Half-year Report

JPMorgan Claverhouse IT PLC

09 August 2024

 

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN CLAVERHOUSE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30TH JUNE 2024

Legal Entity Identifier: 549300NFZYYFSCD52W53

Information disclosed in accordance with the DTR 4.1.3

The Directors of JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust plc (the "Company") announce the Company's results for the six months ended 30 June 2024.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Performance

Over the six months to 30th June 2024, the UK continued to recover from the inflation and cost of living crises which began in 2022. The economy emerged from a mild recession, although growth remains below trend, and inflation decreased steadily, hitting the Bank of England's 2% target in May 2024 for the first time since July 2021. The Bank of England held base rates steady over the review period, although interest rates have started or are expected to fall in the UK, the US and Europe which should support global market sentiment.

During the review period, the Company's benchmark, the FTSE All Share Index grew by 7.4% while the Company's net asset value (NAV) (with debt at fair value) returned 9.2%, ahead of the benchmark. This outperformance was largely the result of stock selection decisions. The Company's share price rose 7.3% during the period, reflecting a slight widening of the share price discount relative to NAV.  Over the ten years to 30th June 2024, the Company realised an accumulated return of 77.8% on a NAV basis and 85.0% in share price terms, outperforming the benchmark return of 77.3%.

As at 30th June 2024, the Company's NAV per share (with debt at par value) was 748.6p and the share price was 714.0p. Since the end of the period, the NAV (with debt at par value) has decreased to 739.9p and the share price remains 714.0p, as at 7th August 2024.

The Investment Manager's report in the Half Year Report provides more detail on performance during the period, recent portfolio changes and the outlook for both the market and the Company.

Revenue and Dividends

The Board's dividend policy seeks to increase the total dividend each year and, taking a run of years together, to increase dividends at a rate close to or above the inflation rate. Although UK inflation has eased significantly from its recent highs, the Board will continue to monitor carefully the outlook for dividend income and will draw on revenue reserves, if required, to realise its dividend objectives.

The Company has increased its dividend for 51 successive years. For the financial year ended 31st December 2023, the total dividend was 34.50p. This comprised three quarterly interim dividends of 8.0p and a fourth quarterly interim dividend of 10.5p.

A first quarterly dividend of 8.25p per share in respect of the current financial year was paid on 3rd June 2024. It remains the Board's intention that the first three quarterly dividends should be of equal size, and to this end, it has declared a second quarterly dividend of 8.25p per share to be paid on 2nd September 2024 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 26th July 2024.

Portfolio earnings during the six months to 30th June 2024 will not fully cover these payouts, so they will be funded partially from revenue reserves. Revenue per share for the six months to 30th June 2024 was 16.02p, compared with 15.80p earned in the same period in 2023.

Discount, Share Repurchases

Discounts have widened across the investment trust sector in the past 18 months, as investors have switched out of equities into fixed income and money market funds in response to sharp increases in interest rates.

The Board's objective remains to act in the best interest of Shareholders by using its repurchase and allotment authorities to manage imbalances between the supply and demand of the Company's shares, with the intention of reducing the volatility of the discount or premium, in normal market conditions. During the reporting period, the Board utilised the Company's buy back authority, buying a total of 717,782 shares, at a cost of £4.9 million. Since then, the Company has bought back a further 50,000 shares, at a cost of £364,000, as at 7th August 2024.

Gearing/Long Term Borrowing

The Company's gearing policy (excluding the effect of any futures) is to operate within a range of 5% net cash and 20% geared in normal market conditions. The Portfolio Managers have discretion to vary the gearing level between 5% net cash and 17.5% geared (including the effect of any futures). The Board believes that over the long-term, a moderate level of gearing is an efficient way to enhance shareholder returns.

Taking into account borrowings, net of cash balances held and the effect of futures, the Company ended the review period approximately 7.0% geared, compared to 6.3% at the end of FY23. The Company holds £30 million in 3.22% private placement notes, maturing in March 2045. The revolving credit facility with Mizuho Bank Limited matured in May 2024. It was replaced with a new £40 million one-year revolving loan facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited.

Board Succession

I will be retiring from the Board at the Company's next AGM in April 2025 and Victoria Stewart has been appointed to succeed me as Chair of the Board in April 2025. Work is ongoing to find a suitably qualified Director to join the Board following my retirement and the Board expects to announce an appointment in late 2024.

