Half-year Report

RNS Number : 4868V

BMO Global Smaller Companies PLC

14 December 2021

 

Date: 14 December 2021

Contact:         Peter Ewins 

  BMO Investment Business Limited 

  020 7628 8000 

BMO Global Smaller Companies PLC

Unaudited statement of results

for the half-year ended 31 October 2021

SUMMARY OF UNAUDITED RESULTS FOR THE HALF-YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2021

· Net Asset Value with debt at fair value ("NAV") increased to 183.39p per share, giving a total return of 5.6% compared to the Benchmark total return of 4.3%

· The share price ended the period at 167.2p, delivering a total return of -0.1%

· Interim dividend increased by 3.6% to 0.57p per ordinary share

 

Lead Manager's Review

As shareholders will be well aware, the coronavirus pandemic is far from over. While this continued to have an influence on financial markets in the six months under review, compared to the previous year, equities were relatively becalmed. The recovery of the global economy was maintained and corporate earnings benefitted from the upturn in activity. This together with higher confidence in the business world led to a pick-up in mergers and acquisitions activity, a subject to which I will return to, in the context of our portfolio.

The sharp pick-up in demand for goods and services as lock-downs were eased eventually led to challenges for companies to keep up with orders. A consequent surge in inflation in the US and elsewhere to levels not seen in many years prompted a sell-off in global bond markets. Central banks started to tighten monetary policy, especially in the emerging markets sphere, but equity markets remained resilient.

After strong outperformance in the last financial year in most of the markets, smaller stocks lagged larger companies in this period, particularly in North America where some of the mega-cap technology stocks continued to reach new highs. However, returns were respectable at the smaller-cap end considering the strength of the previous year. For the six months, the Company's Benchmark (30% Numis UK Smaller Companies excluding investment companies Index/70% MSCI World All Countries ex UK Small Cap Index) delivered a sterling total return of 4.3%. The Net Asset Value ("NAV") total return, taking the Company's long term liabilities at fair value, was slightly ahead of this at 5.6%, with the NAV ending at 183.4p.

A rise in the discount at which the Company's shares trade in relation to the NAV, from 3.6% to 8.8% over the six months, meant that the share price total return over the period was -0.1%. During the period, the Board continued to make use of its buyback powers, re-purchasing a total of 12.1m shares and placing them into treasury. While investment trust discounts are prone to ups and downs, the Board continue to target a lower discount, below 5%, and further buybacks have continued since the end of October.

Dividends

With corporate profitability recovering, we have seen a much better level of income coming in from the investment portfolio. Many companies having put dividends on pause as the pandemic hit, have started to pay them again, albeit some at a lower level than previously. Our revenue return per share rose 106.7% in the first half from last year's depressed level. Given this and a more promising outlook for the rest of the year, the Board has decided to increase the interim dividend by 3.6% to 0.57p. Shareholders on the register on 7th January will receive this dividend on 28th January.

Market background

The last financial year was heavily influenced by news in relation to the pandemic, with sector leadership changing as investors sought to factor in the latest news in relation to it. The gradual lifting of restrictions in the main developed economies earlier in 2021 led to a strong recovery in stocks that had been hit hardest in the early stages of the crisis. Market performance in the new financial year has to an extent reverted to a more normal fashion, with less focus on the pandemic and more on company specific news-flow, which in many ways is a relief. There was something of a reverse in sentiment towards the most speculative growth stocks in the markets, with investors becoming more discerning around valuations, perhaps in part due to higher long term market interest rates; this is something we welcome too.

Better than expected corporate earnings came through over the summer as the global economy accelerated, with higher profits not surprisingly welcomed by stock market investors. Consumer spending surged as some of the savings accrued during 2020 were spent. Real estate and housing markets were further boosted by interest rates remaining close to zero in most places. Fiscal policy up to this point continued to be supportive as governments have sought to support the recovery and lift spending on core priority areas locally, with the US administration recently having passed a 1.2 trillion dollar package for infrastructure investment.

Less positively, progressively more companies have been impacted by supply chain challenges as a result of the surge in demand with, for example, automotive sector suppliers early casualties of this in dealing with a shortage of key semiconductor components. A sharp rise in the cost of gas, electricity and a range of other commodities, started to exert pressure on profit margins, contributing to the pick-up in inflation. In addition, labour shortages in certain sectors including transportation and food are also creating challenges for individual companies.

