Final Results

JPMorgan American IT PLC 17 March 2008 LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT JPMORGAN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC FINAL RESULTS Total Return to shareholders: +3.5% Total return on net assets: +6.0% Benchmark total return: +3.4% Dividend (S&P 500 Index) 11.00p (2006:11.00p) CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Investment Performance The Company produced a total return on net assets in Sterling terms of 6.0% for the year to 31st December 2007, outperforming the Sterling total return of the S &P 500 Index (our benchmark) of 3.4%. The Company's total return to shareholders was somewhat weaker, at 3.5%, reflecting a widening of the discount from 6.3% to 8.4%. Our benchmark rose by 5.1% (total return) in Dollar terms over the course of the year and, on the same basis, the Company's net asset value increased by 7.7%. The Dollar began 2007 at a rate of 1.96 to the pound and ended at 1.99 having been as low as 2.09 at one point. This protracted weakness of the Dollar, has meant that, once again, for UK, Sterling based investors, returns were reduced, this year by 1.6%. In order to protect against currency fluctuations in respect of the Company's existing £50 million debenture, a currency hedge was put in place on 3rd October 2001 at a $/£ rate of 1.46. The Company's Sterling net asset value in total return terms thus exceeded that of the benchmark index by 2.6% over the year. Performance attribution data shows that the larger companies' portfolio outperformed by 3.2%, with the smaller companies portfolio underperforming by 0.2%. The investment management team has continued its policy of investing in larger, blue chip growth companies on attractive valuations. I am very pleased to report that this is our fifth successive year of outperformance of our benchmark index. For the five year period to 31st December 2007 the total return on net assets in Sterling terms was 56.4% compared with a rise of 45.3%, again in Sterling, by the S&P 500 Index over the same period. The comparable share price return was 52.9%. Revenue Account and Dividends Distributable income, despite an increase in revenue received over the year, fell from 11.28p per share to 10.70p per share, partly due to a transfer from revenue to capital of tax relief on capitalised expenses, totalling £1.1 million (equivalent to 2.57p per share). The Company's dividend policy has been to distribute all, or substantially all, of the available income in each year. In this instance, the Board is proposing to maintain last year's dividend of 11.00p per share and, in doing so, will be drawing around £95,000 from revenue reserves. Shareholders should note that income streams can vary significantly, and the Company's dividend payouts are likely to reflect those variations. After accounting for the payment of the proposed final dividend, this leaves a balance in revenue reserves of £10.0 million (equivalent to 23.40p per share). The dividend will be paid on 3rd May 2008 to shareholders on the register on 10th April 2008. Gearing The Board of Directors sets the overall gearing strategic policy and guidelines and reviews these at each meeting. The investment management team manages the gearing levels actively within these agreed guidelines. At present, there is an upper limit of 20% of shareholders' funds and this can only be increased with Board consent. The £50 million debenture provides the potential to gear up to around 116%. As at the year end, the Company's net gearing level (offsetting cash and near cash against our debenture) was 97% of shareholders' funds, having ranged between 97% and 104% during the year. 'I am very pleased to report that Investment Manager The Company's objective is to provide shareholders with capital growth from a broad portfolio of North American investments. The Board has once again thoroughly reviewed the capabilities of the Investment Manager in order to assess whether JPMorgan Asset Management remains the most appropriate manager of the Company's assets. In addition to scheduled Board Meetings, the Directors have undertaken additional strategy and investment meetings with the named investment managers, conducted comparisons with the peer group both in the UK and the US with regard to performance, fee rates and the costs of management and spent time reviewing the investment management operation whilst in New York for a Board Meeting. The Board has concluded that the ongoing appointment of the existing Investment Manager is in the best interests of shareholders. Management of the Discount The Company's discount widened by 2.1 percentage points over the course of the year, finishing at 8.4%. During the year the discount traded between 6.3% and 10.7%. The Company repurchased a total of 553,500 ordinary shares (1.3% of the shares in issue) at an average discount of 9.5%. The total cost of this repurchase was £3.8 million and this activity enhanced the net asset value by 0.9p per share. The level of repurchases has remained relatively low as demand for the Company's shares in the secondary market has remained stable. A resolution to renew the authority to allow the Company to repurchase up to 14.99% of the share capital will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting. The Board The Board has put in place procedures to ensure that the Company complies fully with the revised Combined Code and the AIC Code on Corporate Governance. In