Final Results

RNS Number : 7413C

JPMorgan American IT PLC

10 March 2011

 



LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2010

Chairman's Statement

-          Another good year for the US stockmarket

-          Discount to net asset value has narrowed and dividend is maintained

-          Slight NAV underperformance vs. benchmark index but strong long-term record is intact

-          Succession plan in place for your Board

Investment Performance

Over the year to 31st December 2010, the Company produced a total return on net assets of 17.8% in sterling terms, marginally underperforming the total return of the S&P 500 Index (our benchmark) of 18.3%. The Company's share price total return was stronger, at 21.7%. Over the longer term the Company's record remains strong, particularly since 2002 when the current manager took over responsibility and various other risk and gearing controls were introduced.

The dollar began 2010 at a rate of 1.61 to the pound and strengthened marginally over the year, ending at 1.57. This relative weakness in sterling has meant that returns to UK based investors were enhanced by around 3%. In order to protect against currency fluctuations in respect of the Company's £50 million debenture, a currency hedge was put in place in 2001 at a $/£ rate of 1.46.

The Company's net asset value in sterling total return terms thus underperformed its benchmark index by 0.5 percentage points over the year. Performance attribution data shows that the larger companies portfolio underperformed by 2.1%, with the smaller companies portfolio outperforming by 1.6% along with a positive contribution of 1.1% from gearing/cash effect. Although we are disappointed in the short-term underperformance of the larger companies portfolio, we continue to support the manager in the policy of investing in larger, quality companies on attractive valuations.

Revenue Account and Dividends

Net revenue after taxation for the year was £4,517,000 (2009: £4,540,000) and earnings per share were 10.56p (2009: 10.63p). Revenue was almost flat as banks and other financials retained cash to repair their balance sheets and other companies cast around for acquisition candidates amongst the recession casualties.

The Company's dividend policy has been to distribute all, or substantially all, of the available income in each year. Despite the modest decline in earnings, the Board is proposing to maintain last year's dividend of 11.0p per share and, in doing so, will be drawing around £197,000 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 £9.8 million (equivalent to 22.9p per share or 2.1 times our current dividend). The dividend will be paid on 9th May 2011 to shareholders on the register on 8th April 2011.

Gearing

The Board of Directors sets the overall gearing strategy 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 113%. As at the year end, the Company's net gearing level (offsetting cash and near cash against our debenture) was 104% of shareholders' funds, having ranged between 104% and 111% during the year.

Management of the Discount

The Company's discount of share price to net asset value ('NAV') calculated with debt at fair value and including income, narrowed by 3 percentage points over the course of the year, finishing at 0.3%. During the year the shares traded between a 6.0% discount and a 0.8% premium. The Company issued 125,000 new shares at a premium to NAV of 1.5% in July 2010. Whilst the Company did not repurchase any shares during the year, the Board believes that such a facility is an important tool in the management of discount volatility. A resolution to renew the authority to allow the Company to repurchase up to 14.99% of its share capital will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting.

Investment Manager

The Company's objective is to achieve capital growth from North American investments by outperformance of the Company's benchmark. The Board has once again thoroughly reviewed the capabilities of the Investment Manager in order to assess whether J.P.Morgan 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 an appropriate peer group both in the UK and the US (with regard to performance, fee rates and costs of management) and spent time reviewing the investment management operation whilst in New York for a Board Meeting. We have concluded that the ongoing appointment of the existing Investment Manager is in the best interests of shareholders.

The Board

The Board has put in place procedures to ensure that the Company complies fully with the revised Combined Code and the Association of Investment Companies ('AIC') Code on Corporate Governance™.

The Director retiring by rotation at this year's Annual General Meeting is Sarah Bates, who, being eligible, offers herself for re-election. Sarah, who was recently appointed Chairman of the AIC, has been a Director of the Company since July 2005. The Board strongly recommends her re-election.

In addition, I, having served as a Director for over nine years, also retire and offer myself for re-election. The Board does not believe that length of service in itself should disqualify a director from seeking re-election and, in proposing my re-election, it has taken into account the ongoing requirements of the Combined Code, including the need to refresh the Board and its Committees. The Nomination Committee has carefully reviewed my performance as Chairman and the merits of my continued Chairmanship and recommends my re-election.

I should point out that it has been agreed that I will retire from the Board at the Annual General Meeting in 2012, so this will be my last year as a Director of the Company. The Board has reviewed in detail its succession policy plans and has concluded that Sarah Bates should take over as Chairman at that time.

