Interim Results
Atlantis Japan Growth Fund Ld
29 January 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASED BY MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL (GUERNSEY) LIMITED
ATLANTIS JAPAN GROWTH FUND LIMITED
PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ATLANTIS JAPAN GROWTH FUND LIMITED ANNOUNCE UNAUDITED
RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2003:
UNAUDITED BALANCE SHEET
As at 31 October 2003
(Expressed in United States Dollars)
2003 2002
$'000 $'000
FIXED ASSETS
Investments at market value 314,734 196,104
(cost $221,833,181; 2002 - $223,032,457)
CURRENT ASSETS
Due from brokers 1,972 354
Dividends and interest receivable 629 400
Other debtors 10 -
Bank balances 7,722 4,938
10,333 5,692
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Due to brokers 4,242 1,063
Creditors and accrued expenses 538 435
Loans payable 40,876 24,433
45,656 25,931
NET CURRENT LIABILITIES (35,323) (20,239)
TOTAL NET ASSETS $279,411 $175,865
Represented by:
CAPITAL & RESERVES
Called-up share capital 204 204
Share premium 192,650 192,650
Other reserves 86,557 (16,989)
TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS $279,411 $175,865
NET ASSET VALUE PER ORDINARY $13.67 $8.61
SHARE
Based on 20,435,627 (2002 - 20,435,627) ordinary shares and a Net Asset Value
of $279,411,000 (2002 - $175,865,000)
UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN
(incorporating the Revenue Account)
For the six months ended 31 October 2003
(Expressed in United States Dollars)
Revenue Capital Total
$'000 $'000 $'000
Realised profit on sales of investments - 5,372 5,372
Unrealised appreciation of investments - 104,106 104,106
Exchange gain/(loss) 327 (2,210) (1,883)
Investment income 1,287 - 1,287
Deposit interest 6 - 6
1,620 107,268 108,888
Investment management fee 1,620 - 1,620
Custodian fees 114 - 114
Administration fees 103 - 103
Registrar and transfer agent fees 7 - 7
Directors' fees and expenses 48 - 48
Interest expense and bank charges 116 - 116
Audit fee 16 - 16
Printing and advertising fees 17 - 17
Legal and professional fees 20 - 20
Listing fees 15 - 15
Miscellaneous expenses 3 - 3
2,079 - 2,079
(DEFICIT)/ RETURN ON ORDINARY
ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAX (459) 107,268 106,809
Tax on ordinary activities (193) - (193)
(DEFICIT)/ RETURN ATTRIBUTABLE
TO EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS (652) 107,268 106,616
(DEFICIT)/ RETURN PER
ORDINARY SHARE : $(0.032) $5.249 $5.217
Based on the weighted average of 20,435,627 Ordinary Shares and the
(Deficit)/ Return Attributable to Equity Shareholders noted above.
UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN
(incorporating the Revenue Account)
For the six months ended 31 October 2003
(Expressed in United States Dollars)
Revenue Capital Total
$'000 $'000 $'000
Realised loss on sales of investments - (13,798) (13,798)
Unrealised depreciation of investments - (5,043) (5,043)
Exchange gain/(loss) 60 (1,318) (1,258)
Investment income 1,001 - 1,001
Deposit interest 13 - 13
1,074 (20,159) (19,085)
Investment management fee 1,508 - 1,508
Custodian fees 109 - 109
Administration fees 114 - 114
Registrar and transfer agent fees 3 - 3
Directors' fees and expenses 62 - 62
Interest expense and bank charges 137 - 137
Audit fee 8 - 8
Printing and advertising fees 30 - 30
Legal and professional fees 46 - 46
Listing fees 14 - 14
Miscellaneous expenses 1 - 1
2,032 - 2,032
DEFICIT ON ORDINARY
ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAX (958) (20,159) (21,117)
Tax on ordinary activities (150) - (150)
DEFICIT ATTRIBUTABLE TO
EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS (1,108) (20,159) (21,267)
DEFICIT RETURN PER
ORDINARY SHARE : $(0.054) $(0.986) $(1.040)
Based on the weighted average of 20,435,627 Ordinary Shares and the Deficit
Attributable to Equity Shareholders noted above.
UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the six months ended 31 October 2003
(Expressed in United States Dollars)
2003 2002
$'000 $'000 $'000 $'000
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net cash inflow/(outflow) 181 (326)
from operating activities
SERVICING OF FINANCE
Interest paid (116) (142)
FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Purchase of investments (92,551) (91,306)
Sale of investments 85,672 95,415
Net cash (outflow)/inflow
from investing activities (6,879) 4,109
(Decrease)/Increase in (6,814) 3,641
cash
RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO
MOVEMENT IN NET DEBT
(Decrease)/Increase in cash as above (6,814) 3,641
Exchange movements (2,210) (1,318)
Movement in net debt in (9,024) 2,323
the period
Net debt at 1st May (24,130) (21,818)
Net debt at 31st October $(33,154) $(19,495)
ATLANTIS JAPAN GROWTH FUND LIMITED
INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2003
PERFORMANCE
In the six-month period ended 31st October 2003, the Company's Net Asset Value
increased by 61.6% in U.S. dollar terms, aided by a rising stock market, the
strengthening of the Japanese yen, and good individual stock selection, bringing
Net Asset Value per share to $13.67 at period-end. In comparison, the Tokyo
First Market index (Topix) rose 42.1% while the Tokyo Second Market index rose
53.3% in dollar terms.
Since inception on 10th May 1996, Net Asset Value per share in U.S. dollar terms
has risen 37.8%. This compares with a -41.3% decline in the Topix and a -5.6%
decline in the Tokyo Second Market index as measured in U.S. dollars.
