Annual Financial Report

RNS Number : 4098C

SchroderJapan Growth Fund PLC

01 October 2018

 

1 October 2018

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

Schroder Japan Growth Fund plc (the "Company") hereby submits its Annual Report for the year ended 31 July 2018 as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 4.1. 

The Company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2018 are also being published in hard copy format and an electronic copy will shortly be available to download from the Company's website http://www.schroders.co.uk/japangrowth.  Please click on the following link to view the document:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4098C_1-2018-9-28.pdf

The Company has submitted its Annual Report and Accounts to the National Storage Mechanism and it will shortly be available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM.

Enquiries:

Benjamin Hanley

Schroder Investment Management Limited                      

Tel: [phone]

Schroder Japan Growth Fund plc

Chairman's Statement

In my final statement as Chairman, I am pleased to report that the year to 31 July 2018 has been good for shareholders, with the Company's net asset value ("NAV") and share price outperforming the TSE First Section Total Return Index, producing total returns of 10.2% and 10.6%, respectively, compared with 9.7% produced by the Index.

Further comment on performance and investment policy may be found in the Manager's Review.

Revenue and dividend

I'm pleased to report that revenue per share has continued to grow,  increasing by 12.7% to 4.08p. In accordance with the Company's policy to pay out substantially all net revenue, the Directors have declared a final dividend for the year ended 31 July 2018 of 4.00p per share, representing an increase of 14.3% over the final dividend paid in 2017. This dividend will be paid on 9 November 2018 to shareholders on the Register on 19 October 2018, subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 1 November 2018.

Gearing

The Company has in place a yen 6 billion three year term loan (expiring January 2019) and also has access to a revolving credit facility of yen 1 billion. The gearing level increased slightly beginning and ending the year at 11.2% and 11.7% respectively. The Company's gearing continues to operate within pre-agreed limits so that net effective gearing does not represent more than 25% of shareholders' funds.

Purchase of shares for cancellation

The Directors did not use the authority given to them to purchase shares for cancellation during the financial year ended 31 July 2018, as the discount remained within a relatively small band during the year, starting at 9.5% and ending at 9.3%. Average discount for the year was 7.1%.

Nevertheless, as the ability to buy back shares is one of a number of tools that may be used to enhance shareholder value and to reduce the discount volatility, the Board will be seeking to renew the share buy back authority granted at the Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") in November 2017 to purchase up to 14.99% of the Company's issued share capital for cancellation.

Board refreshment

Following her appointment as a Director on 1 January 2018, Belinda Richards will be put forward for election by shareholders at the AGM. Belinda's biographical details may be found on page 15 of the 2018 Annual Report.

As mentioned in my statement for the half year, Anja Balfour will be succeeding me as Chairman, effective 1 November 2018, and Belinda will succeed Anja as Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee following my retirement at the AGM. After the AGM Anja will no longer be a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Outlook

There cannot be many investment trust directors who retire after nearly two decades with the local stock market and economy at much the same levels as when he joined. Proud and honoured as I am of the first part of the last sentence, thankfully our Manager Schroders' stock picking and the yen have led to the share price nearly trebling during my time on the board, but it is a salutary reminder of the challenges of a mature economy.

The good news is that corporate Japan seems to be embracing the challenge. Profits in aggregate are materially higher than in the late 1990s and of better quality, both in terms of returns on equity and a greater awareness of shareholder value. It is possible that even parts of the political framework are more prepared for the future, thanks to Mr Abe. At the least, share valuations are much lower than they were, and therefore, perhaps, more sustainable, and I note the enthusiasm with which the Manager's Review describes the value in the current holdings.

Realisation of that value requires companies to keep growing their business and for our Manager to keep finding good opportunities, but I hand over to Anja and our colleagues confident that the share price will continue to rise over time.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held at 1 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU, at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday, 1 November 2018, and I hope as many of you as possible will be able to come along to participate. The meeting, as in previous years, will include a presentation by the portfolio manager on the prospects for the Japanese market and the Company's investment strategy.

Jonathan Taylor

Chairman

28 September 2018

Manager's Review

Market background

The Company's NAV total return for the year ended 31 July 2018 of 10.2% outperformed the Benchmark total return of 9.7% (source: Morningstar, Thomson Reuters).

The positive return for the market was due to robust performance during the first half of the year, after which the market weakened somewhat. The yen spent the bulk of the 12 months trading weaker than its July 2017 level relative to sterling but ended virtually unchanged.

