Final Results

EP GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES TRUST plc 26 February 2007 PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF ANNUAL RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS * The Company's net asset value per Ordinary share increased by 10.6 per cent to 172.8p * Share price increased 10.0 per cent to 170p, ending the year at a discount to net asset value of 1.6 per cent, compared to 1.1 per cent at the end of 2005 * The Board is recommending a final dividend of 1.8p per Ordinary share, payable on 11 May 2007. The ex-dividend date will be 11 April 2007 and the record date will be 13 April 2007 * During the year, the Board also exercised its powers to issue new shares at a premium to net asset value, resulting in a further increase of 554,170 new shares in issue * At 31 December 2006 shareholders' funds had increased to £58.8 million from £ 52.2 million at the end of the previous year * The annual general meeting of the Company will be held on 18 April 2007 The Directors announce the annual results for the year from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2006, which were approved by the Directors on 26 February 2007, as follows:- INCOME STATEMENT (UNAUDITED) 1 January 2006 to 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Gains on - 5,321 5,321 - 9,906 9,906 investments Foreign exchange - (121) (121) - (94) (94) losses on capital items Dividends and 1,517 - 1,517 824 - 824 interest Investment (413) - (413) (241) - (241) management fee Other expenses (253) - (253) (242) - (242) Net return before 851 5,200 6,051 341 9,812 10,153 taxation Taxation (154) - (154) (68) - (68) Net return after 697 5,200 5,897 273 9,812 10,085 taxation Return per 2.06p 15.36p 17.42p 1.13p 40.57p 41.70p Ordinary share * * The revenue return per Ordinary share is based on earnings of £697,000 (2005: £273,000) and on 33,850,326 (2005: 24,186,688) Ordinary shares being the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year. The capital return per Ordinary share is based on net capital gains of £5,200,000 (2005: £9,812,000) and on 33,850,326 (2005: 24,186,688) Ordinary shares being the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year. All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. The revenue and capital return columns are prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC"). A separate Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses has not been prepared as all such gains and losses are included in the Income Statement. Dividend Information A final dividend for the year of 1.8p per Ordinary share (2005: 0.8p) is proposed. This is subject to the approval of shareholders at the Annual General Meeting and will be payable on 11 May 2007 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 13 April 2007. The ex-dividend date will be 11 April 2007. Based on 33,998,180 Ordinary shares, being the current number of Ordinary shares in issue, the total dividend payment will amount to £612,000. BALANCE SHEET (UNAUDITED) As at As at 31 December 2006 31 December 2005 £'000 £'000 Non current assets: Investments at fair value through profit or 57,574 49,812 loss Current assets: Debtors 139 112 Cash at bank and short term deposits 1,275 2,479 1,414 2,591 Creditors - amounts falling due within one 223 162 year Net current assets 1,191 2,429 Total net assets 58,765 52,241 Capital and reserves: Called up share capital 340 334 Capital redemption reserve 1 1 Share premium account 17,991 17,099 Special reserve 20,506 20,506 Capital reserve - realised 13,598 5,439 - unrealised 5,590 8,549 Revenue reserve 739 313 Total shareholders' funds 58,765 52,241 Net asset value per Ordinary share 172.8p 156.2p RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS (UNAUDITED) Share Capital Share Special Capital Capital Revenue Total capital redemption premium reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve account realised unrealised £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Year ended 31 December 2006 At 31 334 1 17,099 20,506 5,439 8,549 313 52,241 December 2005 Net return - - - - 8,159 (2,959) 697 5,897 after taxation for the year Dividends - - - - - - (271) (271) paid Shares issued 6 - 894 - - - - 900 Share issue - - (2) - - - - (2) costs 31 December 340 1 17,991 20,506 13,598 5,590 739 58,765 2006 Year ended 31 December 2005 At 31 224 1 1,092 20,506 393 3,783 131 26,130 December 2004 Net return - - - - 5,046 4,766 273 10,085 after taxation for the year Dividends - - - - - - (91) (91) paid Shares issued 110 - 16,350 - - - - 16,460 Share issue - - (343) - - - - (343) costs 31 December 334 1 17,099 20,506 5,439 8,549 313 52,241 2005 SUMMARISED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOW (UNAUDITED) 1 January 2006 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006 to 31 December 2005 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating 708 278 activities Investing activities Purchases of investments (30,717) (32,538) Sales of investments 28,306 17,975 Exchange losses on settlement (27) (94) Net cash outflow from investing (2,438) (14,657) activities Net cash outflow before equity dividend (1,730) (14,379) and financing Equity dividend paid (271) (91) Financing Proceeds of share issues 900 16,460 Expenses of share issues (8) (337) Net cash inflow from financing 892 16,123 (Decrease)/increase in cash (1,109) 1,653 Notes to this announcement: The above financial information does not constitute statutory financial statements as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. This information has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies used in the statutory accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2005. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2005 received an unqualified audit opinion. The Company has adopted the AIC Statement of Recommended Practice revised December 2005 regarding the Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies. The results for the year ended 31 December 2006 will be circulated to shareholders in the form of an Annual Report, copies of which will be available at the Company's registered office, and which will be filed with the Registrar of Companies. 1. Net asset value per share The net asset value per Ordinary share is based on net assets at 31 December 2006 of £58,765,000 (2005: £52,241,000) and on 33,998,180 Ordinary shares (2005: 33,444,010) being the number of Ordinary shares in issue at that date. 2. Dividends paid The Company issued a total of 404,170 Ordinary shares after the 31 December 2005 year end and prior to the record date for the final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2005 and therefore these shares were entitled to receive that dividend. The total amount paid by the Company was £271,000, £3,000 higher than the original proposed dividend of £268,000. 