The Nomination Committee has reviewed the fees paid to Directors, which have remained unchanged since 2004. Cognisant of this fact, the strong medium to long term performance of the Company and the increased regulatory requirements that have been or are soon to be introduced, the Committee has recommended that they be increased. The aggregate level of fees payable in any one year remains below the maximum stipulated in the Articles of £175,000.

Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ('AIFM')

On 11th November 2010, the European Parliament approved the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. This Directive is expected to be brought into force under European Law shortly with the provisions to be implemented through secondary legislation to be promulgated in each European Union Member State, within the following two years. Although it is too early to be certain as to the impact on the Company, it seems likely that there will be changes, and possibly an increase, in the Company's governance, administration and custodian expenses. The Board and the Company's advisers will continue to monitor the progress and likely implications of the Directive.

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 Friday 6th May 2011 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. It would be helpful if shareholders could submit, in advance and in writing, any detailed or technical questions that they wish to raise at the Annual General Meeting, to the Company Secretary at Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ.

Outlook

In his report on pages 5 to 8 our Manager expresses his optimism for the US markets over the medium term. The economic recovery continues, albeit at a modest pace, corporate earnings and profits are generally strong and new jobs are being created. The Board shares this optimism although recognises the risks posed by unresolved debt issues both in the US and Europe, by inflation and by the recent unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.

Hamish Buchan

Chairman                                                                                                                     10th March 2011

Investment Manager's Report

Market Review

After a strong second half recovery, 2010 was a rewarding year for US equity investors with the S&P 500 Index returning 14.7% in US dollar total return terms and 18.3% in sterling terms. By late December the equity market had fully recouped all the losses that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the recession that followed. 2010 marked another step in the recovery for US equities. The performance of the index does not, however, fully reflect the further strong performance from the US corporate sector which, in the end, overcame macro-economic worries. Operating earnings are likely to have risen by 38% and are well above the levels most were predicting at the start of the year. Strong operating leverage combined with a recovery in revenues drove profit margins close to all time highs. A slowly improving domestic economic backdrop and continued growth in the emerging world all helped, while the typical American company has managed costs aggressively through the downturn and is experiencing a very strong recovery in profits as demand now picks up.

The Company's net asset value total return rose by 17.8%, a 0.5 percentage point underperformance against our benchmark, the S&P 500 Index.

Overall Asset Allocation and Performance

The investment management team is responsible for managing the allocation between the two investment portfolios, together with the levels of cash and gearing. In recent years your investment team has worked closely with the Board of Directors to develop modelling tools to assist in both asset allocation and gearing decisions. In 2010, the Company's gearing ranged between 104% and 111% of shareholders' funds, with the level at the year end being 104%. The level of gearing has been adjusted at regular intervals within the gearing guidelines laid down by the Board to reflect the outlook on risk and return for both equities and bonds. We maintained a relatively high level throughout most of 2010 as our gearing asset allocation model favoured equities. We reduced the level in late November as equities had gone through a period of outperformance, leading us to lower our risk appetite.

The weighting in the smaller companies portfolio ranged between 6.9% and 7.7% of the Company's total assets less current liabilities and ended the year at 7.3%. We believe that our ability to move between the two segments enhances potential returns to shareholders.

Attribution data for 2010 in the table overleaf shows that there were positive contributions from the smaller companies portfolio and from our active management of gearing. The larger companies portfolio underperformed by 2.1% primarily as a result of our overweight exposure to stocks with value characteristics which did not perform as well as we had expected. Further details 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 participated in the markets advance, but underperformed the S&P 500 Index. While we are somewhat disappointed with the return generated by the portfolio, we remain confident that our portfolio of robust, large companies, offers good value at present.

Within the portfolio, the largest detractor from performance was weak stock selection, with the portfolio's health care and technology holdings inflicting the most damage. Within health care, our health care services and medical equipment stocks were the biggest drag on relative performance. Shares of Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefits manager, declined 4% for the year on pricing concerns and were the largest detractor in the health care services segment. Within the medical equipment segment, the portfolio's exposure to Medtronic was the top detractor. Its share price declined 13% as the medical device maker lowered its fiscal 2011 earnings estimate. We continue to hold both of these companies as, we believe, they trade at attractive valuations and will offer good returns in the future.