Prime Minster Abe's winning of a snap general election, the calling of which was mentioned in last year's review although it had not yet been held, provided a positive impetus to the market. Together with a supportive global economic cycle and generally positive Japanese fundamentals, the market rallied through to January. At that point markets in general became more risk averse and the global macro backdrop less supportive. Japan underwent a short spell of political uncertainty in the form of the re-emergence of an alleged cronyism scandal involving the Prime Minister, but the main concerns for the market have been global uncertainties such as trade friction, Chinese economic slowdown and instability in some emerging markets. In 2018 Japan has lagged the US market returns but outperformed the world outside the US.

In general more defensive sectors performed better than cyclicals for the 12 month period, the opposite of the previous year. The exception to this broad trend was commodity price-sensitive sectors, reflecting firm pricing in commodities such as oil. Otherwise deep cyclicals such as steel and shipping occupied the lower echelons of sectoral performance ranking as did most financial sectors. By contrast more defensive areas such as pharmaceuticals, transportation and retail performed relatively well.

Portfolio performance

Net gearing was generally 10-12% and this made a small contribution to returns given higher market levels. Sector selection was slightly positive and stock selection neutral. The largest positive stock contributor was electronic component manufacturer TDK followed by oil refiner JXTG Holdings. The two largest detractors were small cap positions Sakata Inx and Hi-Lex. Bridgestone also disappointed. Not owning Takeda was positive as the shares sold off following its bid for Shire Pharmaceuticals. On the negative side cosmetics manufacturer, Shiseido, which we viewed as expensive a year ago, continued to perform strongly.

Activity

The number of new holdings and complete sales was higher than average. A number of the additions were switches from companies within the same sector and, accordingly, did not represent significant sector shifts. Examples include Sompo Holdings into Tokio Marine Holdings in the insurance sector, Hoya into Murata in the technology sector and Sumitomo Heavy Industries into IHI in the machinery sector. New exposure included computer game developer Bandai Namco and recently privatised Japan Post Holdings. Partial profit taking was made in holdings such as TDK and Shimadzu.

Outlook

Short-term economic data may be volatile, not least due to the impact of several natural disasters (earthquakes, flooding and typhoons), but Japan's underlying backdrop remains broadly positive. The economy has grown in eight of the last nine quarters and continues to head, albeit slowly, out of deflation. The consumption tax increase planned for October 2019 is coming into view but monetary policy remains accommodating, at a time when tightening is already occurring or may be about to occur in other developed economies. The central bank has made several tweaks to its policy of maintaining 10 year bond yields at around 0% but consensus now is that no substantive change is likely before 2020. The Prime Minister seems to have ridden out the scandal mentioned earlier, and as a result looks set to win his internal party election and potentially become Japan's longest serving post-war prime minister.

At the corporate level profits growth has slowed reflecting the stronger yen and higher input costs, but a positive revisions cycle looks set to resume in the second half of the current fiscal year. Notwithstanding the emergence of examples of poor corporate governance, the broad trend of improvement mentioned in previous reviews remains. For example, 2018 looks set to be another record year for share buybacks. Reflecting the above and in view of the market recording negative returns so far in 2018, relative valuations continue to look attractive.

Why the negative returns so far this year and why have foreign investors been selling at a record pace (if futures selling is included)? Not for the first time it seems that the Japanese stock market is reacting in exaggerated fashion to uncertainties outside the country, namely trade friction, emerging market unrest and a slowdown in the Chinese economy. The extreme outcome of an imposition of 25% tariffs on Japanese car imports to US would be a significant negative, not least for sentiment, but the direct impact of other iterations surrounding trade friction seem less threatening. Were this to become more widely accepted, the more positive Japanese backdrop could see reversal of outflows from foreign investors.

Policy

The portfolio's outperformance over the last 12 months was in spite of some factors which were unhelpful, specifically many fully-priced large cap steady-growth companies remaining in favour, at the expense of cyclicals and small cap value stocks. As a result we are finding more opportunities amongst the latter category, including financials, machinery and trading companies. The portfolio is underweight defensive sectors such as food and utilities.