accordance with the Company's Articles of Association, Sarah Bates and George Greener will retire at this year's Annual General Meeting. Sarah Bates, who was appointed in July 2005, has proved to be a knowledgeable and well informed contributor and will seek re-election from shareholders. Due to the pressure of his other commitments, George Greener has indicated, sadly, his intention to stand down as a Director of the Company and he will therefore not be seeking re-election. The Board would like to record its gratitude to George for the insight and guidance he has provided over his eight year tenure as a Director. VAT on Management Fees In 2004, JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust and the AIC made a joint application for the payment of investment trust management fees to be exempt from VAT. In November 2007 the case was found in their favour and, therefore, VAT is no longer being charged on management fees and the Company may be able to seek reimbursement of some of the VAT paid in the past. In the Company's case, this will not represent a material amount as the Company, in the past, has recovered the vast majority of the VAT it has been charged on its management fee. In the absence of a definitive agreement with the Manager or specific guidance from HM Revenue and Customs as to how any reclaims will be effected, it is not yet possible to quantify the amount or timing of any recovery. Companies Act 2006 and new Articles of Association It is proposed that the Company adopts new Articles of Association in order to comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 that have been brought into effect already and those that will be effective from 1st October 2008. The new Act is being introduced in stages and is expected to be fully enacted by 1st October 2009. One of the principal changes will allow the Company to use electronic communications to send half year and annual reports to shareholders, although shareholders will have the right to opt to continue to receive hard copies if they wish and will continue to receive hard copy forms of proxy. The Board is also considering whether to take advantage of new regulations which allow companies not to post the half year report to shareholders, but instead direct shareholders to the Company's website. Both of these measures would reduce the Company's administrative expenses, but the Board would welcome shareholder feedback on these possible changes. Annual General Meeting The Directors and I very much look forward to welcoming shareholders to the Annual General Meeting, which will be held at Trinity House, Tower Hill, London EC3N 4DH on Thursday 8th May 2008 at 2.30 p.m. Garrett Fish, our lead investment manager, will make a presentation to shareholders, reviewing the year and commenting on the outlook for the current year. Outlook The slowdown in the US economy foreseen in last year's report has proven more far reaching than anticipated. Financial markets in the US and elsewhere are volatile and investors face a great deal of uncertainty. We remain confident in the Manager's ability to judge the situation accordingly. Hamish Buchan Chairman 17 March 2008 INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT Market Review The US equity markets began the first half of 2007 on a solid footing as investors remained optimistic that the broad economy could maintain sustainable levels of growth despite the seventeen consecutive interest rate increases undertaken by the Federal Reserve ('the Fed') over recent years. However, heavier than expected reported losses from major financial institutions (resulting from the severe weakness of the US housing market, exposure to sub-prime mortgages and related derivative instruments), and higher energy and commodity prices, all contributed to fears of a looming recession. These fears brought levels of market volatility not seen since the bear market of the early 2000s. Markets became increasingly volatile in early June, as optimism for US growth prospects pushed bond yields sharply higher and the 10 Year Treasury yield approached 5.25%. However, in early July, sub-prime contagion began its domination of the headlines following Bear Stearns' announcement of heavy losses on structured credit hedge funds. This was one of the initial indicators of the problems ahead, and led to fears over credit quality in the mortgage, leveraged and sub-investment grade loan markets, which persisted for the remainder of the year. Stocks fell as liquidity conditions, both in the secondary credit and inter-bank lending markets, began to deteriorate. In order to stem further disruptions, central banks from around the globe began to inject liquidity into the credit markets. Expectations were now raised that the Fed would take decisive action to avert a full blown credit crisis. The Fed delivered and lowered the Fed funds rate by a larger than expected 0.50%, allowing equity markets to rally early in the fourth quarter. However, overall, the fourth quarter was the weakest of what was a precarious year for US equities. Market participants were clearly disappointed when the Fed cut both the Fed Funds and Discount Rate by only 0.25% at its mid-December meeting. Expectations had been quite high that the Fed would take even stronger measures in their efforts to rekindle inter-bank lending activity. It was at this point that policy makers recognized the need to take action, but December's announcement of a US government