Final Results

RNS Number : 9339I

JPMorgan Asian Investment Tst PLC

14 December 2015

 

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN ASIAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2015

The Directors of JPMorgan Asian Investment Trust plc announce the Company's results

for the year ended 30th September 2015.

Chairman's Statement

Performance

In the year to 30th September 2015 the Company's return on net assets was -2.9% and the return to shareholders was -3.2%, reflecting a slight widening of the Company's discount from 11.4% to 11.7%. Although the overall return was negative in a difficult market for Asian equities generally, it is at least pleasing to note that the Company's return on net assets represents an outperformance against its benchmark, the MSCI Asia ex Japan Index, of 3.4 percentage points.

Continuing appointment of the Manager

You will recall that the Company's 2014 investment performance, although delivering a positive return on net assets of 6.0%, had been disappointing, in that it had underperformed the benchmark index by 2.1 percentage points. In light of that performance and also of a number of prior years' mediocre results, the Board formally advised J.P. Morgan Asset Management ('JPMAM' or the 'Manager') that it had to deliver significant performance improvement in 2015 in order to justify its reappointment as Manager and, indeed, to justify the Board's recommendation for continuation at the 2016 AGM. I can confirm that the Manager has risen to and exceeded the Board's challenge. The Board now expects significant outperformance to be sustained.

In October 2015, and after discussions with JPMAM, the Board announced the appointment of Richard Titherington, Chief Investment Officer of JPMAM's Emerging Markets & Asia Pacific Equities team, as co-manager of the Company's portfolio. The appointment was initiated following the decision of Ted Pulling, co-manager of the Company's portfolio since May 2012, to relocate from Hong Kong to the United States for family reasons. Richard, who will manage the portfolio along with Sonia Yu, brings a vast amount of experience in the management of both Emerging Market and Asian equities and we are encouraged by his enthusiasm for building upon the Company's performance in 2015. We thank Sonia, in particular, for her commitment and successful management of the portfolio during the interregnum following Ted's departure.

In light of the 2015 improvement in performance, the Board's positive opinion of the qualities of the investment team and our confidence that JPMAM should be able to continue to deliver outperformance, the Board has resolved that JPMAM remain as the Company's Manager for 2015/2016. It is encouraging to note that, since the period end, the Company has continued to outperform against its benchmark.

Continuation Vote

Shareholders will recall that last year the Board introduced a new and additional Continuation Vote at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The Board recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the Company continuing in existence as an investment trust until the Company's 2017 Annual General Meeting, at which the Company's triennial continuation vote, in accordance with the Company's Articles of Association, will be put to shareholders.

Discount Management

The Company's discount widened marginally over the year, very much in line with its peers, and the Board is cognisant that, whilst an improvement in performance and thence demand for the Company's shares would help to reduce the discount, there are times when, subject to market conditions, the Board should also consider buying back shares. Over the year ended 30th September 2015 the Company repurchased 500,000 shares. In normal market conditions, the Board's objective is to stabilise the discount at no wider than between 8% and 10%. It is intended that this will be the Board's policy for the year ahead and the Directors will therefore propose a resolution at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting to authorise the Company to repurchase its Ordinary shares.

Revenue and Dividends

Revenue per share for the year amounted to 2.99p and the Board is recommending a final dividend of 2.5p which, if approved by shareholders, will be payable on 5th February 2016 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 8th January 2016.

Gearing

The Company has a £25 million three year multi currency loan facility with Scotiabank, which will expire in December 2016. Although at the year end the Company was only 0.5% geared, the investment managers constantly monitor the situation and are ready to use gearing to enhance returns to shareholders.

Board of Directors

The Board has procedures in place to ensure that the Company complies fully with the AIC Code on Corporate Governance and the UK Corporate Governance Code.

In accordance with corporate governance best practice, all Directors will be retiring and seeking re-election at the Company's forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The Nomination Committee met formally to evaluate the effectiveness of the Board as a whole and of each individual Director and is satisfied that all retiring Directors possess the experience and attributes required of a Director for this Company. Accordingly, the re-elections of all Directors at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting are recommended to shareholders.