Schroder Investment Management Limited

28 September 2018

Securities shown are for illustrative purposes only and should not be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Board is responsible for the Company's system of risk management and internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. The Board has adopted a detailed matrix of principal risks affecting the Company's business as an investment trust and has established associated policies and processes designed to manage and, where possible, mitigate those risks, which are monitored by the Audit and Risk Committee on an ongoing basis. This system assists the Board in determining the nature and extent of the risks it is willing to take in achieving the Company's strategic objectives. Both the principal risks and the monitoring system are also subject to robust assessment at least annually. The last assessment took place in September 2018.

Although the Board believes that it has a robust framework of internal control in place this can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance against material financial misstatement or loss and is designed to manage, not eliminate, risk.

The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company have remained unchanged throughout the year under review. Cyber risk relating to all of the Company's key service providers is considered an ongoing threat in light of the rising propensity and impact of cyber attacks on businesses and institutions. To address the risk, the Board receives reporting on cyber risk mitigation and management from its key service providers to ensure that it is managed and mitigated appropriately.

Actions taken by the Board and, where appropriate, its Committees, to manage and mitigate the Company's principal risks and uncertainties are set out in the table below.

Risk	Mitigation and management
Strategic
The Company's investment objectives may become out of line with the requirements of investors, resulting in a wide discount of the share price to underlying NAV per share.	Appropriateness of the Company's investment remit periodically reviewed and success of the Company in meeting its stated objectives monitored. Share price relative to NAV per share monitored. Marketing and distribution activity actively reviewed.
Investment management
The Manager's investment strategy, if inappropriate, may result in the Company underperforming the market and/or peer group companies, leading to the Company and its objectives becoming unattractive to investors.	Review of: the Manager's compliance with the agreed investment restrictions, investment performance and risk against investment objectives and strategy; relative performance; the portfolio's risk profile; and appropriate strategies employed to mitigate any negative impact of substantial changes in markets. Annual review of the ongoing suitability of the Manager.
Financial and currency
The Company is exposed to the effect of market fluctuations due to the nature of its business. A significant fall in Japanese equity markets could have an adverse impact on the market value of the Company's underlying investments and, as the Company invests predominantly in assets which are denominated in yen, its exposure to changes in the exchange rate between sterling and yen has the potential to have a significant impact on returns.	Risk profile of the portfolio considered and appropriate strategies to mitigate any negative impact of substantial changes in markets discussed with the Manager. Board considers overall hedging policy on a regular basis.
The Company's cost base could become uncompetitive, particularly in light of open-ended alternatives.	Ongoing competitiveness of all service provider fees subject to periodic benchmarking against competitors. Annual consideration of management fee levels.
Custody
Safe custody of the Company's assets may be compromised through control failures by the Depositary, including cyber hacking.	The Depositary reports on safe custody of the Company's assets, including cash, and portfolio holdings independently reconciled with the Manager's records. Review of audited internal controls reports covering custodial arrangements. Annual report from the Depositary on its activities, including matters arising from custody operations.
Gearing and leverage
The Company utilises credit facilities. These arrangements increase the funds available for investment through borrowing. While this has the potential to enhance investment returns in rising markets, in falling markets the impact could be detrimental to performance.	Gearing is monitored and strict restrictions on borrowings imposed: gearing continues to operate within pre-agreed limits so as not to exceed 25% of shareholders' funds.
Accounting, legal and regulatory
In order to continue to qualify as an investment trust, the Company must comply with the requirements of Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010. Breaches of the UK Listing Rules, the Companies Act or other regulations with which the Company is required to comply, could lead to a number of detrimental outcomes.	Confirmation of compliance with relevant laws and regulations by key service providers. Shareholder documents and announcements, including the Company's published Annual Report, subject to stringent review processes. Procedures established to safeguard against disclosure of inside information.
Service provider
The Company has no employees and has delegated certain functions to a number of service providers, principally the Manager, Depositary and Registrar. Failure of controls, including as a result of cyber hacking, and poor performance of any service provider could lead to disruption, reputational damage or loss.	Service providers appointed subject to due diligence processes and with clearly-documented contractual arrangements detailing service expectations. Regular reporting by key service providers and monitoring of the quality of services provided. Review of annual audited internal controls reports from key service providers, including confirmation of business continuity arrangements and IT controls.