Portfolio Management Changes

Since the end of the review period, the Company has seen a change in portfolio managers. As announced in July, William Meadon will be leaving JPMorgan Asset Management in August 2024. As a result, two new portfolio managers, Anthony Lynch and Katen Patel, joined Callum Abbot as managers for the Company, with effect from 1st July 2024. Callum has managed the fund alongside William for six years.

William became the portfolio manager of the Company in 2012, following a sustained period of disappointing investment performance. Initially, he worked with Sarah Emly, and following her sad death in 2018, he was joined by Callum Abbot. The Company has outperformed in 33 out of the 49 quarters since William took on portfolio management in 2012. Over his 12-year tenure, the Company enjoyed a positive investment record versus the benchmark. On behalf of the Board and shareholders I would like to thank William for his significant contribution to the Company's success. The Board enjoyed working with William and his presentations at the Company's AGMs were always well-received and much appreciated. We wish him every success in his future endeavours.

The new managers, Anthony Lynch and Katen Patel, are experienced members of JPMorgan's UK asset management team. They have each been with JPMorgan for over ten years and both have strong track records of investing in companies across the market capitalisation spectrum of listed UK companies. Latterly they have also been jointly managing JPMorgan's open-ended UK Equity Income Fund, which has very similar investment objectives and policies to the Company. This fund has seen strong investment performance since Anthony and Katen assumed management responsibility. The investment team have over 35 years of investment trust experience and we believe that they are well qualified to benefit shareholders. We look forward to working with them.

Although the Company has a new management team, there will be no change to its investment objective or key policies, which were set out in the 2023 Annual Report. The managers will be supported by the same UK research and analytical team and follow the same model. However, we expect that there will be a few tweaks to the portfolio. We foresee a combined focus on companies' dividend growth prospects, as well as companies already offering high yields. This may mean a slight increase in the number of portfolio companies in the mid cap and small cap sectors and an increase in the diversity of sources for revenue.

This shift in focus will be explained in more detail in the 2024 Annual Report. The portfolio managers understand clearly that the Board is still prioritising outperformance of the benchmark, and dividend growth in line with or above CPI, taking a run of years together. While the Company has significant revenue reserves which are available to support dividend payments, the shift in emphasis towards companies with good dividend growth prospects should support future dividend coverage over time.

Outlook

The geopolitical climate remains a significant concern for investors. Tensions between Russia and the NATO countries are simmering as the war in Ukraine drags on, the conflict in the Middle East shows little sign of resolution, and Sino-US relations remain fraught, despite a flurry of high-level, relatively congenial meetings earlier this year. There is a risk that the outcome of November's US presidential election will escalate tensions on all these fronts and spark fresh bouts of market volatility. In the short term the recent decision by US President Biden not to run for re- election in November will increase market uncertainty.

In the UK, the market environment is more positive, and we share the managers guarded optimism about the prospects for the market and the Company. The likelihood of imminent decreases in UK interest rates, combined with rising real wages, has boosted business and consumer confidence. On the political front, the prospect of a more stable political climate following the general election last month has been welcomed by investors.

Despite these favourable developments, UK equity valuations remain attractive in absolute terms and relative to other markets. The recent pick up in M&A activity in the UK market suggests investors are beginning to recognise the value on offer, but there is scope for further significant gains, as and when corporate earnings prospects improve and investors' confidence in this market increases. Meanwhile, investors, both in the UK and abroad, have a rare opportunity to access the attractive dividend yields on offer in the UK at historically low valuations.

The Company's managers are taking advantage of the dividend growth opportunities they see across the market, and they are positioning the portfolio to benefit from better times ahead.

In summary, we believe the Company is well-placed to continue delivering steady and consistent returns and growing income over the long-term.

Keeping in Touch

The Company is committed to engaging with its shareholders and other interested parties. To support this goal, the Company delivers email updates on the Company's progress with regular news and views, as well as the latest performance data. If you have not already signed up to receive these communications and you wish to do so, please scan the QR Code in the Half Year Report.

The Board appreciates the ongoing support of its shareholders.

David Fletcher

Chairman                                                                                                                                    9th August 2024

INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT

Market Review: a turning point in the rates cycle?

