Half-year Report

RNS Number : 0920P

JPMorgan Japanese Inv. Trust PLC

24 May 2018

 

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN JAPANESE TRUST PLC

UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS

ENDED 31ST MARCH 2018

Legal Entity Identifier: 549300JZW3TSSO464R15

Information disclosed in accordance with the DTR 4.2.2

Chairman's Statement

Performance

I am pleased to report that for the six months ended 31st March 2018 the total return on net assets was +14.7%. This compares with a total return for the same period from the Company's benchmark comparator, the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section (TOPIX) Index (in sterling terms), of +4.7%. The share price rose over the same period from 372.0p to 442.0p, reflecting both a rise in the net asset value ('NAV') and a narrowing of the discount from 11.6% to 7.5%.

I would like to congratulate our investment managers for this excellent performance, which continues the Company's strong longer term performance. It remains well ahead of the benchmark index, for example, over three, five and ten years.

I am also pleased to report that on 26th March 2018 the Company's market capitalisation had reached a sufficient size (£712.7 million at 31st March 2018) to allow it to become a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. We very much hope that this will enhance the profile of your Company and improve demand for the shares.

The Investment Managers' Report below reviews the market and provides more detail on performance and the stocks in which the Company is invested.

Gearing

The Board of Directors sets the overall strategic gearing policy and guidelines and reviews these at each meeting. The Investment Manager then manages the gearing within the agreed levels.

As at 31st March 2018 the funds available to be drawn down by the Company are ¥20 billion, comprised of a ¥9 billion five year term loan and a ¥11 billion three year revolving credit facility, the latter having been extended in December 2017. As at 31st March 2018 this amount was fully drawn down and the Company's gearing level was 16.2%.

Revenue and Dividends

As I have emphasised in previous Chairman's Statements dividends paid to the Company's shareholders in past years should not be taken as a guide to future payments. For the year ended 30th September 2017, we paid a dividend of 5.0p per share, reflecting the available revenue for distribution. Consistent with previous years the Company will not be declaring an interim dividend.

Discount Management

The Board has guidelines in place with regard to the management of any discount/premium that may develop between the Company's share price and its net asset value per share and to enhance returns to shareholders. Over the period the share price discount ranged from 4.5% to 12.8%. The Company did not repurchase any shares during the six month period.

PRIIPs/KID

You may be aware that the Regulator has recently introduced new rules (Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation (the 'PRIIPs Regulation')) that require the Investment Manager, who is deemed to be the 'Manufacturer' of the investment product, in our case this company, to prepare a Key Information Document (KID). The Company and Directors is/are not responsible for the information contained in the KID and investors should note that the procedures for calculating the risks, costs and potential returns are prescribed by the law. The figures in the KID may not reflect the expected returns for the Company and anticipated performance returns cannot be guaranteed.

The Board

As part of the Board's succession planning I intend to step down as Chairman and as a Director at the Annual General Meeting in December. I am very pleased that Christopher Samuel has agreed to replace me.

Outlook

While the global economic growth cycle continues to be strong, Japanese companies, and by extension the stock market, should continue to perform well. The post-2008/09 Global Financial Crisis economic recovery if maintained to the middle of next year will be a post-World War II record.

Any economic downturn will have an impact on Japan given its cyclical characteristics. One of the consistent features, however, of the Managers' and Chairman's Statements in recent years has been to highlight the emergence of companies with new business models and exciting growth prospects.

Japan has had a high degree of political stability in recent years as evidenced by the longevity of Shinzo Abe as prime minister. His policy of 'Abenomics' and alignment with the Bank of Japan have been important in implementing a reformist agenda and easy-monetary policies. Prime Minister Abe's position has recently come under pressure, which has in the short-term impacted sentiment, but we believe that, even if he was replaced, the reform agenda would continue and there would be continuity of policy at the Bank of Japan where Governor Kuroda has recently been reappointed for a further four year term.

An emphasis in recent years on individual companies with strong business models and growth prospects has served shareholders in the Company extremely well. We believe this strategy will continue to do so in the future.

Andrew Fleming

Chairman

23rd May 2018

INVESTMENT MANAGERS' REPORT

Performance

In the six months to 31st March 2018 the Company produced a total return to shareholders of +20.2% and a total return on net assets of +14.7%. These compare with a total return of +4.7% from the Company's benchmark index, the TOPIX Index, in sterling terms.

