3,690 1,082 1,901
Cash at bank and in hand 4,752 6,072 5,326
8,442 7,154 7,227
Creditors: Amounts falling due within one
year (2,753 ) (4,357 ) (606 )
Net current assets 5,689 2,797 6,621
Net assets 355,106 308,157 292,036
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital 4,436 4,436 4,436
Share premium account 1,411 1,411 1,411
Special Reserve 79,917 79,917 79,917
Redemption reserve 352 352 352
Capital reserve-realised 111,122 75,284 84,187
Capital reserve-unrealised 162,901 150,878 123,237
Revenue reserve (634 ) (583 ) 2,034
Own shares held (4,399 ) (3,538 ) (3,538 )
Total shareholders' funds 355,106 308,157 292,036
Net asset value per ordinary share 823.15p 712.34p 675.07p
RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENT IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS
For the six months ended 31 March 2007
Called-up Share Capital Capital Own
share premium Special Redemption reserve reserve Revenue shares
capital account reserve reserve realised unrealised reserve held Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Balance at
30
September
2006 4,436 1,411 79,917 352 84,187 123,237 2,034 (3,538) 292,036
Net gain on
realisation
of - - - - 26,935 - - - 26,935
investments
Unrealised
movement on
investments
- - - - - 39,664 - - 39,664
Buy back of
own shares
held in
treasury
- - - - - - - (861) (861)
Net revenue
retained
for
- - - - - - (1,500) - (1,500)
the year
Dividends - - - - - - (1,168) - (1,168)
paid
Balance at
31 March
2007 4,436 1,411 79,917 352 111,122 162,901 (634) (4,399) 355,106
For the year ended 30 September 2006
Called-up Share Capital Capital Own
share premium Special Redemption reserve reserve Revenue shares
capital account reserve reserve realised unrealised reserve held Total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Beginning of
year
4,436 1,411 79,917 352 41,794 128,116 1,384 (3,538) 253,872
Net gain on
realisation
of - - - - 42,372 - - - 42,372
investments
Unrealised
appreciation
on
investments
(restated) - - - - - (4,879) - - (4,879)
Capital
management
Charges
- - - - 21 - - - 21
Net revenue
retained for
the year
- - - - - - 1,299 - 1,299
Dividends - - - - - - (649) - (649)
paid
Balance at
30 September
2006 4,436 1,411 79,917 352 84,187 123,237 2,034 (3,538) 292,036
CASHFLOW STATEMENT
Six Six
months months Year
ended ended ended
31 March 31 March 30 September
2007 2006 2006
£000 £000 £000
Operating activities
Income received from investment 1,586 705 4,848
Interest received 68 14 53
Investment management fees paid (1,277 ) (1,845 ) (3,288 )
Other cash payments (722 ) (676 ) (1,045 )
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from operating
activities (345 ) (1,802 ) 568
Servicing of finance
Interest paid (5 ) (2 ) (5 )
Taxation
Overseas tax paid (75 ) (21 ) (731 )
Financial investment
Purchases of investments (83,516 ) (68,958 ) (101,037 )
Sales of investments 84,535 73,951 103,736
Net cash inflow from financial investments
1,019 4,993 2,699
Equity dividends paid (1,168 ) (649 ) (649 )
Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing (574 ) 2,519 1,882
Financing
Buyback of ordinary shares - - -
Net cash outflow from financing - - -
(Decrease)/increase in cash (574 ) 2,519 1,882
NOTES
1. Accounting Policies
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable
accounting standards and with the AIC's Statement of Recommended Practice
"Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies" ("SORP") issued in January
2003, revised in December 2005 and in accordance with the Companies Act, 1985.
The abridged figures for 2007 are an extract from the latest financial
statements and do not constitute statutory financial statements. The financial
statements have not yet been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, nor have
the Auditors reported on them.
2. Comparative information
The figures and financial information for the year ended 30 September 2006 are
an extract from the latest published accounts and do not constitute statutory
accounts. Full accounts for that period have been delivered to the Registrar of
Companies and included the report of the auditors which was unqualified and did
not contain a statement under section 237 of the Companies Act 1985.
3. Share Capital
As at 31 March 2007 there were 44,359,906 ordinary shares of 10p each in issue
which includes 1,220,000 ordinary shares held in treasury and treated as not
being in issue when calculating the net asset value per share. Shares held in
treasury are non-voting and not eligible for receipt of dividends. During the
period 120,000 ordinary shares were bought back to be held in treasury at a
cost of £861,600.
4. Dividend
No dividend is payable in respect of the six months to 31 March 2007.
Consideration will be given to an annual dividend in respect of the year ended
30 September 2007 at a Board meeting to be held in November. An announcement
will be made shortly after that meeting.
5. Posting of Annual Report
The Interim Report will be posted to shareholders on or around 17 May 2007. It
will not be advertised in newspapers, but copies will be available from that
date at the Company's Registered Office at 155 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3XY.
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
The first six months of the current financial year have been very satisfactory
for your Company with the share price increasing by 21.3% and the net asset
value by 21.9%. All the regional markets performed well during the period.
As I reported in my statement for the 2006 annual report, Baring Asset
Management appointed Mr Martin Majdaniuk as investment manager within its
Emerging European Equities team. Mr Majdaniuk is expected to assume full
responsibility for the Company's portfolio in the near future and the Board
looks forward to working with him.
Following a review of the Company's investment benchmark we are considering
with Baring Asset Management about changing to the MSCI EM Europe 10/40 Index
with effect from 1 April 2007. This benchmark is considered to be more suitable
for the investment mandate and should allow for more effective performance
comparison against the peer group. The current benchmark suffers from
concentration issues which make it difficult for the investment manager to
reflect his market views in the portfolio weightings. For this reason we are
also considering setting the cumulative performance at zero in calculating any
performance fee from 1 April 2007 onwards. During the six months under review
the MSCI EM Europe 10/40 Index increased by 21.1%.
The Company has recently bought back 405,000 of its ordinary shares to be held
in treasury at an average discount of 10.4%. This is in line with the Board's
policy to constrain the volatility of the discount.
The Board shares the Investment Manager's view that the long term case for
Emerging Europe remains positive.
Iain Saunders
Chairman
30 April 2007
For enquiries please contact:
Ronald Watt at Baring Asset Management Limited on 020 7628 6000