Final Results

JPMorgan Fleming Mercantile IT PLC 20 March 2008 LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT JPMORGAN FLEMING MERCANTILE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC FINAL RESULTS - UNAUDITED Over the year to 31st January 2008 the Company's total return on net assets (i.e. with net income reinvested) was -16.2%, which compares with a return of -12.7% on the same basis from the Company's benchmark index, the FTSE All-Share (excluding FTSE 100 constituents and investment trusts). As has been widely acknowledged, the last six months of the year to 31st January 2008 were difficult, volatile times for the market, particularly the small and mid cap sector. However, the underperformance against the benchmark in the current year should be viewed in the context of the overperformance achieved during the previous seven years. Earnings and Dividends Earnings per share increased by 44.6% for the year, from 27.51p to 39.79p partly due to the receipt of some special dividends, a higher level of interest income and the accrual of recoverable VAT. The Company has paid three interim dividends of 5.5p per ordinary share, and the Directors have declared a fourth quarterly interim dividend of 17.5p and, in addition, reflecting the accrual of recoverable VAT, the Directors have declared a special dividend of 4.0p, giving a total dividend of 38.0p for the year, an increase of 52.0%. It is the Board's intention to continue to operate a progressive dividend policy and to increase the level of the first three quarterly dividends for the current financial year, thereby spreading the payment of the total dividend more evenly throughout the year. Share Price Discount The share price fell by 18.9% during the year and including dividends paid the total return to shareholders was -16.7%. The discount to net asset value widened during the year from 8.9% to 10.5% (with debt at fair value). The average weekly discount, with debt at fair value, during the year was 10.4%. Share Repurchases During the year under review a total of 20.755m shares were repurchased for cancellation, amounting to 16.6% of issued share capital, at a total cost of £271.07m. The purchase of 12.263m of these shares utilised authority granted at the 2006 AGM and the purchase of 8.492m of these shares utilised authority granted at the 2007 AGM. The Board continued to take a proactive approach towards share repurchases in order to enhance the net asset value and minimise the absolute level and volatility of the discount on the Company's shares. Share repurchases during the year under review have added approximately 28 pence to the net asset value per share. The Board is therefore proposing that the authority be renewed at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. VAT case Following HM Revenue & Customs' announcement in November 2007 that it was withdrawing its appeal in the case brought jointly by the AIC and JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust plc challenging the imposition of VAT on management fees paid by investment trusts, the Company is no longer obliged to pay VAT on its management fees going forward and may be able to recover VAT paid by it on its management fees in the past. The Board has retained advisers to act on behalf of the Company in this matter. The Manager has undertaken to the Company to repay to it all amounts of VAT recovered by the Manager from HM Revenue & Customs in relation to management fees paid by the Company and, in any case, the Company expects that all VAT paid by the Company on its management fees from the turn of 2004/2005 onwards will be repaid to it. An amount of £5.8m (5.6p per share) (comprising approximately 4.8p per share in respect of the expected recovery of VAT from previous years and 0.8p per share in respect of the expected recovery of VAT over the year to 31st January 2008) is therefore included in the Company's net assets at the year end in respect of the period from 1st February 2001 onwards, although the sum may not be received by the Company until recovery of certain sums is made from HM Revenue & Customs. Certain VAT in relation to earlier periods may also be recoverable and the Company is in discussions with its Manager in relation to the potential recovery of those sums. Board The Right Hon the Earl of Halifax was appointed a Director on 5th December 2007. He was formerly Vice-Chairman of Christie, Manson & Woods, the European Division of Christie's International Fine Arts Auctioneers, and a non-executive director of Hambros Bank. He is Deputy Lieutenant of The East Riding of Yorkshire, High Steward of York Minster and a JP. Having been appointed to the Board during the year, he will stand for re-election at the forthcoming AGM and if appointed will be eligible to serve for a three year term. The Directors retiring by rotation are Charles Peel and myself. If re-elected, Charles will