The first half of 2024 has been a tale of stickier than expected core inflation leading to delays in anticipated interest rate cuts. That said, the reduction in the rate of UK CPI from over 11% in November 2022 back down to 2.0% in May has eased the pressure being faced by businesses and consumers.

Global GDP growth has remained below trend in the first half of the year. Despite that, we saw the UK recover strongly from its shallow recession in late 2023, with growth in the first quarter of 2024 well ahead of market expectations. As inflation has begun to normalise we have seen UK household real incomes return to positive growth and this has fed through to sharply improved consumer confidence. We have also seen a material increase in M&A activity, with 17 bids for FTSE 350 companies announced year-to-date and still live, compared to just two for the whole of last year. These factors have driven greater breadth in UK market returns, with the FTSE 250 and FTSE small cap indices outperforming the FTSE 100 year-to-date.

This improved backdrop has been reflected in the performance of the Company's benchmark; the FTSE All-Share, Share (the 'Benchmark'), which returned 7.4% in the six months to 30th June 2024.

Performance

In the six months to 30th June 2024, the Company delivered a total return on net assets (capital plus dividends re-invested, with debt at par value) of 8.9% compared to the Benchmark's return of 7.4%. The total return to shareholders was 7.3% with the discount widening to 4.6% (debt at par value) and 6.3% (debt at fair value).

Relative performance benefitted from our overweight position in the Aerospace & Defence sector, with holdings in companies such as Rolls Royce and Qinetiq benefitting from increasing defence spending by NATO members' governments.

Our holding in 3i Group, the private equity business with a large holding in the European discount retailer, Action, was another strong contributor to performance, with the shares delivering a return of 28% on-top of the 88% delivered last year. We continue to believe that the market underappreciates the duration of the growth potential at Action and 3i remains our largest portfolio holding.

JD Sports, the sports fashion retailer, performed poorly in the first half of the year reflecting an increasingly promotional marketplace, with Nike products in particular suffering from weak demand. We have exited our holding.

Watches of Switzerland, the luxury watch retailer, also underperformed following a reduction in premium watch allocations from its largest supplier, Rolex. We have also exited this holding, reflecting the difficult environment for luxury goods sales and question marks over their key supplier relationship.

Top contributors and detractors to performance vs FTSE All-Share Index

	Average			Average
Top 5 Stocks	Active	Attribution	Bottom 5 stocks	Active	Attribution
Rolls-Royce Holdings	+1.8%	+0.68%	JD Sports Fashion	+0.2%	-0.47%
3i Group	+2.9%	+0.57%	Glencore	-0.4%	-0.33%
Intermediate Capital Group	+1.9%	+0.42%	SSE	+1.5%	-0.32%
Reckitt Benckiser	-1.2%	+0.39%	Watches of Switzerland	+0.0%	-0.27%
Diageo	-1.9%	+0.37%	Barratt Developments	+0.9%	-0.24%

Source: JPMAM, Six months to 30th June 2024.

Top Over and Under-weight positions vs FTSE All-Share Index

Top Five Overweight Positions		Top Five Underweight Positions
3i Group	+2.9%	Diageo	-1.7%
Shell	+2.2%	Reckitt Benckiser	-1.3%
Intermediate Capital Group	+2.2%	Glencore	-1.2%
JD Sports	+2.1%	Flutter Entertainment	-1.1%
Rolls-Royce Holdings	+1.9%	Unilever	-0.9%

Source: JPMAM, as at 30th June 2024.

Purchases

Over the half year we built new positions in NatWest and Barclays, both of which plan to return a large proportion of their market cap to shareholders over the next few years and generate double digit returns on equity across the cycle, yet still trade at material discounts to net asset value.

We increased our position in Intermediate Capital Group, making it one of our largest active investments. The alternative asset manager continues to demonstrate that its business model is more resilient than in previous cycles and has delivered significant fundraising at attractive margins, which has driven profit growth ahead of market expectations despite the difficult competitive backdrop.

We topped up our holdings in the retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer, which have taken market share in food from Morrisons, Asda, Waitrose and even the discounter Aldi. This has helped support earnings expectations and valuations remain compelling.

Sales

In the second quarter of the year, we reduced exposure to the Georgian listed banks by selling out of TBC Bank Group and reducing our position in the Bank of Georgia. After a strong run we felt that the valuation case was no longer as compelling. These sales were executed before the political situation in Georgia destabilised.