Having had the honour of chairing the Board since 2003, I plan to step down from the Board at the conclusion of the 2017 Annual General Meeting. The Company's Senior Independent Director, Ronald Gould has been charged with overseeing the process to select my successor. As part of the Board's succession planning and in anticipation of my retirement, the Board is currently considering recruitment of another non-executive Director to the Board and shareholders will be advised of that appointment, which is likely to take place in the first half of 2016.

Directors resolved to implement a small increase in their fees with effect from 1st October 2015 by a flat £1,500 per Director, to ensure that the fees payable will be attractive to candidates for the role going forward. By virtue of the Company's Articles of Association, the maximum aggregate fee level for Directors' fees per annum is £150,000. This level was last increased in 2007 and a resolution to increase the aggregate amount to £200,000 will be put to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. Shareholders should note that the proposed increase in the aggregate fee is to provide the Board with the flexibility to facilitate the succession plan outlined above.

Annual General Meeting

This year's Meeting will be held at 60 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0JP on Friday, 29th January 2016 at 10.30 a.m. In addition to the formal proceedings, shareholders will have the opportunity to meet Richard Titherington, who will be presenting and will be available to respond to questions on the Company's portfolio, the investment team's strategy and the outlook for Asian markets. Following the Meeting there will be an opportunity for shareholders to meet the Board, investment management personnel and other Company advisers and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Conclusion

Last year I wrote that the Company's financial year ended 30th September 2015 would be an important one for the Company. I believe that the Managers have cleared the first hurdle on the journey to improving and sustaining performance; the Company is now ahead of benchmark over three months, six months, one, two and three years. The Board remains focused on a continuation of this trend and is confident in the Manager's ability to deliver above benchmark returns.

James M Long

Chairman

14th December 2015

 

Investment Managers' Report

Summary

During the year under review, the Company's return on net assets was -2.9%, outperforming the Asian stock market, as measured by the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index, which delivered a -6.3% return in sterling terms. In this report, we discuss the market backdrop, examine the drivers of the Company's performance and then consider the outlook for Asian stock markets in 2016.

Market Review

In the 12 months to 30th September 2015, we saw many of the trends that emerged in the prior reporting period continue to influence markets, including a slowing China, falling commodity prices, uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's timing to raise interest rates and political reforms in Asia. These factors continued to cause a heightened degree of volatility across global markets, resulting in a broad range of outcomes for different countries.

In China, one of the most remarkable highlights was the surge in demand for domestic A-shares which resulted in daily turnover exceeding US$300 billion and new brokerage accounts opening at a record pace. However, this liquidity driven bull market ended up in an equally dramatic correction when concerns over deteriorating macroeconomic conditions eventually overtook investor optimism. Although the correction was largely isolated by Chinese capital controls, the broader market was impacted when China depreciated its currency against the US Dollar, as many market participants interpreted such a move as a reactive act to revive sagging growth. The repeated interest rate cuts and reduction in required reserve ratio was not effective in stabilising the economy, save perhaps in the property space where transaction prices and volumes finally started to show signs of revival.

China growth fears, combined with the risks related to Federal Reserve tightening, were particularly negative for emerging market currencies and equities. ASEAN currencies were continuously under pressure from the strengthening US Dollar, while their economies were heavily influenced by the ongoing softness in China's economy and global exports. While the governments of Indonesia and Thailand took the opportunity of a low commodity price and strong political mandate to reduce fuel subsidies, the economic and political headwinds faced by these two countries acted as a drag on economic growth within the region, despite the pro-easing stance of their respective central banks. The stagnation of government infrastructure spending also dampened the already weak economic momentum. The worst hit country within this region was Malaysia, as the country was plagued with a commodity-driven currency, political turmoil and weak consumption trends.