Geo-political tensions between the US, China and Russia persist, while the UK/EU relationship too remains fractious to say the least. Investors appear to be treating these spats sanguinely for now, seemingly having more of an eye on the outlook for monetary policy given the evidently increased inflationary pressures. Companies perceived to lack pricing power in the present environment are falling out of favour given this backdrop.

Regional portfolio performance

We always report the performance of our regional/country portfolios against the relevant local smaller company indices and a table depicting this is again shown below. It is encouraging to note that in all parts of the world, our portfolio performance beat the local small cap index. In all markets aside from Latin America, returns from small caps were positive, with relatively little divergence in returns across the main markets in the period.

Geographical performance (total return sterling adjusted)
for the half-year ended 31 October 2021
	Portfolio	Local smaller companies index
North America	+5.9%	+2.9%
UK	+5.2%	+3.4%
Europe	+6.1%	+5.2%
Japan	+1.7%	+1.1%
Rest of World	+5.7%	+5.0% (Asia Pacific ex Japan)  -12.7% (Latin America)
Source: BMO GAM

North America

After a tough prior year, it was good to see a bounce-back in relative performance on the largest part of the overall investment portfolio, though it was a more restrained period for US small caps in spite of the fact that the local economy is now larger than it was pre Covid.

Our stock selection was very strong in Health care. Holdings in four stocks; Catalent, ICON, Hill RomHoldings and Molina Healthcare, all contributed positively, while not owning biotechnology stocks also helped us relative to the Russell 2000 Index, as this riskier sub-sector fell out of favour. Life sciences services company Catalent once again delivered strong results and it is leveraging its expertise in the biologics field to good effect. ICON shares found favour after the company assimilated a major acquisition, with its underlying clinical research market continuing to move in the right direction. This was a period when we saw a number of takeovers across the global portfolio in common with the general trend in the markets and hospital equipment supplier Hill Rom Holdings' shares rose after news of a bid from a larger peer. Managed care company Molina Healthcare was also up as it delivered faster growth than peers, making it too a potential takeover target in a consolidating health insurance market.

In Financials, our holding in Jefferies Financial Group again proved beneficial, with the company's results helped by an active period for capital raising in the markets. Encouragingly, Jefferies also appears to be gaining market share. Our long-standing holding in insurance broking business Brown & Brown jumped as the company saw an increase in organic growth, helped by higher insurance pricing, and made further earnings enhancing bolt-on acquisitions. A new position in wealth management consolidator Focus Financial Partners jumped after our purchase, helped by rising markets and further accretive deals being announced by management in the US and overseas.

A broad range of other stocks performed well in the period, with the best individual contribution coming from MaxLinear, which rose no less than 75.0%. Brokers significantly raised forecasts for the company as the boom in demand for its home connectivity products persisted. Shares in enterprise software company QAD also delivered a strong return as the company was bid for by a private equity operator. Western-wear and footwear retailer Boot Barn Holdings surged by 48.1% as sales accelerated and the company took market share as the retail trade re-opened. Recycled car parts company LKQ Corp, was helped by higher steel prices leading to better margins and a better cashflow performance. Shares in engineering consultancy WSP Global benefitted from upbeat sentiment towards infrastructure exposed stocks, while Haynes International's shares rallied as its core aerospace industry market showed welcome signs of stabilisation. Another stock to recover strongly was helicopter services operator Bristow Group. The company's shares rose 30.8% as cost savings came through and activity levels in the global energy markets plateaued. The Andersons' shares surged as the market warmed to the company's exit from the rail sector and as returns improved in the ethanol, grain and plant nutrient markets. Finally, speculation around a potential takeover after the sudden departure of the CEO of Healthcare Trust of America, lifted the shares of this medical property company late in the period, with plentiful private equity interest around now for such high-quality assets.

The losers in the period came from a variety of sectors too. Lundin Mining was weak mainly due to worse than expected production from one of its key mines, though political uncertainty in Chile also served to unsettle investors. Shares in Ollies Bargain Outlet Holdings, which had performed well during the height of the pandemic as its estate remained open, fell by 26.7% as more recent results suggest the company has not held onto market share gains as the wider retail sector has re-opened. Another detractor to performance was fuel card business WEX, with the company flagging a weaker than expected recovery in business volumes and a rise in costs. With relatively high borrowings further acquisitive growth is looking harder to achieve now for the company.