As of the end of October 2003, the Net Asset Value of the Fund stood at
US$279,411,096, the Fund had borrowings of Y4.5 billion and cash of Y597
million. On a net basis, the Fund was leveraged about 12.7%. The manager had no
currency hedges as of 31st October, meaning the Fund's value in U.S. dollar
terms benefits from a stronger Japanese yen and, conversely, would be hurt by a
weaker yen. During the six-month period under review the yen appreciated 8.7%
versus the U.S. dollar, moving from Y119.475/US$ to Y109.05/US$, and thereby had
a favourable impact on the value of the Fund.
There are no outstanding warrants and the number of outstanding shares remains
at 20,435,627.
MARKET OUTLOOK
The market outlook was filled with uncertainty at the beginning of the period
under review, with worries about the domestic economic outlook and corporate
earnings trends compounded by aggressive selling by domestic pension funds and
retail investors. Following an extremely weak April, when some Japanese market
indices fell to twenty-year lows, we have seen a number of favourable
developments that have worked to bring about a major change in market sentiment
and push stock prices sharply higher over the last six months (see figures
above).
The corporate earnings outlook has improved, aided by continued restructuring
and stronger-than-expected growth in the Japanese economy, where the main
drivers of growth have been exports, capital investment, and consumer spending.
The market has naturally been helped by renewed optimism that the economy is
slowly recovering, and we believe troubles in the financial sector, including
problems at the major city banks and some life insurance companies, have been
almost fully discounted.
ATLANTIS JAPAN GROWTH FUND LIMITED
INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT (continued)
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2003
Until recently, the main buyers in the market have been overseas investors and
broker trading accounts in some months. While Japanese corporations have
continued to buy back shares, corporate pension funds have been steady sellers
as many companies return their pension accounts to the government, which only
invests a small portion of the money returned into equities. Banks have also
been sellers and have aimed to raise cash to improve their financial condition.
In recent months we have seen net buying in some weeks by local retail investors
and local investment trusts, indicating that individual investors may soon
become net buyers.
Trading volume increased steadily during the period under review. This is
attributable in part to a pickup in trading by local individual investors using
online brokerage accounts.
Looking ahead, we see a number of fundamental factors potentially affecting the
Japanese stock market. These include trends in the domestic economy, progress in
corporate restructuring, corporate earnings growth and growth prospects, the
yen-dollar exchange rate (with too much strengthening of the yen being negative,
since it could dampen exports, which are currently an important growth driver
for the economy), progress toward government reform, and monetary policy (which
is still expansionary at this time). Outside of Japan, factors that could
potentially affect the Japanese stock market include trends in other world
markets, especially the U.S. market, and trends in the world economy. Selling by
overseas investors or even less buying could also hold down the market.
On the domestic political front, we note that Prime Minister Koizumi's Liberal
Democratic Party and its coalition partners maintained their majority in the
recent Lower House elections. This should mean that we can look forward to a
stable government and a gradual move toward further economic reforms, which
would also be another plus for the economy. At this time we believe Japan is
moving in the right direction and, hopefully, over the longer term this will
provide further support to the stock market.
OUR STRATEGY AND THE PORTFOLIO
We are looking for favourable growth in corporate earnings in the current fiscal
year ending March 2004, underpinned by ongoing corporate restructuring and
stronger-than-expected GDP growth. We expect the earnings expansion to continue
in the next fiscal year (ending March 2005) as corporations continue to
streamline operations and the domestic economy continues to recover.
Small and medium-sized companies appear to be doing especially well in the
current economic environment. We would attribute this to their general
flexibility, focus, ability to make faster decisions, and the presence of less
'deadwood' in their operations. This is the exact opposite of many old-line
Japanese companies, which are highly bureaucratic, lacking in focus, slow to
change, and generally overstaffed.
ATLANTIS JAPAN GROWTH FUND LIMITED
INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT (continued)
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31ST OCTOBER 2003
At this time, we are still finding many attractive buy candidates, primarily
among small and medium-sized companies. Some of these companies have been listed
on the stock exchange only recently and are not yet well known. With some of
these also having small market floats, we usually restrict our holdings in any
one stock as a means of limiting risk. We do make mistakes, and we recognize
that when something goes wrong it may be difficult or even impossible to sell
our holdings in these smaller companies. This helps to explain the large number
of stocks in our portfolio.
As always, we remain bottom-up investors, stressing individual stock selection
and not sector analysis or indexing. We aim to buy undervalued stocks with good
medium-to longer-term growth prospects. We like strong balance sheets, low
price-earnings ratios, positive cash flow and, most importantly, good earnings
growth potential.
Based on our positive outlook for the economy, we have recently placed more
emphasis on cyclical stocks and recovery situations. Even in these cases,
though, we are not forgetting the fundamentals, and continue to focus on value
and growth.
We are encouraged by the fact that we are still finding many undervalued buy
candidates. Indeed, many of our investment decisions often come down to deciding
which stock among several attractive alternatives should be added to the
portfolio. In some cases, we have been selling off or reducing holdings in
issues that have gone up significantly and look either fully valued or
overvalued. In cases where earnings are not coming through as expected or where
we think things are going wrong, stocks are usually sold. However, if a company
has missed earnings for a good reason and longer-term growth prospects remain
promising, we will usually hold onto the stock and, in some cases, may even add
to our position.
In the past, we have urged investors in the Fund to remain patient. At this
time, we would like to thank all of our shareholders for their continued
patience and give them our pledge that we will continue to seek out attractive
undervalued stocks.
Ed Merner
Atlantis Fund Management (Guernsey) Limited
November 2003
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