Sector Weightings of the Large Cap Portfolio versus S&P 500 as at 31st December 2010

	Large
	Company		Overweight/
	Portfolio	S&P 500	Underweight
Sector	%	%	%
Technology	16.6	17.2	-0.6
Energy	16.3	12.1	4.2
Financial Services	15.6	16.8	-1.2
Health Care	13.9	10.7	3.2
Consumer Discretionary	11.5	12.3	-0.8
Producer Durables	10.3	11.3	-1.0
Consumer Staples	7.6	9.2	-1.6
Utilities	5.4	6.2	-0.8
Materials & Processing	2.8	4.1	-1.3

Source: Wilshire.

In contrast, the portfolio's utilities and energy exposures added the most value. Within utilities, the portfolio's overweight position in CenturyLink was the top contributor to relative performance as the stock advanced 38% in 2010. The Company announced that it will buy Qwest Communications for $10.6 billion in stock, making it the third largest provider of traditional local phone service in the United States. CenturyLink generates significant cash flow, and we believe the transaction with Qwest will further strengthen its prospects. Within energy, the portfolio's oil service stocks contributed the most with an overweight position in National Oilwell Varco adding the most value. The stock advanced 54% over the year as the company reported strong earnings as well as a strong order book.

The table below shows the largest positive and negative stock contributors to the portfolio's performance in 2010:

			Price
		Performance			Contribution
Stock	Action	%			%
Positive Contributors
National Oilwell Varco	I	54.0			0.6
Parker-Hannifin	B	62.8			0.3
Marriott International	B	53.4			0.3
Cummins	B	142.7			0.2
CenturyLink	D	38.0			0.2
Negative Contributors
Hewlett Packard	D	-17.7			-0.5
Microsoft	I	-6.5			-0.4
MasterCard	I	-12.2			-0.3
Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold	S	52.6			-0.3
Oshkosh Corporation	I		-4.8	-0.3

I = Position increased;  D = Position decreased;  S = Holding sold out;  B = New purchase.

Source: Wilshire.

Smaller Companies Portfolio

Small companies outpaced large companies in 2010 with the Russell 2000 Growth Index returning 27.4% in US dollar total return terms. Over the course of the year the smaller companies portfolio benefited from the market rewarding higher growth and had a positive effect on the overall performance of the Company. Stock selection drove relative returns, primarily from the consumer discretionary and producer durables sectors. Within the smaller companies portfolio, we are finding opportunities across many sectors at this time. The fundamentals remain in good shape with growth stocks looking particularly attractive. As a result, the companies with the potential to grow the most are carrying a valuation rating that, unusually, is very similar to the rest of the market. The portfolio's largest overweight remains technology as we continue to have high conviction in stocks associated with cloud computing, internet security, and data storage. As has been the case since the middle of the year, the portfolio is underweight in the consumer sector. Tougher competition, higher input costs and lower margins cause us to be slightly cautious. Overall, the fundamentals of smaller companies continue to be strong and we are encouraged by the current opportunities to invest in high quality companies that have potential for sustainable growth.

Outlook

At the start of last year, we expected 2010 to be a year of at least average market returns. With a total return of 14.7% in US dollar terms for the S&P 500, this turned out to be a pretty reasonable forecast. We now expect market returns to be reasonable over the next 12 months and at least up to the typical long-term expectations of 8-10% gains.

We think the corporate sector is in very good shape with profitability set to make further gains in 2011, although the rate of improvement will surely slow down as margins approach previous peaks. Furthermore, the market still doesn't look expensive, especially in relation to bonds, with a level of equity risk premium well above the levels that have been typical of the last 25 years. Domestic equity mutual fund flows, for example, remained negative until the very end of 2010, with the 54-month period of bond funds outselling active equity funds only broken in November. So there appears to be plenty of room for this new found confidence in the outlook to translate into stronger retail investment flows into the stock market.

However, as the consensus becomes more optimistic and prices become more demanding, we do have to pay increasing attention to the risks. The global backdrop is becoming more challenging. Unresolved European sovereign debt issues are obviously troubling, and the lack of progress or political will to address the US Federal deficit runs the risk that sooner or later similar concerns will be reflected in our markets here. Meanwhile, inflation is becoming a reality in the emerging economies that have been such a source of strength to the global economy (and US corporate profits) over the past few years, and action to correct that inflation is likely to cause uncertainty and volatility in the year ahead. In addition, the turmoil unfolding in North Africa and the Middle East will be a key determinant of market sentiment in the near term. At home, we think the housing market is stabilising but don't see much improvement in sight, while unemployment will likely improve at a very slow rate. We believe that the Federal Reserve is likely to keep short-term interest rates at these low levels, unless there is an unexpected spike in US inflation.