3. Status of the Company It is the intention of the Directors to conduct the affairs of the Company so that it satisfies the conditions for approval as an investment trust company set out in Section 842 of the Income and Corporations Taxes Act 1988. Chairman's Statement Results It is pleasing to be able to report a third year of good overall investment performance. The net asset value per share at the end of December 2006 was 172.8p, up from 156.2p at the end of the previous year. This is a gain of 10.6 per cent. Since the launch of the Company three years ago, the net asset value per share has increased by 72.8 per cent. Over the year, the share price rose 10.0 per cent to 170.0p. The shares traded at a narrow discount or small premium throughout the year, ending the year at a 1.6 per cent discount to the net asset value per share. We were able to take advantage of the underlying demand for the shares by issuing 554,170 shares during the year at a small premium to the net asset value per share. Investment Performance It was another good year for equity investment, with virtually all equity markets gaining in value in local currency terms. However, the strength of sterling against the US dollar and the Japanese yen turned positive results in local currencies into negative returns when measured in sterling. Japan, which had been the best performing major market in 2005, was the poorest performing in 2006, with the Topix index declining by 11.4 per cent in sterling terms. The US stock market, as measured by the S&P Composite index, was down fractionally when converted into sterling. The negative effect of these, the two largest equity markets, held back the FTSE All-World index to a gain of 4.9 per cent. The best performing region was Continental Europe, with the FTSE Europe ex UK index up 16.8 per cent. This is by far our largest area of investment. The FTSE All-Share index and the FTSE Asia Pacific ex Japan index gained 13.2 per cent and 13.7 per cent respectively over the twelve months. EP Global Opportunities Trust invests globally in shares that our investment manager, Edinburgh Partners, believes offer the best value. While it is interesting to compare our performance with the FTSE All-World index, it is an important feature of the Company that it does not have a benchmark. This gives our investment manager the freedom to invest without concern for geographical or sector weightings, to avoid shares and sectors that in the manager's view are over priced and to focus entirely on where the perceived value is. It is gratifying that, in each of the three years of the company's existence, the performance of the net asset value per share has been well ahead of the FTSE All-World index. Inevitably, there will be periods when certain shares, sectors or even entire equity markets go to excessive valuations: the "dot-com" boom in technology shares in the late 1990s being an extreme example. It is to be expected that during such periods the net asset value per share will lag the performance of the FTSE All-World index. However, your Board strongly believe that the rigorous focus on value applied by Edinburgh Partners will in the long run prove to be rewarding. In line with our investment manager's focus on value, we reduced our level of investment in Japan in the early part of the year. Japanese shares had become less attractive because of their strong performance in 2005. Given their poor performance in 2006, this reduction was helpful to our results, both absolutely and particularly when compared with the World index. The other major change to the portfolio has been the gradual build up in the level of investment in the USA. The underperformance of the US market in 2005 created some interesting investment opportunities. While US shares did perform better in 2006, the effect was held back by the weakness in the dollar. Revenue Account The revenue account shows a healthy increase over the previous year. Net revenues after tax more than doubled. While, in part, this was due to the increase in assets resulting from the share issue in November 2005, the revenue account has also benefited from the reduced level of investment in Japan, where yields are particularly low. In addition there was a steady increase in the level of dividends received from the companies held. Revenue per share was 2.06p and the Board is pleased to recommend a 125 per cent increase in the dividend to 1.8p per share. Subject to shareholders' approval at the annual general meeting, the dividend will be paid on 11 May 2007. The Board is happy to recommend a relatively full payout of the revenue earned. It is not the Board's intention to target a steadily rising dividend. The level of revenue is driven by the investment policy which, in turn, depends on where our investment manager perceives the best value to be. In 2006, better value was found in some relatively higher yielding shares. Should this change, we would not hesitate to invest in shares with lower or no yield if that is where the value is, even if this means reducing our own dividend. Option in Edinburgh Partners Your Company holds an option over 71,294 shares in Edinburgh Partners. The option is exercisable at any time up to December 2008 and, if exercised, would represent 1.8% of the equity of Edinburgh Partners. The value placed on the option has been increased by £545,000 to £800,000 over the past year. This is equivalent to 2.35p per each of our own shares. Edinburgh Partners had an excellent year, including winning its first major pension fund contracts. Funds under management had reached £1.6 billion by the year end, against £300 million at the end of 2005. In deciding what value to place on the option, the Board considered the financial position of Edinburgh Partners, the level of funds under management, the type of funds and their rate of growth. Outlook Equity markets have now been recovering for four years since the end of the 2000/2003 bear market. Many share prices are now well above the highs they reached at the top of the last bull market. For this reason alone it is tempting to become more cautious. In addition, the steady rise in interest rates over the last year increases the risk to share prices and, as long as inflationary expectations are increasing, there will be pressure for further rate rises. While the drop in oil prices from the middle of last summer should help to mitigate the inflationary pressures, we believe a degree of caution is warranted. However, although equity valuations are no longer outstandingly cheap, neither are they hugely over priced. As a result, we continue to be fully invested but with a less aggressive portfolio than has been held in the past. Teddy Tulloch Chairman 26 February 2007 Enquiries: Sandy Nairn} Kenneth Greig} Edinburgh Partners Limited, telephone: 0131 270 3800

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