India stood out in terms of political reform. Prime Minister Modi reduced fuel subsidies and laid out the groundwork for long-term structural reforms. While market expectation on the progress of such reforms ran ahead of fundamentals, we were still able to find quality companies with secular growth drivers to invest in. We also started to see some green shoots of recovery, mainly within the consumer space. The central bank in India has also remained accommodative so far and has made the necessary interest rate cuts to stimulate the economy. However, we reiterate that corporate earnings need to come through for India equities to rerate further. We also expect the Modi government to kick start infrastructure spend to ignite the investment side of the economy, but we have yet to see material progress on this front.

Towards the end of this reporting year, stock markets were still largely influenced by the aforementioned factors. As we compile this report, the Federal Reserve has yet to make its first interest rate hike, concerns over China growth remains prominent and commodity prices have fallen further. Yet not all hope is lost. We saw meaningful stimulus packages implemented in Indonesia, Thailand and China. We also started to see some form of stabilisation in China through some of the high frequency data points. Indian private banks continued to post remarkable share gain from their government run counterparts. The key to investing in such times is to remain selective and stay invested in long term secular growth stories.

Performance

We are pleased to report a turnaround in relative performance for the Company's financial year ended September 2015, although it is disappointing that shareholders saw a reduction in share price over the year. Positive relative performance was driven by both country allocation and stock selection, with positions in China and India being the stand out contributors.

In China, our allocations in the financial sector performed well on the back of a supportive liquidity environment, particularly in the mid-sized bank (China Minsheng Bank), property (China Vanke) and insurance (China Pacific Insurance) spaces. We took profits in some of these positions during the year for stock specific reasons and redeployed the capital into other investments where we had high conviction and valuations became more appealing, especially following the market sell off in the summer. Elsewhere, our positions in the technology sector, to include Tencent (internet service provider) and AAC Technology (smartphone components supplier) continued to deliver positive returns with strong top line growth throughout the year. We continue to believe that there are growth opportunities in consumption in China and have recently added to the portfolio's exposure in this area.

In India, the main contributor to performance came from the portfolio's banking positions, which had also been the case in 2014. HDFC Bank, the largest overweight position in India, again delivered upbeat earnings with strong loan and fee income growth. The secular growth story in quality Indian private banks remains intact and we expect them to continue gaining market share from government owned banks.

Elsewhere within the region, stock selection in Korea was strong, as positions in the chemicals and consumer space contributed to performance due to low input cost and strong convenience store sales respectively. Last but not least, our underweight position in Malaysia also benefited relative performance, as the country's economy was mired by a weak Malaysian Ringgit and a collapse in oil prices.

Conversely, our holdings in the energy sector, which suffered from the sharp correction in commodity prices, were the biggest detractors from performance. We have reduced our exposure to energy as we believe that the slower global growth environment will continue to heap pressure on energy exposed stocks.

Allocation to the auto supply chain also detracted from returns during the year. The share prices of Hyundai Wia, an auto parts supplier to Hyundai Motor Group in Korea and Tata Motors in India, fell due to margin concerns and slowing auto demand in China. Despite reducing the portfolio's overall auto exposure, positions in the sector have remained in the portfolio as we believe that valuations for the better managed auto companies in the region still look attractive.

Outlook

Against the backdrop of third-quarter volatility in 2015, the Company's forthcoming fiscal year is likely to benefit from a firmer environment for stocks, based upon a starting point of lower valuations and bearish sentiment. However, given the importance of exports to most Asian economies, much will hinge on global growth prospects, particularly in developed markets given China's moderating growth and apparent reluctance to degrade its balance sheet. In that regard, US demand should remain supported by low absolute interest rates (even after the first interest rate hike), low unemployment and lower-for-longer gasoline prices. Meanwhile, Europe continues to register encouraging signs of cyclical recovery, with the Purchasing Managers' Index reading hitting new highs in the third quarter.

In addition, while there is little doubt that economic growth in China is slowing, driven by structural and cyclical factors especially in manufacturing, it is not the full story. The stabilisation of the real estate market, growth in middle class consumption and the rise of the service sector should provide some stability to the economy and provide areas of opportunity for investors. We remain comfortable with our positions in China, namely within the technology and healthcare sectors, and continue to look for new investment ideas within these areas.