Risk assessment and internal controls

Risk assessment includes consideration of the scope and quality of the systems of internal control operating within key service providers, and ensures regular communication of the results of monitoring by such providers to the Audit and Risk Committee, including the incidence of significant control failings or weaknesses that have been identified at any time and the extent to which they have resulted in unforeseen outcomes or contingencies that may have a material impact on the Company's performance or condition. No significant control failings or weaknesses were identified from the Audit and Risk Committee's ongoing risk assessment which has been in place throughout the financial year and up to the date of this Report.

A full analysis of the financial risks facing the Company is set out in note 20 on pages 40 to 45 of the 2018 Annual Report.

Viability statement

The Directors have assessed the viability of the Company over a five year period, taking into account the Company's position at 31 July 2018 and the potential impacts of the principal risks and uncertainties it faces for the review period.

A period of five years has been chosen as the Board believes that this reflects a suitable time horizon for strategic planning, taking into account the investment policy, liquidity of investments, potential impact of economic cycles, nature of operating costs, dividends and availability of funding.

In its assessment of the viability of the Company, the Directors have considered each of the Company's principal risks and uncertainties detailed on pages 11 and 12 of the 2018 Annual Report and in particular the impact of a significant fall in Japanese equity markets on the value of the Company's investment portfolio. The Company's yen 6.0 billion term loan with Scotiabank expires on 18 January 2019 and the Directors are confident that they will be able to secure replacement financing on similar terms, should they decide so to do. The Directors have also considered the Company's income and expenditure projections and the fact that the Company's investments comprise readily realisable securities which can be sold to meet funding requirements if necessary and on that basis consider that five years is an appropriate time period. While the Articles of Association require that a proposal for the continuation of the Company be put forward at the Company's Annual General Meeting in 2019, the Directors have no reason to believe that such a resolution will not be passed by shareholders.

Based on the Company's processes for monitoring operating costs, the Board's view that the Manager has the appropriate depth and quality of resource to achieve superior returns in the longer term, the portfolio risk profile, limits imposed on gearing, counterparty exposure, liquidity risk and financial controls, the Directors have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the Company will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the five year period of their assessment.

Going concern

Having assessed the principal risks and the other matters discussed in connection with the viability statement set out above, and the "Guidance on Risk Management, Internal Control and Related Financial and Business Reporting" published by the FRC in 2014, the Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.

Statement of Directors' responsibilities in respect of the Annual Report and Accounts

The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulation.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors have prepared the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland", and applicable law). Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing the financial statements, the Directors are required to:

-        select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-        state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102, have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

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

-        prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements and the Directors' Remuneration Report comply with the Companies Act 2006.

The Directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Manager is responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the Company's webpages. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Directors consider that the annual report and accounts, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company's performance, business model and strategy.

Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed in the Board of Directors on pages 14 and 15 of the 2018 Annual Report confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

-        the Company financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland", and applicable law), give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the Company; and

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

Income Statement for the year ended 31 July 2018

		2018			2017
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss		-	23,873	23,873	-	41,386	41,386
Net foreign currency gains		-	184	184	-	1,910	1,910
Income from investments		7,204	-	7,204	6,391	-	6,391
Other interest receivable and similar income		2	-	2	-	-	-
Gross return		7,206	24,057	31,263	6,391	43,296	49,687
Investment management fee		(683)	(1,593)	(2,276)	(621)	(1,450)	(2,071)
Administrative expenses		(598)	-	(598)	(501)	-	(501)
Net return before finance costs and taxation		5,925	22,464	28,389	5,269	41,846	47,115
Finance costs		(99)	(231)	(330)	(108)	(252)	(360)
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation		5,826	22,233	28,059	5,161	41,594	46,755
Taxation on ordinary activities		(720)	-	(720)	(639)	-	(639)
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation		5,106	22,233	27,339	4,522	41,594	46,116
Return per share		4.08p	17.79p	21.87p	3.62p	33.27p	36.89p

The "Total" column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. The "Revenue" and "Capital" columns represent supplementary information prepared under guidance issued by The Association of Investment Companies. The Company has no other items of other comprehensive income and therefore the net return on ordinary activities after taxation is also the total comprehensive income for the year. 

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

The notes on pages 33  to 45 of the 2018 Annual Report form an integral part of these accounts.