serve for a further three year term. Having been a Director for more than nine years, in accordance with the Board's policy, I offer myself for re-election on an annual basis only. Investment Managers During the year the Company's investment management team recruited Emel Akan. Observer Money Annual Awards 2007 The Company was presented with the Best Large Trust award at the Observer Money Annual Awards in March 2007. Change of Name The Board believes that there are advantages to a Company of this size and sectoral importance of having its own named identity, and wishes to revert to a name which relates more closely to the original name of the Company. It is proposed in the Notice of Meeting that the Company name be altered to 'The Mercantile Investment Trust plc'. Annual General Meeting The Company's one hundred and twenty second Annual General Meeting will be held at Trinity House, Tower Hill, London EC3N 4DH on Wednesday 30th April 2008 at 12.00 noon. In addition to the formal part of the meeting, there will be a presentation from the Investment Managers who will answer questions on the portfolio and performance. The meeting will be followed by a buffet lunch which will give shareholders an opportunity to meet the Board, the Investment Managers and representatives of JPMorgan. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the meeting. Please submit in writing any detailed questions that you wish to raise at the AGM to the Company Secretary at Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ or via the website. Shareholders who are unable to attend the AGM in person are encouraged to use their proxy votes, and attention is drawn to the changes to the proxy voting regime following the introduction of the Companies Act 2006. Outlook The condition of the UK stock market is dependent on the resolution over the coming months of the current turbulence which is adversely affecting financial markets globally. The Company has faced such conditions a number of times over the years and the Board believes that the Company can once again achieve positive returns for shareholders as market conditions gradually improve. Hamish Leslie Melville Chairman 20th March 2008 Investment Managers' Report Market Background A bear market in UK small and mid sized companies started in mid-2007 and share prices continued to fall sharply towards the end of the financial year, 31st January 2008. November and December were the worst months for small cap performance since 1974. This was caused by fears of a global liquidity crisis resulting from the collapse of the US mortgage-backed securities market. Investors' demand for higher yield from securitised leveraged packages of low quality loans resulted in a credit crunch with banks becoming unable or unwilling to lend as some of the borrowers in these complex debt securities started to default on their interest payments. In the UK, this led to Northern Rock having to be rescued by the Government and the availability and cost of mortgages from other providers tightening markedly. Several hedge funds and other investors who were heavily geared into the market experienced difficulties and the resulting liquidation of their assets depressed market levels further. This was then exaggerated by the ability of other investors to sell short stocks they did not own in anticipation of further falls. The result was that the Company's benchmark Index, the FTSE All-Share (excluding FTSE-100 constituents and investment trusts) fell by 12.7% during the year ended 31st January 2008. This compared with a fall of 1.6% from the FTSE-100 Index which was buoyed up by a strong performance from natural resources stocks, especially mining companies. That said, the reported earnings, and more especially dividends, from small and mid sized companies continued to be very strong as the UK economy recorded its 62nd consecutive quarter of GDP growth. The weak performance of the shares was in anticipation of profit forecasts for the coming year having to be reduced as forecasts for economic growth began to fall. Performance The Company's net asset value total return of -16.2% for the year ended 31st January 2008 compared with a return of -12.7% from the benchmark index. The total return to shareholders was -16.7% as the share price discount to net asset value (with debt at fair value) widened from 8.9% to 10.5% during the financial year. The biggest contributor to underperformance was the Company's overweight stance in the household goods sector, that is housebuilders. Their share prices were hit hard as consumer confidence reduced in the face of the credit crunch and as the availability of mortgages reduced and their cost increased. The mining sector was the Company's next worst sector as the momentum behind the rising prices of gold and platinum drove Randgold Resources and Aquarius Platinum shares higher. We do not hold Aquarius and are