We are cautiously optimistic about India, driven by our belief that GDP growth and corporate earnings are set for a cyclical recovery and the recent rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India should bolster the economy. We continue to favour the private-run banking enterprises over their government-run counterparts, and we also have exposure to companies that will benefit from the country's recovering domestic consumption. Finally, we still expect commodity dependent ASEAN countries to face considerable headwinds from their weak currencies, low commodity prices, sluggish consumption growth and political uncertainties.

Richard Titherington

Sonia Yu

Investment Managers

14th December 2015

 

Principal Risks

The Directors confirm that they have carried out a thorough assessment of the principal risks facing the Company, including those that would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity. Three key risks have been identified and the ways in which they are managed or mitigated are summarised as follows:

•    Investment and Strategy: An inappropriate investment decision, in areas such as asset allocation or the level of gearing, may lead to underperformance against the Company's benchmark index and peer companies, and may result in the Company's shares trading on a wider discount. The Board seeks to mitigate these risks by diversification of investments through its investment restrictions and guidelines which are monitored and reported on by the Manager. The Manager provides the Directors with timely and accurate management information, including performance data and attribution analysis, revenue estimates and shareholder analysis. The Board monitors the implementation and results of the investment process with the investment managers, who attend all Board meetings, and reviews data which show statistical measures of the Company's risk profile. The Manager employs the Company's gearing tactically, within a strategic range set by the Board. The Board holds a separate meeting devoted to strategy each year.

•    Political and Economic: Changes in financial or tax legislation, including in the European Union, may adversely effect the Company. The Manager makes recommendations to the Board on accounting, dividend and tax policies and the Board seeks external advice where appropriate. In addition, the Company is subject to political risks, such as the imposition of restrictions on the free movement of capital.

•    Operational Risk and Cybercrime: Disruption to, or failure of, the Manager's accounting, dealing or payments systems or the custodian's records could prevent accurate reporting and monitoring of the Company's financial position. Details of how the Board monitors the services provided by the Manager and its associates and the key elements designed to provide effective internal control are included with the Internal Control section of the Corporate Governance report within the Company's 2015 Annual Report & Accounts. The threat of cyber attack, in all its guises, is regarded as at least as important as more traditional physical threats to business continuity and security. The Company benefits directly or indirectly from all elements of JPMorgan's Cyber Security programme. The information technology controls around the physical security of JPMorgan's data centres, security of its networks and security of its trading applications are tested by Deloitte and reported every six months against the AAF Standard.

The following risks, although not viewed as critical, have also been identified as important in our risk matrix:

•   Change of Corporate Control of the Manager: The Board holds regular meetings with senior representatives of JPMAM in order to obtain assurance that the Manager continues to demonstrate a high degree of commitment to its investment trusts business through the provision of significant resources.

•    Market: Market risk arises from uncertainty about the future prices of the Company's investments. It represents the potential loss that the Company might suffer through holding investments in the face of negative market movements. The Board considers asset allocation, stock selection and levels of gearing on a regular basis and has set investment restrictions and guidelines, which are monitored and reported on by the Manager. The Board monitors the implementation and results of the investment process with the Manager.

•    Loss of Investment Team: A sudden departure of several members of the investment management team could result in a deterioration in investment performance. The Manager takes steps to reduce the likelihood of such an event by ensuring appropriate succession planning and the adoption of a team-based approach.

•    Financial: The financial risks faced by the Company include market risk (comprising currency risk, interest rate risk and other price risk), liquidity risk, credit risk and the failure of any counterparty. Further details are disclosed in note 23 within the Company's 2015 Annual Report & Accounts.

Related Parties Transactions

During the financial year, no transactions with related parties have taken place which have materially affected the financial position or the performance of the Company during the year.

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and accounts in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that, taken as a whole, the annual report and accounts are fair, balanced and understandable, provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's performance, business model and strategy and that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the total return or loss of the Company for that period. In order to provide these confirmations, and in preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:

•    select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

•    make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

•    state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

•    prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business

and the Directors confirm that they have done so.