Over the last three and five years to 31st March 2018 the Company has returned +52.5% and +119.4% respectively versus +40.0% and +73.1% for the benchmark. The average level of gearing over the period was 15.0%, which enhanced returns in a rising market.

Investment Philosophy and Process

Our investment approach is to build a portfolio of quality growth stocks with strong future growth prospects. This means that within some broad portfolio risk limits, the Company's portfolio will differ materially from the benchmark index, as we will avoid companies and sectors that face structural issues even if they are a large component of the index. Similarly we find many attractive opportunities among under-researched companies that may not have a substantial weighting in the benchmark. With well over 50% of the constituents of the Company's benchmark index being covered by no more than one provider of broker research, there are significant opportunities to uncover hidden sources of return.

Against the background of a market with poor broker research, we have the resources in Japan to carry out our own research and identify attractive investment themes and companies. Our Tokyo-based investment team consists of 24 investment professionals who have carried out over 2,000 company visits in the past year.

The work carried out in looking through the under-researched parts of the market helps us build portfolios that are comprised of a number of high conviction holdings which we expect to hold for long periods of time.

Portfolio Themes

In building the Company's investment portfolio we have identified several key themes that underlie much of our stock selection which we describe below. We believe these themes are long term resilient sources of return for Japanese companies.

Japanese Brands & Tourism

One of the most visible changes in Japan over the last five years has been the boom in inbound tourism. Recent data (https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-database/stats/) shows year-on-year growth of 23.3% in the number of visits to Japan. This trend is driven by a relaxation in visa restrictions, the weaker Yen making Japan a more affordable destination and by rising wages across Asia leading to a growing middle class who want to travel more. We believe that growth in tourism to Japan is a long term structural trend.

Whereas Asian tourists visiting Europe often purchase luxury goods, other types of products are also popular in Japan including skin cream, medicines, cosmetics and baby goods. These products all have an image of being high quality, safe and reliable. Additionally, not only do Asian consumers buy these products when visiting Japan but continue to do so once they return to their home countries.

Automation

Wages in China, the workshop of the world, continue to rise, with wage levels in some areas approaching or surpassing some parts of Europe. Although this is good news for consumption, it is also affecting the profitability of companies that produce there. To cope with this margin pressure some companies are increasingly automating production; others are shifting production nearer to the end consumers in the West. To do this profitably also requires automation. Japanese companies are the leaders in factory automation with several being the global number one in their respective fields.

Improving Corporate Governance

The single most important change that has taken place in Japan over the last five years has been the improvement in corporate governance which began with the adoption of a stewardship code and was followed by a corporate governance code. As a result we have witnessed steady increases in both dividends and share buybacks, a rise in the number of outside directors that sit on company boards as well as more companies officially stating return on equity and/or return on asset targets. Although the pace of change is moderate, we believe this trend will endure, directly benefitting shareholders and in due course helping Japanese equities to start to close the discount that they trade on versus other developed markets.

Internet

Although Japan is very advanced in some areas, perhaps surprisingly, it lags in others, with e-commerce being a prime example. While the penetration of online shopping is lower than in many developed nations, the growth rates are higher. Japan is following exactly the same pattern as countries like the United Kingdom. This allows us to look at business models that have been successful in other markets and find Japanese equivalents.

Ageing Population

Japan's population is ageing and falling. Today there are 125 million people living in Japan but by 2050 this will have fallen to around 95 million with older people accounting for an increasingly large percentage of the total. This may be bad news for many companies with a domestic bias as demand for their products will drop in the long term. It is, however, good news for a small number of companies and presents an outstanding opportunity for active managers.

Investment Performance

The key themes to which the portfolio is exposed did not change over the review period. We continue to look for long-term structural growth companies that can compound their earnings over many years and maintain our focus on companies exposed to Japan brands & tourism, automation, improving corporate governance, internet and ageing population.

The financial characteristics of the portfolio are also unchanged: balance sheets and free cash flows are stronger, earnings growth faster and return on equity higher than the market as a whole. For example, as at 31st March 2018 the holdings in the portfolio generated an average return on equity of almost 15% compared to the benchmark return on equity of around 11%. The portfolio valuation, as measured by the price-earnings ratio, is higher than the market average but we believe the strong long-term growth prospects of the companies we own more than justify this.

We also have a bias to mid and smaller sized companies reflecting the fact that coverage by analysts is poor in this part of the market, providing us with the opportunity to identify investments overlooked by the broader market. These companies also tend to have more focused business models. Investors should expect to see these characteristics in the portfolio over the economic cycle.