We also sold out of Asian exposed financial companies, Prudential and Standard Chartered. Prudential has seen persistent downgrades due to expectations about China's reopening not coming to fruition. It also does not generate as much capital as other insurers, therefore making it relatively less compelling from an income perspective. We sold out of our underweight position in Standard Chartered as we prefer HSBC for Asian exposure and have instead increased exposure to UK banks, which are returning more excess capital and have higher return on equity targets.

We sold out of retailers Watches of Switzerland Group and JD Sports. Both stocks benefitted from strong trading through the pandemic period, however, now end markets have become more challenging as demand has waned.

We already had a large underweight position in the global consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser but decided to sell out as we believed it was unlikely to be able to achieve its organic growth targets given pricing was unlikely to be as strong as it had been in 2023. This was well timed as the stock subsequently issued a profit warning and has been impacted by litigation.

We exited Flutter as the stock traded at an expensive multiple and we did not feel this reflected both the regulatory risk or execution risk in the US.

Evolution of the investment approach

As discussed in the Chairman's statement, William Meadon stepped down from managing the portfolio on 30th June 2024, with Anthony Lynch and Katen Patel joining Callum Abbot in managing the Company's portfolio from 1st July 2024. We thank William for his significant contributions over the past 12 years.

There is no change to the Company's investment objective, but the new team has used this as an opportunity to evolve the investment approach, with more of an emphasis placed on the dividend growth characteristics of holdings across the full breadth of the FTSE All-Share Index. Following an initial period of modest repositioning, ongoing portfolio turnover is expected to reduce versus recent history.

Examples of new positions added to the portfolio include companies such as XPS Pensions, the pension consultant, where a number of multi-year industry tailwinds and strong management execution are supporting strong earnings and dividend growth and Urban Logistics, a REIT exposed to attractive 'last mile' logistics assets.

The result has been an increase in the diversity of the sources of our income and greater confidence in the dividend growth prospects of the aggregate portfolio going forwards. We believe that these changes will be supportive to Claverhouse's AIC dividend hero status, recognising that the dividend is not currently covered by earnings.

Market Outlook

The inter-connected forces of inflation and monetary policy have continued to dominate the market narrative so far in 2024. However, with the rate of inflation less extreme than it has been for two years, and global interest rates still in restrictive territory, we believe that we are close to the turning point for this interest rate cycle. As a result, we have observed improving consumer and business sentiment as the UK has begun to recover from recession.

Notwithstanding the strong start to 2024, the UK equity market continues to trade at a significant discount to both its own history and to other markets, offering the highest dividend yield of major equity markets. In addition, the elevated level of share buybacks outpaces any other major market and gives us confidence in the sustainability of dividends going forwards. With valuations still attractive, any improvement in the outlook for corporate earnings growth could, therefore, deliver further healthy market gains.

We remain cognisant of the ever-changing geopolitical backdrop and the risk it poses to the fragile recovery in global growth. The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, alongside a number of finely balanced elections, have the potential to knock this recovery off-course. In the UK, the change in government has been met with a moderately positive reaction from markets, reflecting increased stability in the eyes of international investors.

We have positioned the portfolio to benefit from the dividend growth opportunities that we are finding across the market cap spectrum and our confidence in the outlook is reflected in our gearing level of 7.0%.

Callum Abbot

Anthony Lynch

Katen Patel

Portfolio Managers                                                                                                                          9th August 2024

INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT

The Company is required to make the following disclosures in its half yearly report.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Board has an ongoing process for identifying, evaluating and managing the principal risks, emerging risks and uncertainties of the Company. The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company fall into the following broad categories: cybercrime; geopolitical and macro-economic; share price volatility; investment and strategy; market factors such as interest rates, inflation and equity market performance; operational; loss of investment team; strategy and performance; climate change; legal and regulatory/corporate governance; and financial. Detailed information on each of these areas is given in the Strategic Report within the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2023 and in the view of the Board, these principal risks and uncertainties are as applicable to the remaining six months of the financial year as they were to the period under review. The Board, through the Audit Committee, has identified Artificial Intelligence as an emerging risk. There have been no changes to emerging risks over the reporting period.