underweight in Randgold. In General Financials we suffered relatively from not having London Stock Exchange, which was driven higher by the Sovereign Wealth Funds building positions, and also from setbacks in Investec and Shore Capital on reduced prospects in financial markets. That said, in the Banking sector we benefited relatively by not holding Bradford and Bingley when it was hit. We outperformed in Oil and Gas Producers as the volatile stock market gave us the opportunity to buy producing oil assets at below the level of recent industry deals. In particular, we benefited from the agreed bid from ENI for Burren Energy. However, Food Producers was the best performing sector, with the Company benefiting from not holding Premier Foods, which fell sharply on concerns over servicing its debt as raw materials prices, especially wheat, rose substantially. By the same token, we benefited from the strong increase in palm oil prices through the Company's holdings in palm oil plantation companies MP Evans and New Britain Palm Oil. Activity Gearing was managed actively throughout the year. Having started the year with gearing of 2% this had been reduced to no gearing at the interim to reflect that markets had started to fall and at the year end we held 5% cash in order to preserve value in a falling market. The largest contributor to the cash raising was the reduction in exposure to housebuilders where more than £200m of housebuilding shares were sold between June and September. The Investment Managers have the flexibility to operate within a gearing range of 90%-120% invested and a more specific tactical range is agreed regularly with the Board. Corporate activity continued to be a feature during the year with the Company benefiting from holding more than half of the takeovers that occurred in the FTSE mid 250 index. Burren Energy was the biggest contributor to performance but others included Domestic and General, EMI, Kelda and London Merchant Securities. Against a background where we were generally reducing the Company's exposure to equities we neverthelsss made a number of new purchases last year as we continued to search for growth from smaller stocks. These included: Gem Diamonds, New Britain Palm Oil, Prezzo, GLG Partners, London and Stamford Property, China Real Estate and Hargreaves Lansdown. The portfolio retains its style of broad diversification across all sectors, holding 150 stocks, of which 96 are mid sized and 54 smaller. By value, more than 80% of the portfolio is in mid sized stocks, which is close to the size split of the benchmark. The holding of companies of greater than £1.5bn market capitalisation is now lower than the index weighting. This reflects that throughout the year we have sold mid 250 stocks which have been promoted into the FTSE 100, but not bought many of those which were demoted, such as Punch Taverns, Mitchells and Butlers, Northern Rock and Tate and Lyle, none of which are held in the portfolio. We remain overweight in the very smallest companies, which are offering good growth prospects. Smaller companies are now more lowly rated than the rest of the market and therefore relatively more attractive. Of the ten largest holdings as at 31st January 2008 only three, GKN, Daily Mail and Burberry were in the top ten last year. Drax and Segro were bought having been demoted from the FTSE 100 during the year and the remaining five were all held within the portfolio a year ago. By comparison, the top ten one year ago contained five housebuilders, none of which are in the top ten this year and also EMI which was sold on a takeover bid and Amec which was sold on promotion into the FTSE 100. We sell stocks which are promoted into the FTSE 100 within 18 months of promotion at the latest and never let the weighting in FTSE 100 stocks exceed 5% of the portfolio. Currently we hold no FTSE 100 stocks. During the year we met or visited more than 250 companies and this remains a key component in our process of evaluating companies. We believe that properly targeted company meetings can help us analyse smaller growth companies that are often overlooked by the mainstream, evaluate management and resolve issues. Our fundamental analysis of companies is aided by JP Morgan's in-house proprietary screening process which helps us to identify companies that exhibit the best value and growth characteristics. Outlook The stockmarket is currently nervous, reflecting uncertainty; economic growth will slow and analysts profit forecasts for companies will have to be cut; more financial write downs will be needed, especially from the banks. This process has started but analysts' forecasts are still not low enough and banks have still not written off enough of their bad assets. However, the sharp fall seen in share prices means that equities are now good long term value. We shall continue to be rigorous in screening out losers and reducing portfolio