While stock selection in Health care was excellent in overall terms, post-hospital services company Encompass Healthcare was the exception. With the workforce in the US not yet returning to pre-Covid numbers, the market is becoming more concerned about the potential for staff shortages to impact the company as wages are bid up, while a proposed internal reorganisation of the business structure was viewed as putting some revenues at risk. Grand Canyon Education shares also turned lower as enrolment numbers for the company's online courses came under pressure, reflecting the wider labour market situation. In Technology, our holding in data management company Commvault Systems once again lagged as new sales proved hard to come by, while a new position in security analytics company Cognyte Software also underperformed after our purchase, with a hoped-for acceleration in the top line not yet in evidence. Telecoms supplier Infinera's progress was mainly held back by supply chain issues. Elsewhere inland barge operator Kirby's results were disappointing as the company's exposure to a weak US onshore energy market took its toll.

UK

We outperformed in the UK, helped by an elevated level of takeover activity among our holdings, reflecting the earlier referenced upturn in business confidence and readily available financing for deals. UK small caps broadly kept pace with the other markets, with the domestic economy helped by the significant easing of Covid restrictions in the summer.

In Technology we benefitted from the performance of two particular holdings. Alfa Financial Software's shares rose 41.5% as the company announced new contract wins for its asset leasing software, prompting several rounds of broker upgrades and a re-rating. Quixant, a supplier of equipment into the global gambling market, is starting to gain from higher investment in the sector as casinos seek to attract customers back after the pandemic lock-downs.

Stock selection in Financials was also positive, with shares in Draper Esprit (recently renamed Molten Ventures) rising as the venture capital company announced a number of significant valuation uplifts and realisations across its investment portfolio. Begbies Traynor Group's shares rose as the company made progress on its acquisition strategy and there were some tentative signs of higher insolvency volumes. Media sector holdings also helped with agency business Next Fifteen Communications experiencing strengthening trading trends through the period, helped by its focus on data and technology. A new holding in Baltic Classifieds Group, an Eastern European based online classified advertising platform across several vertical markets, got off to a good start in the public arena, rising by 31.5% in the period.

Real estate stocks were lifted by a return to more normal times, easing rent collection pressures. Industrial property company Warehouse REIT in the UK and Sirius Real Estate in the German business park market, continued their successful expansion supported by strong demand for space in their estates. Consumer facing stocks Watches of Switzerland and Hotel Chocolat were also strong performers. The former traded well through the lockdowns and sales have accelerated in the re-opening phase. We bought shares in a placing by the latter to help management lift capacity and support the international development of the Hotel Chocolat brand in the US and Japan. Longer standing holdings in waste management company Biffa and RPS Group also contributed to the outperformance. Biffa has attracted increased investor attention for its sustainability agenda; "Reduce, Reuse, Recover and Recycle", while consultancy business RPS is now starting to see better margins come through alongside a stronger balance sheet situation.

While the afore mentioned stocks and a number of others were key to the outperformance in the period, takeover approaches for Sanne Group, Augean, Ultra Electronics, Vectura Group and Stock Spirits Group were also important. Subsequent to the end of October, we have seen other bids come through for property developer U&I Group and Vivo Energy. A number of the bids are coming from the private equity funds, perhaps not surprisingly given the amount of capital that has gone into the sector.

There are always companies that disappoint in the short-term and this period was no different. One of the worst performers was an IPO from earlier in the year; In The Style, the online retail business based around influencers in fashion lines. After a solid maiden set of results, the company subsequently reported higher customer returns together with rising supply chain costs, leaving the shares down 40.5% from the IPO price. Greetings products supplier IG Design has also been hit by higher costs and guided down profits significantly. A number of our other consumer orientated stocks have also suffered a sell-off on the back of cost pressures, perhaps most notably The Restaurant Group, which had performed well in the early part of 2021. Travel related businesses Dalata Hotel Group and On the Beach Group also underperformed as the resumption of normal trading was pushed out by the ongoing pandemic.

Of the other weaker performers, we sold Go Ahead Group after the company revealed the loss of a train franchise combined with senior management changes, write-downs and a dispute with the UK government. We also decided to exit James Fisher following a very disappointing trading statement in October which undermined confidence in the near and medium-term outlook. Shares in medicines business Clinigen remained under pressure in the period, as the pandemic continued to impact the company and the management team was restructured. In December, this company has become the latest holding on the portfolio to receive a takeover bid and the share price rebounded.

Europe

Our European portfolio also outperformed in the period, delivering better returns than the other regions as economic conditions on the Continent improved.