Related Parties Transactions

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

Going Concern

The Directors believe, having considered the Company's investment objectives, risk management policies, capital management policies and procedures, liquidity and nature of the portfolio, and expenditure projections, that the Company has adequate resources, an appropriate financial structure and suitable management arrangements in place to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and, more specifically, that there are no material uncertainties pertaining to the Company that would prevent its ability to continue in such operational existence for at least 12 months from the date of the approval of this half yearly report. For these reasons, they consider that there is sufficient evidence to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. This conclusion also takes into account the Board's assessment of the impact of heightened market volatility due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the unrest in Israel and Gaza.

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

The Board of Directors of the Company, confirms that, to the best of its knowledge:

(i)      the condensed set of financial statements contained within the half year financial report has been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting' and gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company, and of the assets, liabilities, financial position and net return of the Company as at 30th June 2024 as required by the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules 4.2.4R; and

(ii)     the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

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 the 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.

For and on behalf of the Board

David Fletcher

Chairman                                                                                                                                         9th August 2024

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

For the six months ended 30th June 2024

	(Unaudited)			(Unaudited)			(Audited)
	Six months ended			Six months ended			Year ended
	30th June 2024			30th June 2023			31st December 2023
	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Gains/(losses) on investments
held at fair value through
profit or loss	-	26,282	26,282	-	(4,658)	(4,658)	-	12,726	12,726
Net foreign currency
(losses)/gains	-	(13)	(13)	-	4	4	-	6	6
Income from investments	9,996	653	10,649	10,358	-	10,358	19,816	-	19,816
Interest receivable and
similar income	285	-	285	291	-	291	694	-	694
Gross return/(loss)	10,281	26,922	37,203	10,649	(4,654)	5,995	20,510	12,732	33,242
Management fee	(312)	(578)	(890)	(389)	(723)	(1,112)	(693)	(1,286)	(1,979)
Other administrative expenses	(404)	-	(404)	(423)	-	(423)	(867)	-	(867)
Net return/(loss) before
finance costs and taxation	9,565	26,344	35,909	9,837	(5,377)	4,460	18,950	11,446	30,396
Finance costs	(370)	(689)	(1,059)	(376)	(699)	(1,075)	(757)	(1,406)	(2,163)
Net return/(loss) before
taxation	9,195	25,655	34,850	9,461	(6,076)	3,385	18,193	10,040	28,233
Taxation credit/(charge)	6	-	6	(8)	-	(8)	(17)	-	(17)
Net return/(loss) after
taxation	9,201	25,655	34,856	9,453	(6,076)	3,377	18,176	10,040	28,216
Return/(loss) per share (note 3)	16.02p	44.68p	60.70p	15.80p	(10.16)p	5.64p	30.69p	16.95p	47.64p

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 and the 'Revenue' and 'Capital' columns represent supplementary information prepared under guidance issued by the Association of Investment Companies.

The net return/(loss) after taxation represents the profit/(loss) for the period/year and also the total comprehensive income for

the period/year.

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

	Called up		Capital
	share	Share	redemption	Capital	Revenue
	capital	premium	reserve	reserves1	reserve1	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Six months ended 30th June 2024 (Unaudited)
At 31st December 2023	15,037	176,867	6,680	188,588	20,625	407,797
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	-	-	(4,968)	-	(4,968)
Proceeds from share forfeiture2	-	-	-	168	-	168
Net return	-	-	-	25,655	9,201	34,856
Dividends paid in the period (note 4)	-	-	-	-	(10,780)	(10,780)
Refund of unclaimed dividends2 (note 4)	-	-	-	-	123	123
At 30th June 2024	15,037	176,867	6,680	209,443	19,169	427,196
Six months ended 30th June 2023 (Unaudited)
At 31st December 2022	15,037	176,867	6,680	194,276	22,940	415,800
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	-	-	(5,375)	-	(5,375)
Net (loss)/return	-	-	-	(6,076)	9,453	3,377
Dividends paid in the period (note 4)	-	-	-	-	(11,083)	(11,083)
At 30th June 2023	15,037	176,867	6,680	182,825	21,310	402,719
Year ended 31st December 2023 (Audited)
At 31st December 2022	15,037	176,867	6,680	194,276	22,940	415,800
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	-	-	(15,728)	-	(15,728)
Net return	-	-	-	10,040	18,176	28,216
Dividends paid in the year (note 4)	-	-	-	-	(20,491)	(20,491)
At 31st December 2023	15,037	176,867	6,680	188,588	20,625	407,797

¹     These reserves form the distributable reserves of the Company and may be used to fund distributions to investors.