Statement of Changes in Equity for the year ended 31 July 2018

	Called-up		Warrant	Share
	share	Share	exercise	purchase	Capital	Revenue
	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 31 July 2016	12,501	7	3	97,205	112,881	4,091	226,688
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	41,594	4,522	46,116
Dividend paid in the year	-	-	-	-	-	(3,500)	(3,500)
At 31 July 2017	12,501	7	3	97,205	154,475	5,113	269,304
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	22,233	5,106	27,339
Dividend paid in the year	-	-	-	-	-	(4,375)	(4,375)
At 31 July 2018	12,501	7	3	97,205	176,708	5,844	292,268

The notes on pages 33 to 45 of the 2018 Annual Report form an integral part of these accounts.

Statement of Financial Position at 31 July 2018

		2018	2017
		£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss		326,756	300,497
Current assets
Debtors		1,042	949
Cash at bank and in hand		6,653	11,026
		7,695	11,975
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(42,183)	(1,979)
Net current (liabilities)/assets		(34,488)	9,996
Total assets less current liabilities		292,268	310,493
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year		-	(41,189)
Net assets		292,268	269,304
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital		12,501	12,501
Share premium		7	7
Warrant exercise reserve		3	3
Share purchase reserve		97,205	97,205
Capital reserves		176,708	154,475
Revenue reserve		5,844	5,113
Total equity shareholders' funds		292,268	269,304
Net asset value per share		233.80p	215.43p

These accounts were approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Directors on 28 September 2018 and signed on its behalf by:

Jonathan Taylor

Chairman

Notes to the Accounts

1.         Accounting policies

The accounts are prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice ("UK GAAP"), in particular in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland", 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 November 2014 and updated in February 2018. All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.

2.         Taxation

The Company's effective corporation tax rate is nil, as deductible expenses exceed taxable income. The tax charge comprises irrecoverable overseas withholding tax.

3.         Dividends

Dividends paid and proposed
	2018	2017
	£'000	£'000
2017 final dividend of 3.50p (2016: 2.80p) paid out of revenue profits	4,375	3,500
	2018	2017
	£'000	£'000
2018 final dividend proposed of 4.00p (2017: 3.50p) to be paid out of revenue profits	5,000	4,375

The proposed dividend amounting to £5,000,000 (2017: £4,375,000) is the amount used for the basis of determining whether the Company has satisfied the distribution requirements of Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010. The revenue available for distribution by way of dividend for the year is £5,106,000 (2017: £4,522,000).

4.         Return per share

	2018	2017
Revenue return (£'000)	5,106	4,522
Capital return (£'000)	22,233	41,594
Total return (£'000)	27,339	46,116
Weighted average number of ordinary shares  in issue during the year	125,008,200	125,008,200
Revenue return per share	4.08p	3.62p
Capital return per share	17.79p	33.27p
Total return per share	21.87p	36.89p

5.         Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year

	2018	2017
	£'000	£'000
Bank loan	-	41,189

The bank loan at the comparative year end is a yen 6.0 billion three year term loan with Scotiabank, expiring on 18 January 2019 and which, at the year ended 31 July 2018, has been reclassified into creditors falling due with one year in note 12 of the 2018 Annual Report.

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of the bank loan approximates to its fair value.

6.         Called-up share capital

	2018	2017
	£'000	£'000
Ordinary shares allotted, called-up and fully paid:
125,008,200 (2017: 125,008,200) ordinary shares of 10p each	12,501	12,501

7.         Net asset value per share

	2018	2017
Net assets attributable to shareholders (£'000)	292,268	269,304
Shares in issue at the year end	125,008,200	125,008,200
Net asset value per share	233.80p	215.43p

8.         Disclosures regarding financial instruments measured at fair value

The Company's financial instruments within the scope of FRS 102 that are held at fair value comprise its investment portfolio. The Company currently holds no derivative financial instruments.

FRS 102 requires financial instruments to be categorised into a hierarchy consisting of the three levels below.

Level 1 - valued using unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

Level 2 - valued using observable inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1.

Level 3 - valued using inputs that are unobservable.

Details of the valuation techniques used by the Company are given in note 1(b) on page 33 of the 2018 Annual Report.

At 31 July 2018, all investments in the Company's portfolio are categorised as Level 1 (2017: same).

9.         Status of announcement

2017 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2017 are extracted from the published Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2017 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for that year. The 2017 Annual Report and Accounts have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the Report of the Independent Auditors which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

2018 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2018 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 July 2018 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year. The 2018 Annual Report and Accounts include the Report of the Independent Auditors which is unqualified and does not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. The 2018 Annual Report and Accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course.

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

 

END

 

 

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