The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The accounts are published on the www.jpmasian.co.uk website, which is maintained by the Company's Manager. The maintenance and integrity of the website maintained by the Manager is, so far as it relates to the Company, the responsibility of the Manager. The work carried out by the Auditors does not involve consideration of the maintenance and integrity of this website and, accordingly, the Auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that have occurred to the accounts since they were initially presented on the website. The accounts are prepared in accordance with UK legislation, which may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Under applicable law and regulations the Directors are also responsible for preparing a Directors' Report, Strategic Report, Statement of Corporate Governance and Directors' Remuneration Report that comply with that law and those regulations.

Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed within the Company's 2015 Annual Report & Accounts, confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

•    the financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law), give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and return or loss of the Company; and

•    the Strategic Report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.

The Board confirms that it is satisfied that the annual report and accounts taken as a whole are fair, balanced and understandable and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the strategy and business model of the Company.

The Board also confirms that it is satisfied that the Strategic Report and Directors' Report include a fair review of the development and performance of the business, and the position of the Company, together with a description of the principle risks and uncertainties that the Company faces.

For and on behalf of the Board

James M Long

Chairman

14th December 2015

 

Income Statement

For the year ended 30th September 2015

		2015			2014
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
(Losses)/gains on investments held at fair   value through profit or loss		-	(9,603)	(9,603)	-	9,101	9,101
Net foreign currency gains/(losses)		-	328	328	-	(272)	(272)
Income from investments		5,609	-	5,609	4,794	-	4,794
Other interest receivable and similar income		1	-	1	5	-	5
Gross return/(loss)		5,610	(9,275)	(3,665)	4,799	8,829	13,628
Management fee		(1,317)	-	(1,317)	(1,194)	-	(1,194)
Other administrative expenses		(707)	-	(707)	(739)	-	(739)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities   before finance costs and taxation		3,586	(9,275)	(5,689)	2,866	8,829	11,695
Finance costs		(229)	-	(229)	(292)	-	(292)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities   before taxation		3,357	(9,275)	(5,918)	2,574	8,829	11,403
Taxation		(513)	-	(513)	(418)	-	(418)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities   after taxation		2,844	(9,275)	(6,431)	2,156	8,829	10,985
Return/(loss) per share (Note 3)		2.99p	(9.76)p	(6.77)p	2.23p	9.13p	11.36p

Details of dividends paid and proposed are given in note 2 below.

All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the year.

The 'Total' column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company and the 'Revenue' and 'Capital' columns represent supplementary information prepared under guidance issued by the Association of Investment Companies. The Total column represents all the information that is required to be disclosed in a Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses ('STRGL'). For this reason a STRGL has not been presented.

Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds

	Called up		Exercised	Capital
	share	Share	warrant	redemption	Capital	Revenue
	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 30th September 2013	25,280	31,539	977	23,670	145,656	4,334	231,456
Repurchase of Ordinary shares for   cancellation	(1,326)	-	-	1,326	(11,876)	-	(11,876)
Repurchase of Subscription shares   for cancellation	(72)	72	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise   of Subscription shares	5	35	-	-	-	-	40
Expenses in relation to tender offers	-	-	-	-	(69)	-	(69)
Net return from ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	8,829	2,156	10,985
Dividends appropriated in the year	-	-	-	-	-	(2,491)	(2,491)
At 30th September 2014	23,887	31,646	977	24,996	142,540	3,999	228,045
Repurchase of Ordinary shares   for cancellation	(125)	-	-	125	(1,067)	-	(1,067)
Net return from ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	(9,275)	2,844	(6,431)
Dividends appropriated in the year	-	-	-	-	-	(2,091)	(2,091)
At 30th September 2015	23,762	31,646	977	25,121	132,198	4,752	218,456

 