²     During the period the Company undertook an Asset Reunification Program for its shareholders. In accordance with the Company's Articles of Association, shares that could not be traced to shareholders over 12 years old were forfeited. These shares were sold in the open market and the proceeds returned to the Company. In addition, unclaimed dividends over 12 years old were also returned to the Company.

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

At 30th June 2024

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	At 30th June	At 30th June	At 31st December
	2024	2023	2023
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Non current assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	463,248	443,181	439,131
Current assets
Derivative financial assets	8	215	-
Debtors	1,673	2,904	1,105
Cash and cash equivalents	12,586	16,390	8,296
Cash held at broker	299	844	432
	14,566	20,353	9,833
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(20,618)	(30,815)	(11,010)
Derivative financial liabilities	-	-	(157)
Net current liabilities	(6,052)	(10,462)	(1,334)
Total assets less current liabilities	457,196	432,719	437,797
Non current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year	(30,000)	(30,000)	(30,000)
Net assets	427,196	402,719	407,797
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital	15,037	15,037	15,037
Share premium	176,867	176,867	176,867
Capital redemption reserve	6,680	6,680	6,680
Capital reserves	209,443	182,825	188,588
Revenue reserve	19,169	21,310	20,625
Total shareholders' funds	427,196	402,719	407,797
Net asset value per share (note 5)	748.6p	678.4p	705.7p

For the 2023 year end, the 'Fixed Assets' sub-heading was changed to 'Non-Current Assets' to align to the adapted format under FRS 102. This change did not result in any measurement changes in respect of prior periods or the current period.

CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

For the six months ended 30th June 2024

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	30th June	30th June	31st December
	2024	2023	2023
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net return before finance costs and taxation	35,909	4,460	30,396
Adjustment for:
Net (gains)/losses on investments held at fair value through
profit or loss	(26,282)	4,658	(12,726)
Net foreign currency losses/(gains)	13	(4)	(6)
Dividend income	(10,649)	(10,358)	(19,816)
Interest income	(285)	(291)	(694)
Realised (losses)/gains on foreign exchange transactions	(13)	4	6
Decrease/(increase) in accrued income and other debtors	14	11	(1)
(Decrease)/increase in accrued expenses	(83)	210	211
Net cash outflow from operations before dividends and interest	(1,376)	(1,310)	(2,630)
Dividends received	10,050	10,068	19,804
Interest received	273	314	683
Overseas withholding tax recovered	35	-	-
Net cash inflow from operating activities	8,982	9,072	17,857
Purchases of investments	(59,098)	(53,943)	(109,200)
Sales of investments	61,551	50,486	129,024
Settlement of futures contracts	(451)	(603)	(520)
Transfer of margin cash from/(to) the broker	133	(844)	(432)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from investing activities	2,135	(4,904)	18,872
Dividends paid	(10,780)	(11,083)	(20,491)
Repurchase of the Company's shares into Treasury	(5,209)	(5,370)	(15,484)
Proceeds from share forfeiture	168	-	-
Refund of unclaimed dividends	123	-	-
Repayment of bank loan	(15,000)	-	(20,000)
Drawdown of bank loan	25,000	20,000	20,000
Interest paid	(1,129)	(881)	(2,014)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities	(6,827)	2,666	(37,989)
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	4,290	6,834	(1,260)
Cash and cash equivalents at start of period/year	8,296	9,556	9,556
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period/year	12,586	16,390	8,296
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
Cash and short term deposits	258	269	611
Cash held in JPMorgan GBP Liquidity Fund	12,328	16,121	7,685
Total	12,586	16,390	8,296

NOTES TO THE CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the six months ended 30th June 2024.

1.  Financial statements

The condensed financial information contained in this half yearly financial report does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six months ended 30th June 2024 and 30th June 2023 has not been audited or reviewed by the Company's Auditor.

The figures and financial information for the year ended 31st December 2023 are extracted from the latest published financial statements of the Company and do not constitute statutory accounts for that year. Those financial statements have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies including the report of the auditor which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

2.  Accounting policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' of the 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 Association of Investment Companies in July 2022.

FRS 104, 'Interim Financial Reporting', issued by the Financial Reporting Council ('FRC') in March 2015 has been applied in preparing this condensed set of financial statements for the six months ended 30th June 2024.