plan to slow the pace of rising property foreclosures had little impact on investor sentiment. Large cap stocks outperformed small caps in 2007. The S&P 500 Index returned 5.1%, in dollar total return terms, while the Russell 2000 fell 1.6%. Another interesting point of note for 2007 was the dispersion of performance between value and growth investing. Growth indices across the capitalisation ranges outperformed value indices, which, being more heavily weighted to financials, contributed to value stocks posting declines for the year. The largest differential in total returns occurred within small caps. Small cap growth stocks, measured by the Russell 2000 Growth Index, returned 7.1% in dollar terms whilst small cap value stocks, measured by the Russell 2000 Value Index, fell 9.8%, a differential of 16.9 percentage points. Overall Asset Allocation The investment management team is led by Garrett Fish and is responsible for managing the allocation between the two investment portfolios together with the levels of cash and gearing within the limits set by the Board. In recent years the team has worked closely with the Board of Directors to develop modeling tools to assist in both allocation and gearing decisions. In 2007 the gearing level ranged between 97% and 104% of shareholders' funds, with the level at the year end being 97%. At regular intervals, this is adjusted within the gearing guidelines reflecting our outlook on both risk and return for equities and bonds. We reduced gearing significantly during the early part of the year and for the first time in many years had a small net cash position for much of the second half of the year. The weighting in the smaller companies portfolio ranged between 5.7% and 8.7% of the Company's total assets less current liabilities and at the end of the year was 5.7%. This overall investment approach enhanced the potential returns to shareholders and our attribution data shows that in 2007 it was the larger companies portfolio that gave the greatest contribution towards the outperformance of the benchmark index. The large cap outperformance was driven more by stock selection than by sector allocation. Detailed reports on the larger and smaller companies' portfolios are shown below. Large Companies Portfolio Our investment methodology continues to focus on investing in high quality, reasonably valued companies. This style leads us to invest in companies that exhibit good growth characteristics with growing earnings, strong cash flows and reasonable valuations. The large companies portfolio provided positive returns during the year and outperformed the S&P 500 Index. We are pleased with our results in a year when many active managers found it difficult to beat the benchmark. We remain confident that our portfolio of robust large companies offers an attractive investment proposition given current attractive valuations. We also believe we can continue to exploit other opportunities in the large cap sector. Our overweights in information technology (+2.0%) and healthcare (+4.0%) and our underweight in financials (-2.0%) have significantly contributed throughout the year, backed by outstanding performance by companies such as MasterCard, McDonald's and Medco Health Solutions. Sector weightings of Large Cap Portfolio versus S& P 500 as at 31st December 2007 Large Company Overweight/ Sector Portfolio % S&P 500 % Underweight % Financials 18.6 20.6 -2.0 Information Technology 17.7 15.7 +2.0 Health Care 16.0 12.0 +4.0 Consumer Discretionary 10.6 10.0 +0.6 Industrials 10.5 11.2 -0.7 Energy 10.4 10.8 -0.4 Consumer Staples 10.0 9.5 +0.5 Telecomm Services 4.0 3.6 +0.4 Utilities 2.2 3.5 -1.3 Materials 0.0 3.1 -3.1 Source: Wilshire Our overweight position in MasterCard was our major success in 2007 as the company reported quarterly earnings that significantly surpassed Wall Street estimates, with the stock price more than doubling during the year. Its strong performance reflected higher gross Dollar and transaction volumes as consumers continue to shift towards using credit and debit cards to purchase goods. Shares of McDonald's and Yum Brands (owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut restaurant brands) also contributed to performance as both companies shifted their focus to revamped menu offerings and the return of capital through share repurchases and dividends. Previously, both companies had focused on expanding their store numbers as their first priority, over investment returns on their existing stores. Medco Health Solutions is a pharmacy benefits manager that is profiting from the increased focus by corporations on health care costs and the move to more generic drugs, as several blockbuster drugs come off-patent. Medco benefits from the move to generics as they are more profitable to their business than branded drugs. Conversely, our underweight positions in energy and materials, as well as a nil exposure to Apple Computer and an overweight in E-Trade Financial detracted from our performance. Apple Computer detracted from relative performance as the company benefited from the hype around the release of the iPhone which combined with an increased battery life drove its share prices up 117% over the year. E-Trade Financial detracted from our performance as they moved away from their core business of online financial services in banking and trading and moved into, in a very untimely fashion, the mortgage arena and in order to grow this business, used