risk, to reflect the uncertainty in markets, while searching out positive momentum as the next investment theme takes hold. The underlying holdings in the Mercantile portfolio currently stand on a 12 month forward PER of 10.4X and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is good value. The PER for Mercantile is lower than that for the benchmark and for the FTSE 100. The yield is higher and both earnings and dividends are forecast to enjoy higher growth. After the sharp fall in the stockmarket in January we have now reinvested some of the cash holding such that we currently have a neutral gearing position, that is no net cash or borrowings. The high level of volatility in the stockmarket gives us the opportunity to execute our consistent long term strategy of buying assets, such as land, property and oil, at a discount and reasonably priced growth, currently available in such sectors as aerospace, commodities and spread betting. We continue to believe that small and mid sized equities are the most interesting asset class over the long term; a London Business School study shows that since 1955 they have outperformed in more than two years out of three. Despite the current economic uncertainties, small and mid sized equities are now offering higher forecast earnings growth than FTSE 100 companies, whilst trading at a similar PE ratio. That said, we expect the stockmarket to remain volatile until credit markets stabilise and as further economic and financial downgrades emerge. We plan to use that volatility to buy both assets and growth at attractive levels and small and mid sized companies offer good long term value at current levels. Martin Hudson Jane Lennard Emel Akan Investment Managers 20th March 2008 For further information, please contact: Jonathan Latter For and on behalf of JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited - Secretary 020 7742 6000 JPMorgan Fleming Mercantile Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st January 2008 Income Statement (Unaudited) (Audited) Year ended 31st January 2008 Year ended 31st January 2007 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 (Losses)/gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss - (271,045) (271,045) - 377,824 377,824 Net foreign currency losses - (42) (42) - (56) (56) Income from investments 43,948 - 43,948 42,099 - 42,099 Other interest receivable and similar income 7,736 - 7,736 3,394 - 3,394 _______ ________ _______ _______ ________ _______ Gross return/(loss) 51,684 (271,087) (219,403) 45,493 377,768 423,261 Management fee (3,900) (3,900) (7,800) (3,961) (3,961) (7,922) Other administrative expenses (842) - (842) (821) - (821) VAT recoverable 2,921 2,922 5,843 - - - _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation 49,863 (272,065) (222,202) 40,711 373,807 414,518 Finance costs (5,518) (5,518) (11,036) (5,668) (5,668) (11,336) _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation 44,345 (277,583) (233,238) 35,043 368,139 403,182 Taxation - - - - - - ______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation 44,345 (277,583) (233,238) 35,043 368,139 403,182 ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== Return/(loss) per share (note 3) 39.79p (249.10)p (209.31)p 27.51p 289.06p 316.57p Dividends proposed in respect of the financial year ended 31st January 2008 total 38.0p per share (2007: 25.0p per share) costing £40,113,000 (2007: £31,363,000). 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. 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. JPMorgan Fleming Mercantile Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st January 2008 Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds (Unaudited) Called up Capital Share Share redemption Capital Revenue capital premium reserve reserve reserve Total £'000 £,000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 At 31st January 2006 33,123 23,459 3,647 1,346,761 38,004 1,444,994 Shares bought back and cancelled (1,859) - 1,859 (75,662) - (75,662) Total return from ordinary activities - - - 368,139 35,043 403,182 Dividends appropriated in the year - - - - (28,666) (28,666) _______ _______ ________ _______ _______ ________ At 31st January 2007 31,264 23,459 5,506 1,639,238 44,381 1,743,848 Shares bought back and cancelled (5,189) - 5,189 (271,068) - (271,068) Total (loss)/return from ordinary - - - (277,583) 44,345 (233,238) activities Dividends appropriated in the year - - - - (31,392) (31,392) _______ _______ ________ _______ _______ ________ At 31st January 2008 26,075 23,459 10,695 1,090,587 57,334 1,208,150 ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== JPMorgan Fleming Mercantile Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st January 2008 Balance sheet (Unaudited) (Audited) Year ended 31st Year ended 31st January January 2008 2007 £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Investments at fair value