Corporate profitability is already rising, and individual consumers appear to exude increasing confidence. Both should sustain the momentum of recovery in 2011.

Garrett Fish

Investment Manager                                                                                                    10th March 2011

Principal Risks

With the assistance of the Manager, the Board has drawn up a risk matrix, which identifies the key risks to the Company. These key risks fall broadly under the following categories:

•     Investment and Strategy: An inappropriate investment strategy, for example asset allocation or the level of gearing, may lead to underperformance against the Company's benchmark index and peer companies, resulting in the Company's shares trading on a wider discount. The Board manages these risks by diversification of investments through its investment restrictions and guidelines which are monitored and reported by the Manager. JPMAM provides the Directors with timely and accurate management information, including performance data and attribution analyses, revenue estimates, liquidity reports and shareholder analyses. The Board monitors the implementation and results of the investment process with the Investment Managers, who attend all Board meetings, and reviews data which show statistical measures of the Company's risk profile. The Investment Managers employ the Company's gearing within a strategic range set by the Board. The Board holds a separate meeting devoted to strategy each year.

•     Market: Market risk arises from uncertainty about the future prices of the Company's investments. It represents the potential loss that the Company might suffer through holding investments in the face of negative market movements. The Board considers asset allocation, stock selection and levels of gearing on a regular basis and has set investment restrictions and guidelines, which are monitored and reported on by JPMAM. The Board monitors the implementation and results of the investment process with the Manager.

•     Accounting, Legal and Regulatory: In order to qualify as an investment trust, the Company must comply with Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 ('Section 1158') (formerly Section 842 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988). Were the Company to breach Section 1158, it might lose investment trust status and, as a consequence, gains within the Company's portfolio could be subject to Capital Gains Tax. The Section 1158 qualification criteria are continually monitored by JPMAM and the results reported to the Board each month. The Company must also comply with the provisions of the Companies Act and, since its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the UKLA Listing Rules and Disclosure & Transparency Rules ('DTRs'). A breach of the Companies Act could result in the Company and/or the Directors being fined or the subject of criminal proceedings. Breach of the UKLA Listing Rules or DTRs could result in the Company's shares being suspended from listing which in turn would breach Section 1158. The Board relies on the services of its Company Secretary, JPMAM, and its professional advisers to ensure compliance with The Companies Act and the UKLA Listing Rules and DTRs.

•     Corporate Governance and Shareholder Relations: Details of the Company's compliance with Corporate Governance best practice, including information on relations with shareholders, are set out in the Corporate Governance report within the Annual Report.

•     Operational: Disruption to, or failure of, JPMAM's accounting, dealing or payments systems or the custodian's records could prevent accurate reporting and monitoring of the Company's financial position. Details of how the Board monitors the services provided by JPMAM and its associates and the key elements designed to provide effective internal control are included within the Internal Control section of the Corporate Governance report within the Annual Report.

•     Financial: The financial risks arising from the Company's financial instruments include market price risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk and credit risk. Further details are disclosed in note 22 within the Annual Report.

Directors' Responsibilities

The Directors each confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

(a) the financial statements, prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and Applicable Law), give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company; and

(b) the Annual 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 face.

Hamish Buchan

Chairman

10th March 2011

Income Statement

for the year ended 31st December 2010

			2010			2009
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Gains on investments held at fair value
through profit or loss		-	57,239	57,239	-	25,902	25,902
Net foreign currency (losses)/gains*		-	(1,136)	(1,136)	-	5,955	5,955
Income from investments		7,023	-	7,023	7,072	-	7,072
Other interest receivable and similar income		14	-	14	12	-	12
Gross return		7,037	56,103	63,140	7,084	31,857	38,941
Management fee		(379)	(1,516)	(1,895)	(325)	(1,299)	(1,624)
Performance fee writeback		-	36	36	-	108	108
Other administrative expenses		(448)	-	(448)	(465)	-	(465)
Net return on ordinary activities
before  finance costs and taxation		6,210	54,623	60,833	6,294	30,666	36,960
Finance costs		(697)	(2,789)	(3,486)	(694)	(2,775)	(3,469)
Net return on ordinary activities
before  taxation		5,513	51,834	57,347	5,600	27,891	33,491
Taxation		(996)	-	(996)	(1,060)	52	(1,008)
Net return on ordinary activities
after taxation		4,517	51,834	56,351	4,540	27,943	32,483
Return per share (note 3)		10.56p	121.14p	131.70p	10.63p	65.40p	76.03p

*Includes £1,314,000 loss (2009: £6,947,000 gain) on a forward foreign currency contract which acts to hedge the currency risk in respect of the geared portion of the portfolio.