Some of the best performers in the portfolio came from the more cyclical sectors. Specialist chemicals distributor IMCD Group rose 58.8% as the company's benefitted from a volume uplift and more acquisitions. Hydraulic components and pumps supplier Interpump was also strong as rising end-market demand and orders allowed the company to push through price rises. Industrial consolidator Sdiptech was another strong performer as management increased their targeted expansion plans and moved to the main Stockholm index, lifting investor interest in the stock. Semiconductor equipment supplier ASM International once again beat the market as its industry is seeing a buoyant period of capital spending in response to supply shortages, with individual countries promoting their own local suppliers to reduce dependence on overseas sources. Research and development outsourcing business Alten has also seen a strong pick-up in demand for its services as companies have looked to accelerate their new business plans.

As elsewhere, a number of our Financials holdings did well. In Europe the rise in government bond yields helped to lift our holdings in the banks Ringkjoebing Landbobank in Denmark and Sparebank in Norway, with the market hoping to see improved lending margins. Shares in Italian asset management business Azimut rose 26.4% as the company took in new funds under management helped by supportive markets, while management moved to enhance investor communications.

Another strong stock was facilities business Coor Service Management, which recovered well from the loss of a contract earlier in the year, posting some solid results. Cork products supplier Corticeira Amorim gained as the return of demand for wine from bars and restaurants lifted sales and margins back to 2018 levels. Medical equipment business Stratec was also strong as growth rates accelerated and management lifted profit guidance. Finally, MIPS, the helmet technology company enjoyed another good six months, up by 51.5% as it continued to penetrate existing markets and made encouraging progress addressing broader industrial safety markets.

Of the weaker stocks, as elsewhere a number of holdings have suffered from margin pressure as a result of higher costs. These include glass bottles business Vidrala, recreational vehicles parts business Dometic and industrial/ automotive supplier Norma Group. Shares in food equipment supplier Marel also fell as results proved underwhelming, as did packaging supplier Gerresheimer, where cash-flow performance was below expectations.

We decided to exit several holdings on the back of deteriorating news-flow and outlooks, including Just Eat Takeaway.com, Elekta and Fjordkraft. Just Eat is seeing worrying pressure from more competition across its territories. Medical equipment supplier Elekta also faces a tougher rival in its Far Eastern markets following recent industry consolidation by Siemens. Fjordkraft shares fell 19.4% in the period as sharply rising electricity prices were unable to be passed through quickly enough, raising questions over the business model. Shares in opticians business Mister Spex dropped shortly after we participated in the IPO of the business, with broker forecasts at the time of the float quickly proving to have been too optimistic. Shares in emerging markets facing online retail operator Global Fashion Group fell 40.6% as other online retail peers downgraded guidance, but we retain our confidence in the potential of this company for the long term. We also continue to like the prospects of flatexDEGIRO, the trading platform, although tough comparisons from the lockdown period last year have impacted upon sentiment towards the stock in the last few months.

Japan

This was a slightly disappointing period for the Japanese small cap market. Another change of leadership to a new Prime Minister didn't stimulate much excitement and the yen was quite weak in the period. With inflation in the country remaining negligible, monetary policy in Japan looks likely to remain very loose for longer than elsewhere. The economy slowed sharply in the last few months as the global supply chain problems in areas like the automotive sector impacted the country, with a resurgence in Covid case numbers also hurting consumer spending. Our portfolio did slightly better than the MSCI Japan Small Cap Index in the six months.

We continued to own three funds managed by Aberdeen, Baillie Gifford and Eastspring during the period. The latter's performance was the best, with value stocks leading the way in the period in the Japanese market, while more growth orientated strategies, including Baillie Gifford's fund, found the going harder. There are tentative signs of more corporate activity now in Japan, though not yet anywhere near the scale that we have seen in the UK or US.

Rest of World

Our fund holdings here focus mainly on Asian markets and, over the period, we marginally beat the MSCI All Country Asia-Pacific ex Japan Small Cap Index. We have some exposure too to Latin American markets which were generally weak over the period, undermined by a combination of the impact from the pandemic, political problems, notably in Brazil and Chile, and rising interest rates, with inflation threatening to get out of control in some countries.