through profit or loss 1,145,680 1,778,500 Current assets Debtors 7,798 31,112 Cash and short term deposits 287,985 129,733 _______ _______ 295,783 160,845 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (56,604) (18,884) _______ _______ Net current assets 239,179 141,961 _______ _______ Total assets less current liabilities 1,384,859 1,920,461 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (176,709) (176,613) _______ _______ Total net assets 1,208,150 1,743,848 ===== ===== Capital and reserves Called up share capital 26,075 31,264 Share premium 23,459 23,459 Capital redemption reserve 10,695 5,506 Capital reserve 1,090,587 1,639,238 Revenue reserve 57,334 44,381 _______ _______ Shareholders' funds 1,208,150 1,743,848 ===== ===== Net asset value per share (note 4) 1,158.3p 1,394.4p JPMorgan Fleming Mercantile Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st January 2008 Cash flow statement (Unaudited) (Audited) 31st January 31st January 2008 2007 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating activities 45,371 35,224 Servicing of finance Interest paid (10,927) (11,258) _______ _______ Net cash outflow from servicing of finance (10,927) (11,258) Financial investment Purchases of investments (1,079,216) (1,000,018) Sales of investments 1,509,476 1,222,420 Other capital charges (61) (13) _______ _______ Net cash inflow from financial investment 430,199 222,389 Total equity dividends paid (31,392) (28,666) _______ _______ Net cash inflow before financing 433,251 217,689 Financing Repurchase of ordinary shares (274,953) (80,009) Repayment of short term overdraft - (7,897) _______ _______ Net cash outflow from financing (274,953) (87,906) _______ _______ Increase in cash in the year 158,298 129,783 ===== ===== Notes to the Accounts 1. Accounting policies The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK GAAP') and with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies' (the 'SORP') issued by the AIC in December 2005. The accounting policies applied in these accounts are consistent with those applied in the accounts for the prior year. All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature. 2. Dividends paid and declared (Unaudited) (Audited) Year ended Year ended 31st January 2008 31st January 2007 £'000 £'000 Unclaimed dividends refunded to the Company (38) (43) 2007 fourth quarterly dividend of 11.5p (2006: 9.0p) 13,742 11,728 First quarterly dividend of 5.5p (2007: 4.5p) 6,039 5,667 Second quarterly dividend of 5.5p (2007: 4.5p) 5,881 5,667 Third quarterly dividend of 5.5p (2007: 4.5p) 5,768 5,647 _______ ______ Total dividends paid in the year 31,392 28,666 ====== ===== Fourth quarterly dividend of 17.5p (2007: 11.50p) 18,253 14,382 Special dividend of 4.0p (2007: nil) 4,172 - _______ ______ 22,425 14,382 ====== ===== The fourth quarterly and special dividends have been declared in respect of the year ended 31st January 2008. In accordance with the accounting policy of the Company, these dividends will be reflected in the accounts for the year ending 31st January 2009. 3. Return/(loss) per share (Unaudited) (Audited) Year ended Year ended 31st January 2008 31st January 2007 £'000 £'000 Return per share is based on the following: Revenue return 44,345 35,043 Capital (loss)/return (277,583) 368,139 _______ ______ Total (loss)/return (233,238) 403,182 ====== ===== Weighted average number of shares in issue 111,433,402 127,359,350 Revenue return per share 39.79p 27.51p Capital (loss)/return per share (249.10)p 289.06p _______ ______ Total (loss)/return per share (209.31)p 316.57p ====== ===== 4. Net asset value per share The Net asset value per share is based on the net assets attributable to the ordinary shareholders of £1,208,150,000 (2007: £1,743,848,000) and on the 104,303,166 (2007: 125,058,759) shares in issue at the year end. 5. Status of preliminary announcement The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31st January 2007 or 2008. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31st December 2007 have been reported on by the Company's auditors and have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors report for the year ended 31st January 2007 was unqualified and contained no statement under S237(2) or S237(3) of the Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31st January 2008 have not been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, nor have the auditors yet reported on them. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31st January 2008 will be finalised on the basis of the information presented by the Directors in this preliminary announcement and will delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the approval of the accounts by the Board of Directors. JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED 20th March 2008 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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