lenient credit standards which seriously impaired their financial health. The table below shows the largest positive and negative stock contributors in our portfolio performance. Positive Contributors Price Weighted Stock Action Performance % Contribution % MasterCard D 103.1 1.63 McDonalds I 49.6 1.52 Medco Health Solutions I 82.6 0.48 Merck B/I 30.2 0.33 Yum Brands B/I 45.5 0.29 Negative Contributors Price Weighted Stock Action Performance % Contribution % Apple Computer1 117.2% -0.68 E-Trade Financial I/S -65.6% -0.47 Wyeth D/I -18.5% -0.33 Citigroup D -26.1% -0.30 Motorola D -37.4% -0.28 I - Increased; D- Decreased; S- Sold; B- Buy Source: Wilshire Price Performance % is based on total return in US$ 1 Not held in the portfolio at year end. Smaller Companies Portfolio The smaller companies portfolio, which is managed by Eytan Shapiro and Tim Parton, has been hit by the general decline in equity markets since late 2007 and this is likely to continue for some time. Our current asset allocation model has positioned us at the lower end of the range of exposure to small companies, based on relative valuation and several other variables. Investors are currently seeking some solace in the perceived greater stability of earnings and the more diversified overseas exposure of larger companies. It is too early to call the end of the bear market in smaller companies, as forecast profits growth will probably still have to be adjusted downwards. However, valuations, in our opinion, are not overly stretched and balance sheets are in better shape in most sectors than usual at this point in the economic cycle. Historically, small cap growth has led the equity market out of bear markets, often with significant and explosive gains. Outlook It seems likely that the fallout from last summer's turn in the credit cycle has further to go. As analysts continue to slash S&P 500 Index earnings estimates out to the second quarter of 2008, expectations for growth in US corporate profits are quite gloomy. Whilst the bulk of the earnings weakness is expected in the financial sector, its large weighting in major US equity indices and the negative implications of diminishing capital for commercial lending activities means that the prospects for the sector are likely to impact the market as a whole. Spillovers into the broad US economy are still in their early stages. Tighter access to financing and slower profit growth should result in more corporate restraint in the coming months. In the short term this means we could see higher unemployment, lower levels of business investment and slower consumer spending, particularly against the backdrop of ongoing weakness in the US housing market. However, every cloud has a silver lining. Whilst corporate cost cutting may impact economic growth in the near term, we see it as a vital tool in reducing inflationary pressures and maintaining corporate profitability. As was the case in prior profit cycles, current earnings challenges are likely to be succeeded by an eventual rebound in profit growth, which ultimately could bode well for stock prices. The ongoing uncertainty that exists in the credit markets and the associated investor risk aversion has created buying opportunities. We have therefore introduced a modest level of gearing into the portfolio. We are adhering to the maxim of buy on fear and sell on greed, whilst being mindful not to go in too strongly too quickly. Furthermore, the asset allocation model that we have used over the last several years has now turned positive towards equities versus bonds. We have already made purchases to rebalance our position in financials, even though there are not, as yet, any clear signals regarding the credit markets, and we will look to increase our exposure to consumer areas when conditions seem appropriate. We are currently overweight in aerospace/defense, software and healthcare areas. Garrett Fish Investment Manager 17 March 2008 For further information, please contact: Andrew Norman For and on behalf of JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited - Secretary 020 7742 6000 JPMorgan American Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st December 2007 Income Statement (Unaudited) (Audited) Year ended 31st December 2007 Year ended 31st December 2006 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Gains from investments held at fair value through profit or loss - 16,742 16,742 - 5,703 5,703 Net foreign currency (losses)/ gains - (275)* (275) - 1,431* 1,431 Income from investments 7,098 - 7,098 6,235 - 6,235 Other interest receivable and similar income 968 - 968 1,065 - 1,065 _______ ________ _______ _______ ________ _______ Gross return 8,066 16,467 24,533 7,300 7,134 14,434 Management fee (345) (1,378) (1,723) (366) (1,465) (1,831) Other administrative expenses (450) - (450) (516) - (516) _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Net return on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation 7,271 15,089 22,360 6,418 5,669 12,087 Finance costs (692) (2,768) (3,460) (713) (2,851) (3,564) _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Net return on ordinary activities before taxation 6,579 12,321 18,900 5,705 2,818 8,523 Taxation (1,974) 1,101 (873) (821) - (821) ______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ Net return on ordinary activities after taxation 4,605 13,422 18,027 4,884 2,818 7,702 ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== Return per share (note 2) 10.70p 31.18p 41.88p 11.28p 6.50p 17.78p ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== *Includes £311,000 loss (2006: £3,831,000 gain) on forward FX contract. Dividends proposed in respect of the year ended 31st December 2007 total 11.0p per share (2006: 11.0p per share) costing £4,700,000 (2006: £4,761,000). 