We did make some changes to the portfolio. We increased the gearing level from 13.5% at the end of September to 16.2% at the end of March reflecting our conviction in the stocks that we hold. The largest new purchases were Shiseido, Komatsu and Kose. The most significant complete sales were Subaru, Orix and Japan Tobacco.

Annualised turnover for the six months to 31st March 2018 was just over 30%.

At the end of March the largest overweight positions in the portfolio when compared with the benchmark were in Keyence, Shiseido, M3, CyberAgent and Tokio Marine. During the recent six month period the top contributing stocks were CyberAgent, M3, Shiseido, SUMCO and Don Quijote.

We discuss below why we are invested in these seven companies:

•      Cyber Agent is Japan's number one online advertising agency. It also operates games for mobile phones and is investing in online television. The penetration of online advertising in Japan is lower than other developed markets and CyberAgent continues to take market share in this growing market. The games business should produce steady profit and cash flow. Meanwhile its online television service, Abema TV, has big potential as younger people continue to switch away from watching broadcast television to consuming more content on smartphones. Even with this large television investment suppressing current profits, the valuation is not stretched.

•      M3 operates an online portal accessed by doctors. We expect the company to expand both its geographic reach and the range of services it is involved in. It is already number one in Japan and the UK, is growing rapidly in China and we believe can become globally dominant. Pharmaceutical companies can save substantial costs by marketing drugs online and the need to do this will increase as pharmaceutical prices come under more pressure. Its website enjoys a very high number of visits from doctors in Japan, allowing the company to provide many other services e.g. it can rapidly recruit patients for drug trials.

•      Shiseido is a cosmetics manufacturer. The company's operating profit margin is substantially lower than global peers at c.8% versus over 15% for domestic and international competitors. We believe that the new management is turning the company around with a strong focus on profitability. Furthermore, Japanese cosmetics companies have a big opportunity to grow in China where usage of these products is still well below developed market levels.

•      SUMCO is a manufacturer of silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry. After the prices of wafers slumped following the financial crisis, the semiconductor wafer market now has a much better balance of supply and demand such that we now expect prices to rise. The top five silicon wafer makers control 90% of the global market with the top two Japanese companies, Shinetsu and Sumco, having over 50% share of the market. Demand is coming from a diverse range of industries: the increasing electronic content of autos, cloud computing, The Internet of Things and artificial intelligence amongst others.

•      Don Quijote operates a chain of discount stores. It is a major disruptor in the Japanese retail industry. It's low cost structure allows it to consistently beat incumbents such as Aeon and Ito-Yokado - a similar situation to Aldi and Lidl versus Tesco. It adjusts merchandise depending on the prevailing economic trend and has proved itself in both inflationary and deflationary environments. The company is increasingly successful in new areas such as food and other products for tourists. For example the percentage of sales to tourists has increased from roughly 1% five years ago to 10% now.

•      Keyence is a factory automation business that manufactures sensors. It is experiencing rapid growth all over the world as demand rises for its products. Indeed, the percentage of overseas sales has increased from 25% to over 50% in the past few years. Keyence also has some of the highest operating margins of any industrial company anywhere in the world at over 55%. We believe the company is highly competitive with strong growth prospects for many years.

•      Tokio Marine is Japan's number one non-life insurance company. The top three companies have an overwhelming 90% domestic market share and we believe the industry is a benign oligopoly. We are witnessing significant improvements in corporate governance in this sector. Tokio Marine has increased its dividends per share almost fourfold in the last ten years while the number of shares outstanding has decreased by over 10%.

        Stocks that detracted from performance include Start Today, Suruga Bank, Softbank, Nippon Shinyaku and Cosmos Pharmaceutical.

•      Start Today is Japan's number one online apparel retailer similar to ASOS overseas. Online clothes sales are less than 10% of the overall apparel market in Japan whereas in the UK online sales are well in excess of 20%. The number one position can make it a 'one-stop shop' for clothes and accessories. Traditional retailers have been very slow to understand the potential from online sales in Japan. Meanwhile, a business model that requires low levels of inventory means that free cash flow and returns are very high. The shares pulled back after a period of strong performance but we do not believe the investment case has changed and so retained the holding.

•      Suruga Bank has managed to grow profits sustainably despite Japan's very low interest rate environment by focusing on areas ignored by major banks. Recently one company that borrowed from Suruga defaulted on its debt. Bad loans are an inevitable part of the banking business model and we believe that Suruga's long-established strengths remain.