Our performance was helped in this period by the 13.9% rise in the share price of The Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust. This fund's high exposure to India helped as that market rallied sharply, while a narrowing of the discount also worked in our favour. Our Aberdeen Standard managed Asian small cap fund also performed strongly over the period. Conversely the HSBC managed fund which had done well in the prior year had a more difficult period, with some of its Chinese stocks suffering, as did the Pinebridge Asia ex Japan Small Cap Fund. China is presently being buffeted by problems in the real estate sector where a number of large development companies have run into financial difficulties. Regulatory interventions into a number of other sectors and companies in China also upset investor confidence in the last few months.

Asset allocation

The chart below shows that there were limited changes to the weightings of the portfolio across the different markets. Our overweight positioning to European markets, which did better than others in the period, meant that in overall terms asset allocation made a minor positive contribution to the outperformance versus the Benchmark. Late in the period we added to our Japanese holdings following that market's underperformance, taking the UK weighting down a little by using the proceeds from some of the takeovers in the domestic market.

Geographical distribution of the investment portfolio
	Portfolio weighting
	31 October 2021 %	30 April 2021 %
North America	40.3	39.7
UK	27.9	28.6
Europe	13.4	13.2
Rest of World	11.2	11.5
Japan	7.2	7.0
Source: BMO GAM

Gearing

Gearing ended the six months at 4.0%, slightly up on the 3.8% at the end of April. We have drawn down further on the revolving credit facility which has been extended for a year to September 2022.

BMO/Columbia Threadneedle

The Bank of Montreal, formerly the parent company of your Company's Manager, BMO Investment Business Limited, has sold its asset management business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Ameriprise Financial Inc. The transaction was completed in early November and as a result, the Manager's business has been merged with Columbia Threadneedle Investments, creating an enlarged research base from which we can draw.

 

Outlook

Stock markets have started the financial year well, supported by the global economic recovery and corporate earnings rebound. With inflation hitting multi-year highs, looking forward, investors need to consider the potential risk to equity valuations from tighter monetary policy, especially in the US. It seems likely however, that interest rates will remain very low compared to prevailing rates of inflation in the main developed markets, providing support for the case to continue to hold on to high quality equities. Having said this, the recent acceleration in Covid case numbers in Europe, the emergence of a new variant of the virus in South Africa and reimposed restrictions are clearly unwelcome developments ahead of the Christmas period.

While recent supply chain and logistical issues are causing disruption to the operations of some businesses, we remain encouraged by the performance of most of the companies in the portfolio. Demonstrating effective cost management and the ability to move up pricing will be important drivers in the near term for company management teams.

Peter Ewins

Lead Manager

13 December 2021

 

Unaudited Condensed Income Statement

for the half-year ended 31 October	2021			2020
	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s
Gains on investments	-	54,226	54,226	-	89,965	89,965
Foreign exchange gains/(losses)	6	(3,037)	(3,031)	6	(548)	(542)
Income	6,945	-	6,945	4,035	-	4,035
Management fees	(644)	(1,933)	(2,577)	(485)	(1,456)	(1,941)
Other expenses	(505)	(10)	(515)	(480)	(13)	(493)
Net return before finance costs and taxation	5,802	49,246	55,048	3,076	87,948	91,024
Finance costs	(115)	(347)	(462)	(100)	(300)	(400)
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation	5,687	48,899	54,586	2,976	87,648	90,624
Taxation on ordinary activities	(403)	-	(403)	(304)	-	(304)
Net return attributable to shareholders	5,284	48,899	54,183	2,672	87,648	90,320
Return per share - pence	0.93	8.57	9.50	0.45	14.71	15.16

The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company.

All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.

 

Unaudited Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity

Half-year ended 31 October 2021		Share	Capital			Total
	Share	premium	redemption	Capital	Revenue	shareholders'
	capital	account	reserve	reserves	reserve	funds
	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s
Balance at 30 April 2021	15,513	212,639	16,158	747,951	15,247	1,007,508
Movements during the half-year ended 31 October 2021
Dividends paid Shares repurchased by the Company and held in treasury	- -	- -	- -	- (20,091)	(6,847) -	(6,847) (20,091)
Net return attributable to equity shareholders	-	-	-	48,899	5,284	54,183
Balance at 31 October 2021	15,513	212,639	16,158	776,759	13,684	1,034,753