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 American Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st December 2007 Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds Called up Capital Share Share redemption Capital Revenue capital premium reserve reserve reserve Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 At 31st December 2005 10,870 18,906 7,963 256,320 14,966 309,025 Repurchase and cancellation of shares (50) - 50 (1,295) - (1,295) Total return from ordinary activities - - - 2,818 4,884 7,702 Transfer of accumulated tax relief on expenses charged to capital - - - 1,538 (1,538) - Dividends appropriated in the year - - - - (3,445) (3,445) _______ ________ ________ _______ _______ ________ At 31st December 2006 10,820 18,906 8,013 259,381 14,867 311,987 Repurchase and cancellation of shares (138) - 138 (3,783) - (3,783) Total return from ordinary activities - - - 13,422 4,605 18,027 Dividends appropriated in the year - - - - (4,761) (4,761) _______ ________ ________ _______ _______ ________ At 31st December 2007 10,682 18,906 8,151 269,020 14,711 321,470 ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== JPMorgan American Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st December 2007 Balance sheet (Unaudited) (Audited) 31st December 2007 31st December 2006 £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Investments at fair value through profit or loss 334,223 347,979 Current assets Derivative instrument 11,863 12,174 Debtors 2,393 610 Cash and short term deposits 23,748 1,347 _______ _______ 38,004 14,131 Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (1,062) (457) _______ _______ Net current assets 36,942 13,674 _______ _______ Total assets less current liabilities 371,165 361,653 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (49,695) (49,666) _______ _______ Total net assets 321,470 311,987 ===== ===== Capital and reserves Called up share capital 10,682 10,820 Share premium 18,906 18,906 Capital redemption reserve 8,151 8,013 Capital reserve 269,020 259,381 Revenue reserve 14,711 14,867 _______ _______ Shareholders' funds 321,470 311,987 ===== ===== Net asset value per share (note 3) 752.4p 720.9p ===== ===== JPMorgan American Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the year ended 31st December 2007 Cash Flow Statement (Unaudited) (Audited ) 31st December 2007 31st December 2006 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating activities 5,008 4,074 Returns on investment and servicing of finance Interest paid (3,452) (3,533) Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of investments (84,586) (149,756) Sales of investments 113,299 143,868 Other capital charges (26) (8) _______ _______ Net cash inflow/(outflow) from capital expenditure and financial investment 28,687 (5,896) Dividends paid (4,761) (3,445) _______ _______ Net cash inflow / (outflow) before financing 25,482 (8,800) Financing Repurchase and cancellation of the Company's shares (3,117) (1,295) _______ _______ Net cash outflow from financing (3,117) (1,295) _______ _______ Increase/(decrease) in cash for the year 22,365 (10,095) ===== ===== Notes to the Accounts 1. Accounting policies This preliminary announcement is prepared on the basis of the accounting policies as stated in the previous year's financial statement. Whilst the financial information included in this preliminary announcement has been computed in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (UK GAAP), this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with UK GAAP. The Company expect to publish full financial statements that comply with UK GAAP. 2. Return per share (Unaudited) (Audited) Year ended Year ended 31st December 2007 31st December 2006 £'000 £'000 Return per share is based on the following: Revenue return 4,605 4,884 Capital return 13,422 2,818 _______ ______ Total return 18,027 7,702 ====== ===== Weighted 43,043,333 43,306,372 average number of shares in issue Revenue return 10.70p 11.28p per share Capital return 31.18p 6.50p per share _______ ______ Total return per share 41.88p 17.78p ====== ===== 3. Net asset value per share Net asset value Net assets per share attributable 2007 2006 2007 2006 pence pence £'000 £'000 Ordinary shares 752.4 720.9 321,470 311,987 Net asset value per share is based on the net assets attributable to the ordinary shareholders of £321,470,000 (2006: £311,987,000) and on the 42,725,949 (2006: 43,279,449) shares in issue at the year end. 4. 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 December 2006 or 2007. The financial information for the year ended 31st December 2006 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under s237 (2) or (3) Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts for the year ended 31st December 2007 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 December 2007 will be finalised on the basis of the information presented by the directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the approval of the accounts by the Board of Directors. JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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