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

The accounting policies applied to this condensed set of financial statements are consistent with those applied in the financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2023.

3.  Return/(loss) per share

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	30th June	30th June	31st December
	2024	2023	2023
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Return per share is based on the following:
Revenue return	9,201	9,453	18,176
Capital return/(loss)	25,655	(6,076)	10,040
Total return	34,856	3,377	28,216
Weighted average number of shares in issue	57,422,451	59,810,159	59,232,911
Revenue return per share	16.02p	15.80p	30.69p
Capital return/(loss) per share	44.68p	(10.16)p	16.95p
Total return per share	60.70p	5.64p	47.64p

4.  Dividends paid

	(Unaudited)		(Unaudited)		(Audited)
	Six months ended		Six months ended		Year ended
	30th June 2024		30th June 2023		31st December 2023
	Pence	£'000	Pence	£'000	Pence	£'000
Dividend paid
Final dividend in respect of prior year	10.50	6,059	10.50	6,309	10.50	6,308
First quarterly dividend	8.25	4,721	8.00	4,774	8.00	4,775
Second quarterly dividend	-	-	-	-	8.00	4,731
Third quarterly dividend	-	-	-	-	8.00	4,677
Total dividends paid	18.75	10,780	18.50	11,083	34.50	20,491
Refund of unclaimed dividends over 12 years old		(123)		-		-
Net dividends paid		10,657		11,083		20,491

All dividends paid in the period/year have been funded from the revenue reserve.

A second quarterly dividend of 8.25p (2023: 8.00p) per share, amounting to £4,704,000 (2023: £4,731,000) has been declared payable in respect of the year ending 31st December 2024. It will be paid on 2nd September 2024 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 26th July 2024.

5. Net asset value per share

The net asset value per Ordinary share and the net asset value attributable to the Ordinary shares at the period/year end are shown below. These were calculated using 57,067,358 (June 2023: 59,359,718; December 2023: 57,785,140) Ordinary shares in issue at the period/year end (excluding Treasury shares).

	(Unaudited)		(Unaudited)		(Audited)
	30th June 2024		30th June 2023		31st December 2023
	Six months ended		Six months ended		Year ended
	Net asset value		Net asset value		Net asset value
	attributable		attributable		attributable
	£'000	pence	£'000	pence	£'000	pence
Net asset value - debt at par	427,196	748.6	402,719	678.4	407,797	705.7
Add: amortised cost of £30 million 3.22% private
placement loan March 2045	30,000	52.5	30,000	50.5	30,000	51.9
Less: fair value of £30 million 3.22% private
placement loan March 2045	(22,214)	(38.9)	(22,243)	(37.5)	(23,608)	(40.8)
Net asset value - debt at fair value	434,982	762.2	410,476	691.4	414,189	716.8

6.  Fair valuation of instruments

The fair value hierarchy analysis for financial instruments held at fair value at the period end is as follows:

	(Unaudited)		(Unaudited)		(Audited)
	Six months ended		Six months ended		Year ended
	30th June 2024		30th June 2023		31st December 2023
	Assets	Liabilities	Assets	Liabilities	Assets	Liabilities
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Level 11	463,256	-	443,396	-	439,131	(157)
Total value of investments	463,256	-	443,396	-	439,131	(157)

¹     Includes future currency contracts.

7.  Reconciliation of net debt

	As at			As at
	31st December		Other	30th June
	2023	Cash flows	non-cash charges	2024
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and short term deposits	611	(353)	-	258
Cash held in JPMorgan GBP Liquidity Fund	7,685	4,643	-	12,328
	8,296	4,290	-	12,586
Borrowings Debt due within one year
Bank loan	(10,000)	(10,000)	-	(20,000)
Debt due after one year
£30 million 3.22% private placement   loan	(30,000)	-	-	(30,000)
	(40,000)	(10,000)	-	(50,000)
Net debt	(31,704)	(5,710)	-	(37,414)

JPMORGAN FUNDS LIMITED

9th August 2024

For further information, please contact:

Anmol Dhillon

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Funds Limited

0800 20 40 20

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.

ENDS

A copy of the Half Year Report will shortly be submitted to the FCA's National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism

The Half Year Report will also shortly be available on the Company's website at  www.jpmclaverhouse.co.uk where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can also be found.

 

END