Balance Sheet

at 30th September 2015

		2015	2014
		£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss		218,740	238,059
Investments in liquidity funds at fair value through profit or loss		8,054	-
		226,794	238,059
Current assets
Debtors		897	982
Cash and short term deposits		963	5,438
		1,860	6,420
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(197)	(1,434)
Financial liability: Derivative financial instruments		(1)	-
Net current assets		1,662	4,986
Total assets less current liabilities		228,456	243,045
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year		(10,000)	(15,000)
Net assets		218,456	228,045
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital		23,762	23,887
Share premium		31,646	31,646
Exercised warrant reserve		977	977
Capital redemption reserve		25,121	24,996
Capital reserves		132,198	142,540
Revenue reserve		4,752	3,999
Total equity shareholders' funds		218,456	228,045
Net asset value per share (Note 4)		229.8p	238.7p

Company registration number: 3374850.

Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 30th September 2015

		2015	2014
		£'000	£'000
Net cash inflow from operating activities		2,824	2,571
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest paid		(252)	(245)
Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance		(252)	(245)
Taxation
Taxation recovered		71	-
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchases of investments		(190,840)	(152,299)
Sales of investments		191,598	154,477
Other capital charges		(47)	(52)
Net cash inflow from capital expenditure and financial investment		711	2,126
Dividends paid		(2,091)	(2,491)
Net cash inflow before financing		1,263	1,961
Financing
Bank loan drawdown		5,000	15,000
Bank loan repayment		(10,000)	(6,262)
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of Subscription shares		-	40
Repurchase of Ordinary shares for cancellation		(1,067)	(11,945)
Net cash outflow from financing		(6,067)	(3,167)
Decrease in cash in the year		(4,804)	(1,206)

 

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the year ended 30th September 2015

1.    Accounting policies

(a)  Basis of accounting

The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice ('UK GAAP') and with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' (the 'SORP') issued by the AIC in January 2009.

All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments at fair value.

The policies applied in these financial statements are consistent with those applied in the preceding year.

2.   Dividends

(a)  Dividends paid and proposed

	2015	2014
	£'000	£'000
2014 final dividend paid of 2.2p1 (2013: 2.6p)	2,091	2,491
2015 final dividend proposed of 2.5p (2014: 2.2p)	2,376	2,102

¹The final dividend disclosed for the year ended 30th September 2014 was £2,102,000, however, the actual payment amounted to £2,091,000 due to share buybacks after the balance sheet date but prior to the share register record date.

The final dividend proposed in respect of the year ended 30th September 2015 is subject to approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. In accordance with the accounting policy of the Company, this dividend will be reflected in the accounts for the year ending 30th September 2016.

3.   Return per share

The revenue return per share is based on the revenue earnings attributable to the ordinary shares of £2,844,000 (2014: £2,156,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue throughout the year of 95,049,733 (2014: 96,703,852).

The capital loss per share is based on the capital loss attributable to the ordinary shares of £9,275,000 (2014 return: £8,829,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue throughout the year of 95,049,733 (2014: 96,703,852).

The total loss per share is based on the total loss attributable to the ordinary shares of £6,431,000 (2014 return: £10,985,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue throughout the year of 95,049,733 (2014: 96,703,852).

4.   Net asset value per share 

The net asset value per share is based on the net assets attributable to the Ordinary shareholders of £218,456,000 (2014: £228,045,000) and on the 95,046,993 (2014: 95,546,993) shares in issue at the year end.

5.   Status of announcement

2014 Financial Information

      The figures and financial information for 2014 are extracted from the published Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th September 2014 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for that year. The Annual Report and Accounts has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the Report of the Independent Auditors which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

2015 Financial Information

      The figures and financial information for 2015 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th September 2014 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year. The Annual Report and Accounts includes the Report of the Independent Auditors which is unqualified and does not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. The Annual Report and Accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course.

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

JPMORGAN FUNDS LIMITED 

14th December 2015

For further information please contact:

Alison Vincent

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Funds Limited, Secretary                                                                                      

020 7742 4000

ENDS

 

END

 

 

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