Half-year ended 31 October 2020		Share	Capital			Total
	Share	premium	redemption	Capital	Revenue	shareholders'
	capital	account	reserve	reserves	reserve	funds
	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s
Balance at 30 April 2020	15,513	212,639	16,158	464,282	17,923	726,515
Movements during the half-year ended 31 October 2020
Dividends paid Shares repurchased by the Company and held in treasury	- -	- -	- -	- (20,329)	(6,877) -	(6,877) (20,329)
Costs relating to broker	-	(11)	-	-	-	(11)
Net return attributable to equity shareholders	-	-	-	87,648	2,672	90,320
Balance at 31 October 2020	15,513	212,628	16,158	531,601	13,718	789,618

Year ended 30 April 2021		Share	Capital				Total
	Share	premium	redemption	Capital		Revenue		shareholders'
	capital	account	reserve	reserves		reserve		funds
	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s		£'000s		£'000s
Balance at 30 April 2020	15,513	212,639	16,158	464,282		17,923		726,515
Movements during the year ended 30 April 2021
Dividends paid	-	-	-	-		(10,092)		(10,092)
Shares repurchased by the Company and held in treasury	-	-	-	(37,243)		-		(37,243)
Costs relating to broker	-	-	-	(15)		-		(15)
Net return attributable to equity shareholders	-	-	-	320,927		7,416		328,343
Balance at 30 April 2021	15,513	212,639	16,158	747,951		15,247		1,007,508

 

Unaudited Condensed Balance Sheet

	31 October 2021	31 October 2020	30 April 2021
	£'000s	£'000s	£'000s
Fixed assets
Investments	1,076,252	802,536	1,045,255
Current assets
Debtors	5,958	1,535	7,021
Cash and cash equivalents	9,833	21,645	6,870
Total current assets	15,791	23,180	13,891
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Bank loans	(20,043)	-	(8,521)
Creditors	(2,247)	(1,098)	(8,117)
Total current liabilities	(22,290)	(1,098)	(16,638)
Net current (liabilities)/assets	(6,499)	22,082	(2,747)
Total assets less current liabilities	1,069,753	824,618	1,042,508
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
Loan notes	(35,000)	(35,000)	(35,000)
Net assets	1,034,753	789,618	1,007,508
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital	15,513	15,513	15,513
Share premium account	212,639	212,628	212,639
Capital redemption reserve	16,158	16,158	16,158
Capital reserves	776,759	531,601	747,951
Revenue reserve	13,684	13,718	15,247
Total shareholders' funds	1,034,753	789,618	1,007,508
Net asset value per share (debt at par value) - pence	183.62	134.49	175.02

 

Unaudited Condensed Statement of Cash Flows

	Half-year ended	Half-year ended
	31 October 2021	31 October 2020
	£'000s	£'000s
Cash flows from operating activities before dividends received and interest paid	(3,281)	(2,540)
Dividends received	7,473	4,162
Interest paid	(451)	(396)
Cash flows from operating activities	3,741	1,226
Investing activities
Purchases of investments	(103,805)	(92,024)
Sales of investments	121,863	99,703
Transaction costs	(182)	(166)
Other capital charges	(11)	(14)
Cash flows from investing activities	17,865	7,499
Cash flows before financing activities	21,606	8,725
Financing activities
Ordinary dividends paid	(6,847)	(6,877)
Cash flows from share buybacks for treasury shares	(20,287)	(20,693)
Costs relating to broker	-	(11)
Net movement on loans	11,625	-
Cash flows from financing activities	(15,509)	(27,581)
Net movement in cash and cash equivalents	6,097	(18,856)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period	6,870	41,043
Effect of movement in foreign exchange	(3,134)	(542)
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period	9,833	21,645
Represented by:
Cash at bank	931	5,545
Short term deposits	8,902	16,100
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period	9,833	21,645

 

Unaudited Notes on the Condensed Accounts

1  Accounting policies

These condensed financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102, Interim Financial Reporting (FRS 104) and the revised Statement of Recommended Practice "Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts" (SORP) issued by the AIC in October

2019.

The accounting policies applied for the condensed set of financial statements are set out in the Company's annual report for the year ended 30 April 2021.

2  Dividend

The Directors have declared an interim dividend in respect of the year ending 30 April 2022 of 0.57p per share, payable on 28 January 2022 to all shareholders on the register at close of business on 7 January 2022. The amount of this dividend will be £3,191,000 based on 559,859,761 shares in issue at 9 December 2021. This amount has not been accrued in the results for the half-year ended 31 October 2021.

