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 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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