•      Softbank is a media conglomerate where its stake in Alibaba is worth more than the company's entire market value. The CEO Masayoshi Son has a good track record of investing not only in Alibaba but also, for example, in the purchase of Vodafone Japan. The shares have, however, underperformed due to concerns over increasing diversification. This is an area we are monitoring but for now we believe the risk reward of holding looks attractive at the current valuation.

•      Nippon Shinyaku is a pharmaceutical company. The shares have performed well over the years that the Trust has owned them and we now believe that the company is better appreciated by the market. We took profits and sold the entire position.

•      Cosmos Pharmaceutical operates discount drugstores and has been gradually expanding across Japan. The company's earnings have recently been under pressure from rising labour costs. This issue is likely to continue and we therefore reduced the size of our position.

Investment outlook

The Japanese market is more cyclical than many other developed markets and can be impacted by global economic developments, both positively and negatively. Currently there are concerns about a potential trade war between the United States and China as well as a somewhat stronger yen.

Your Company, however, focuses on investing in individual stocks. The companies we have invested in have strong structural growth outlooks, competitive positions and balance sheets, and we believe they will perform well in the long-term view regardless of the twists and turns of the wider global economy. Their competitive positions and balance sheets are strong enough to withstand such issues. The level of gearing currently deployed reflects our conviction in the companies that we own.

Nicholas Weindling

Shoichi Mizusawa

Investment Managers

23rd May 2018

Interim Management Report

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

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company fall into the following broad categories: investment underperformance and strategy; market and currency; political, economic and governance; loss of investment team or investment manager; discount; change of corporate control of the Manager; accounting, legal and regulatory; corporate governance and shareholder relations; operational and cyber crime and financial. Information on each of these areas is given in the Strategic Report within the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30th September 2017.

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 during the period.

Going Concern

The Directors believe, having considered the Company's investment objectives, risk management policies, capital management policies and procedures, 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 twelve months from the date of the approval of this half year financial report. For these reasons, they consider there is reasonable evidence to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.

Directors' Responsibilities

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

(i)    the condensed set of financial statements contained within the interim financial report has been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting' and gives a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Company and of the assets, liabilities, financial position and net return of the Company, as at 31st March 2018, as required by the UK Listing Authority Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule ('DTR') 4.2.4R; and

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

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

Andrew Fleming
Chairman

23rd May 2018

statement of comprehensive income

for the six months ended 31st March 2018

	(Unaudited) Six months ended 31st March 2018			(Unaudited) Six months ended 31st March 2017			(Audited) Year ended 30th September 2017
	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss	-	98,795	98,795	-	7,928	7,928	-	44,397	44,397
Net foreign currency (losses)/gains	-	(1,626)	(1,626)	-	2,998	2,998	-	10,514	10,514
Income from investments	6,231	-	6,231	6,159	-	6,159	11,640	-	11,640
Other interest receivable and similar income	36	-	36	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gross return	6,267	97,169	103,436	6,159	10,926	17,085	11,640	54,911	66,551
Management fee	(439)	(1,755)	(2,194)	(379)	(1,515)	(1,894)	(775)	(3,099)	(3,874)
Other administrative expenses	(322)	-	(322)	(330)	-	(330)	(613)	-	(613)
Net return on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation	5,506	95,414	100,920	5,450	9,411	14,861	10,252	51,812	62,064
Finance costs	(112)	(448)	(560)	(82)	(327)	(409)	(189)	(755)	(944)
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation	5,394	94,966	100,360	5,368	9,084	14,452	10,063	51,057	61,120
Taxation	(624)	-	(624)	(613)	-	(613)	(1,161)	-	(1,161)
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation	4,770	94,966	99,736	4,755	9,084	13,839	8,902	51,057	59,959
Return per share (note 3)	2.96p	58.89p	61.85p	2.95p	5.63p	8.58p	5.52p	31.66p	37.18p

statement of changes in equity

for the six months ended 31st March 2018

	Called up	Capital
	share	redemption	Other	Capital	Revenue
	capital	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve1	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Six months ended 31st March 2018 (Unaudited)
At 30th September 2017	40,312	8,650	166,791	451,356	11,729	678,838
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	94,966	4,770	99,736
Dividend paid in the period (note 4)	-	-	-	-	(8,062)	(8,062)
At 31st March 2018	40,312	8,650	166,791	546,322	8,437	770,512
Six months ended 31st March 2017 (Unaudited)
At 30th September 2016	40,312	8,650	166,791	400,299	8,713	624,765
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	9,084	4,755	13,839
Dividend paid in the period (note 4)	-	-	-	-	(5,886)	(5,886)
At 31st March 2017	40,312	8,650	166,791	409,383	7,582	632,718
Year ended 30th September 2016 (Audited)
At 30th September 2016	40,312	8,650	166,791	400,299	8,713	624,765
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	51,057	8,902	59,959
Dividend paid in the year (note 4)	-	-	-	-	(5,886)	(5,886)
At 30th September 2017	40,312	8,650	166,791	451,356	11,729	678,838