3  Going concern

In assessing the going concern basis of accounting the Directors have had regard to the guidance issued by the Financial Reporting Council. They have also considered the Company's objective, strategy and policy, the current cash position of the Company, the availability of its loan facility, compliance with its covenants and the operational resilience of the Company and its service providers.

The global economy continues to suffer considerable disruption due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Directors have given serious consideration to the consequences for the Company. It has private placement and banking covenants and at present the Company's financial position does not suggest that any of these are close to being breached.

The Company experienced a very substantial decrease in its Net Asset Value during a short period of volatility as a result of the market shock that occurred in March 2020. The Directors have considered the remedial measures that are open to the Company in the event of a recurrence to the extent that a covenant breach could occur. As at 9 December 2021, the last practicable date before publication of this report, borrowings amounted to £55 million. This compares with a Net Asset Value of £1,055 million. In accordance with its investment policy the Company is invested principally in readily realisable, listed securities.

The Company operates within a robust regulatory environment. It retains title to all assets held by the Custodian on its behalf. Cash is held with banks approved and regularly reviewed by the Manager and the Board. The Directors have noted that home working arrangements have continued to work effectively at BMO GAM and many of the Company's key suppliers without any impact on service delivery and operations.

Based on this information the Directors believe that the Company has the ability to meet its financial obligations as they fall due for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, these financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

4  Results

The results for the half-year ended 31 October 2021 and 31 October 2020, which are unaudited and which have not been reviewed by the Company's auditors pursuant to the Auditing Practices Board guidance on 'Review of Interim Financial Information', constitute non-statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The latest published accounts which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies are for the year ended 30 April 2021; the report of the auditors thereon was unqualified and did not contain a statement under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006. The condensed financial statements shown above for the year ended 30 April 2021 are an extract from those accounts.

Directors' Statement of Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Company's principal risks and uncertainties are described in detail under the heading "Principal risks and future prospects" within the strategic report in the Company's annual report for the year ended 30 April 2021. They include:

· Errors, fraud or control failures at service providers or loss of data through business continuity failure or cyber-attacks could damage reputation or investors' interests or result in loss. Cyber risks remain heightened.

· Inappropriate business strategy or policy, or ineffective implementation, could result in poor returns for shareholders. Failure to access the targeted market or meet investor needs or expectations, including ESG and climate change in particular, leading to significant pressure on the share price. Political risk factors could also impact performance as could market shocks such as those experienced in relation to COVID-19.

· A significant share price discount or premium to the Company's NAV per share, or related volatility, could lead to high levels of uncertainty or speculation and the potential to reduce investor confidence. Increased uncertainty in markets due to the effect of COVID-19 could lead to further falls and volatility in the Company's NAV.

The Directors continue to review the key risk register for the Company which identifies the risks that the Company is exposed to, the controls in place and the actions being taken to mitigate them. This is set against a backdrop of continuing uncertainty as a result of the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bank of Montreal's sale of BMO GAM's business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, to Ameriprise Inc., which became effective in early November 2021, and the merger of its operations with Columbia Threadneedle Investments, has introduced potential risk of disruption to BMO GAM's staff and to its operations and service delivery. The level of risk will be elevated until the two firms' systems and processes have been integrated and bedded down.

However, as a result of assurances it has received from the new owner of little change, the Board considers that this risk has not changed materially. Otherwise, the Board believes that there have not been any material changes to the nature of the risks outlined above since the previous annual report and that the principal risks and uncertainties, as summarised, remain applicable to the remaining six months of the financial year. The Board has considered this in relation to going concern, as set out in note 3.

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities in Respect of the Half-Yearly Financial Report

In accordance with Chapter 4 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, the Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge: 

· the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with applicable UK Accounting Standards on a going concern basis, and gives a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and net return of the Company;

· the half-yearly report includes a fair review of the important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the financial statements;

· the Directors' Statement of Principal Risks and Uncertainties shown above is a fair review of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remainder of the financial year; and

· 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.

On behalf of the Board

Anja Balfour

Chairman

13 December 2021

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.

BMO Investment Business Limited,

Company Secretary

ENDS

A copy of the half report will shortly be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at www.fca.org.uk

The half year report for the six months ended 31 October 2021 will be posted to shareholders and made available on the website www.bmoglobalsmallers.com shortly. Copies may also be obtained from the Company's registered office, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2NY.

Legal Entity Identifier: 2138008RRULYQP8VP386

By order of the Board

BMO Investment Business Limited, Secretary

Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2NY

13 December 2021

 

END

 

 

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