Interim Results

EP GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES TRUST plc PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF INTERIM RESULTS The Directors announce the unaudited statement of results for the period from 13 November 2003* to 30 June 2004 as follows:- STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN (incorporating the revenue account**) of the Company 13 November 2003 to 30 June 2004 Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 Gains on investments - 1,680 1,680 Dividends and interest 390 - 390 Investment management fee (90) - (90) Other expenses (141) - (141) Net return before taxation 159 1,680 1,839 Taxation on ordinary activities (21) - (21) Return on ordinary activities after taxation for the period and transfer to reserves 138 1,680 1,818 pence pence pence Return per share *** 0.62 7.54 8.16 * While the Company was incorporated on 13 November 2003, it did not commence operations until 15 December 2003. ** The revenue column of this statement is the revenue account of the Company. *** The revenue return per Ordinary share is based on earnings of £138,000 and on 22,286,124 Ordinary shares being the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the period. The capital return per Ordinary share is based on net capital gains of £ 1,680,000 and on 22,286,124 Ordinary shares being the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the period All revenue and capital items derive from continuing operations. BALANCE SHEET As at 30 June 2004 £'000 Fixed assets Investments 22,104 Current assets Debtors 68 Cash at bank 2,396 2,464 Creditors - amounts falling due within one year 849 Net current assets 1,615 Total net assets 23,719 Capital and Reserves Called up share capital 225 Share premium account 1,092 Special reserve 20,584 Capital reserve - realised 344 unrealised 1,336 Revenue reserve 138 Total shareholders' funds 23,719 pence Net asset value per Ordinary share (including 105.30 current period revenue)* * The net asset value per Ordinary share (excluding current period revenue) at 30 June 2004, as reported to the Association of Investment Trust Companies, was 104.69p. SUMMARISED STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS 13 November 2003 to 30 June 2004 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating activities 195 Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of investments (22,525) Sale of investments 2,822 Net cash outflow from capital expenditure and financial investment (19,703) Net cash outflow before financing (19,508) Financing Proceeds of share issue net of issue 21,904 expenses Net cash inflow from financing 21,904 Increase in cash 2,396 The above financial information has been prepared using the accounting policies set out in the Listing Particulars, which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, and in accordance with applicable accounting standards and with the Statement of Recommended Practice 2003 regarding the Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies. It is the intention of the Directors to conduct the affairs of the Company so that they satisfy the conditions for approval as an investment trust company set out in Section 842 of the Income and Corporations Taxes Act 1988. The above financial information does not constitute statutory financial statements as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Chairman's Statement Investment Performance This is the first opportunity to write formally to shareholders since your Company commenced operations on the 15th December last year and I am pleased to report that a positive start has been made in terms of investment performance. At the end of June 2004, the net asset value per share (including current period revenue) had risen to 105.3p, compared with the issue price of 100p and the opening net asset value, after issue costs, of 97p. The first six months of 2004 was a dull period for world stock markets, with most markets trading within a narrow range. The Japanese equity market was the only major market to gain more than a percent or two over the period. Investment Policy The investment policy followed by our investment manager, Edinburgh Partners, is based on identifying shares in the major global markets that are undervalued on an absolute basis. This is the cornerstone of your Board's belief that the Trust will produce, over time, a superior investment performance. While simple to state, successful implementation of the policy requires adherence to a strict discipline and intensive research built on the back of hard work. The research of our investment manager identified many undervalued shares in Europe and Japan and this has led to the vast majority of the Company's portfolio being invested in these markets. In contrast, the valuation of shares in North America does not look attractive and, in consequence, only 2% of total assets is invested there. Such is the relative attractiveness of the opportunities in the Japanese stock market that it has led Edinburgh Partners to launch a specialist fund investing only in Japan. Your Board approved an investment in this Fund, for part of the Japanese portfolios, as a method of holding an interest in a broader range of Japanese shares than would be practical to hold directly by the Trust. I should make it clear that the Trust does not suffer a second layer of investment management fees by investing in the Edinburgh Partners Japan Opportunities Fund. Income and Dividend Policy The revenue account to the end of June has benefited from a high initial level of cash, as the proceeds of the initial offering have been invested gradually over the period. It is not the intention that any emphasis will be placed on income in the choice of investments. Share selection is made with the objective of generating attractive real long-term returns. This will not prevent our investment manager from buying higher yielding shares if they are believed to offer good value. However, most of the initial investments are low yielding. This is particularly true of the shares purchased in the Japanese market. It is your Board's intention that the majority of the net income earned should be paid out to shareholders in the form of dividends. The Board has decided not to declare an interim dividend, but to wait until the year-end, when a clearer picture of the income generated from the fully invested portfolio will be available. At least in the early years of the Trust, it is likely that the dividend will be relatively small. Share Price and Buying-in Shares Investment performance following the successful launch of your Company started on a positive note and for the first months after launch, the share price stood at a small premium to net asset value. During this period, there was a lack of shares for sale to satisfy further buyers. To fill this demand and avoid an artificial market in the shares, the Trust issued a total of 1,083,259 new shares. All such shares were issued at a price above 100p and at a premium to the net asset value. Hence the action was incremental in value to existing shareholders. By the end of June the share price had dipped to 95.5p, a discount of 9% to the net asset value. At this time, the Company had not completed the legal formalities to enable it to buy-in its own shares. Nonetheless, it is the Board's intention to use the power to buy-in shares in the open market when supply exceeds demand to the extent that a significant discount opens up between the share price and the net asset value. The legal formalities have now been completed and, by the end of July, 80,000 shares had been repurchased for cancellation at a modest discount to the net asset value. As was the case when new shares were issued, this resulted in an enhancement to net asset value per share. Outlook As usual there are a number of issues to be concerned about when investing in equities. Prominent among these are the increase in the price of oil, rising interest rates and the risk of further terrorist outrages. However, our investment manager continues to find shares that represent good value and, as long as this is the case, the Trust will remain relatively fully exposed to equity markets. 1 September 2004 Kenneth Greig Arthur Copple } Edinburgh Partners Limited, telephone: 0131 270 5570
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