¹ This reserve forms the distributable reserve of the Company and may be used to fund distribution of profits to investors via dividend payments

statement of financial position

at 31st March 2018

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	31st March 2018	31st March 2017	30th September 2017
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	895,681	718,358	771,143
Current assets
Debtors	4,430	4,370	3,852
Cash and cash equivalents	6,884	17,790	3,551
	11,314	22,160	7,403
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(2,423)	(148)	(385)
Net current assets	8,891	22,012	7,018
Total assets less current liabilities	904,572	740,370	778,161
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year	(134,060)	(107,652)	(99,323)
Net assets	770,512	632,718	678,838
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital	40,312	40,312	40,312
Capital redemption reserve	8,650	8,650	8,650
Other reserve	166,791	166,791	166,791
Capital reserves	546,322	409,383	451,356
Revenue reserve	8,437	7,582	11,729
Total shareholders' funds	770,512	632,718	678,838
Net asset value per share (note 5)	477.8p	392.4p	421.0p

statement of cash flows

for the six months ended 31st March 2018

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	31st March 2018	31st March 2017	30th September 2017
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Net cash outflow from operations before dividends and interest	(2,397)	(1,788)	(4,442)
Dividends received	5,056	4,203	9,648
Interest paid	(579)	(484)	(1,037)
Net cash inflow from operating activities	2,080	1,931	4,169
Purchases of investments	(161,104)	(173,465)	(250,200)
Sales of investments	137,451	147,320	207,947
Settlement of foreign currency contracts	12	(7)	5
Net cash outflow from investing activities	(23,641)	(26,152)	(42,248)
Dividend paid	(8,062)	(5,886)	(5,886)
Drawdown of bank loan	32,989	41,442	41,442
Net cash inflow from financing activities	24,927	35,556	35,556
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	3,366	11,335	(2,523)
Cash and cash equivalents at start of period	3,551	6,118	6,118
Exchange movements	(33)	337	(44)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	6,884	17,790	3,551
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	3,366	11,335	(2,523)
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
Cash and short term deposits	6,884	17,790	3,551

Notes to the financial statements

for the six months ended 31st March 2018

1.     Financial statements

The information contained within the financial statements in this half year report has not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditors.

The figures and financial information for the year ended 30th September 2017 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 auditors 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 revised 'SORP') issued by the Association of Investment Companies in November 2014 and updated in February 2018.

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 31st March 2018.

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 30th September 2017.

3.     Return per share

		(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
		Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
		31st March 2018	31st March 2017	30th September 2017
		£'000	£'000	£'000
	Return per share is based on the following:
	Revenue return	4,770	4,755	8,902
	Capital return	94,966	9,084	51,057
	Total return	99,736	13,839	59,959
	Weighted average number of shares in issue	161,248,078	161,248,078	161,248,078
	Revenue return per share	2.96p	2.95p	5.52p
	Capital return per share	58.89p	5.63p	31.66p
	Total return per share	61.85p	8.58p	37.18p

4.     Dividend paid

		(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
		Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
		31st March 2018	31st March 2017	30th September 2017
		£'000	£'000	£'000
	2017 final dividend paid of 5.00p (2016: 3.65p) per share	8,062	5,886	5,886

All dividends paid in the period have been funded from the Revenue Reserve.

No interim dividend has been declared in respect of the six months ended 31st March 2018 (2017: nil).

5.     Net asset value per share

		(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
		Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
		31st March 2018	31st March 2017	30th September 2017
		£'000	£'000	£'000
	Net assets (£'000)	770,512	632,718	678,838
	Number of shares in issue	161,248,078	161,248,078	161,248,078
	Net asset value per share	477.8p	392.4p	421.0p

23rd May 2018

For further information, please contact:

Faith Pengelly

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Funds Limited, Secretary 020 7742 4000

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

ENDS

A copy of the half year will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM 

 

END

 

 

IR BLGDULGDBGIX