The dividend proposed in respect of the year ended 31st December 2010 amounts to 11.0p (2009: 11.0p) per share, costing £4,714,000 (2009: £4,700,000). More details can be found in note 2 below.

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 prepared under guidance issued by the Association of Investment Companies. 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.

Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds

	Called up		Capital
	share	Share	redemption	Capital	Revenue
	capital	premium	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 31st December 2008	10,682	18,906	8,151	241,075	14,864	293,678
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	27,943	4,540	32,483
Dividends appropriated in the year	-	-	-	-	(4,695)	(4,695)
At 31st December 2009	10,682	18,906	8,151	269,018	14,709	321,466
Issue of ordinary shares to the market	31	872	-	-	-	903
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	51,834	4,517	56,351
Dividends appropriated in the year	-	-	-	-	(4,700)	(4,700)
At 31st December 2010	10,713	19,778	8,151	320,852	14,526	374,020

Balance Sheet

at 31st December 2010

		2010	2009
		£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss		389,743	357,900
Investment in liquidity fund held at fair value through profit or loss		29,831	8,745
		419,574	366,645
Current assets
Derivative instrument		3,314	4,628
Debtors		1,628	518
Cash and short term deposits		30	501
		4,972	5,647
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(744)	(654)
Net current assets		4,228	4,993
Total assets less current liabilities		423,802	371,638
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year		(49,782)	(49,753)
Provisions for liabilities and charges		-	(419)
Total net assets		374,020	321,466
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital		10,713	10,682
Share premium		19,778	18,906
Capital redemption reserve		8,151	8,151
Capital reserves		320,852	269,018
Revenue reserve		14,526	14,709
Shareholders' funds		374,020	321,466
Net asset value per share (note 4)		872.8p	752.4p

The Company's registration number is 15543.

Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 31st December 2010

		2010	2009
		£'000	£'000
Net cash inflow from operating activities		3,400	3,582
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest		(3,438)	(3,444)
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchases of equity investments		(110,725)	(107,625)
Purchases of liquidity fund		(87,349)	(33,173)
Sales of equity investments		134,683	106,584
Sales of liquidity fund		66,587	37,381
Other capital charges		(10)	(16)
Net cash inflow from capital expenditure and financial investment		3,186	3,151
Dividend paid		(4,700)	(4,695)
Net cash outflow before financing		(1,552)	(1,406)
Financing
Issue of ordinary shares to the market		903	-
Net cash inflow from financing		903	-
Decrease in cash in the year		(649)	(1,406)

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31st December 2010

1.          Accounting policies

            Basis of accounting

            The accounts are prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice ('UK GAAP') 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 (AIC) in January 2009. All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.

            The policies applied in these accounts are consistent with those applied in the preceding year.

2.         Dividends

            Dividends paid and proposed

	2010	2009
	£'000	£'000
Unclaimed dividends refunded to the Company1	-	(5)
2009 Final dividend paid of 11.0p (2008: 11.0p)	4,700	4,700
Net dividend paid in the year	4,700	4,695
2010 Final dividend proposed of 11.0p (2009: 11.0p)	4,714	4,700

            1Represents dividends which remain unclaimed after a period of 6 years and thereby become the property of the Company.

            The final dividend has been proposed in respect of the year ended 31st December 2010 and is subject to approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. In accordance with the accounting policy of the Company, this dividend will be reflected in the accounts for the year ending 31st December 2011.

3.         Return per share

            The revenue return per ordinary share of 10.56p (2009: 10.63p) is based on the revenue earnings attributable to the ordinary shares of £4,517,000 (2009: £4,540,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 42,788,449 (2009: 42,725,949).

            The capital return per ordinary share of 121.14p (2009: 65.40p) is based on the capital return attributable to the ordinary shares of £51,834,000 (2009: £27,943,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 42,788,449 (2009: 42,725,949).

            The total return per ordinary share of 131.70p (2009: 76.03p) is based on the total return attributable to the ordinary shares of £56,351,000 (2009: £32,483,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 42,788,449 (2009: 42,725,949).

4.         Net asset value per share

            The net asset value per share of 872.8p (2009: 752.4p) is based on the net assets attributable to the ordinary shareholders of £374,020,000 (2009: £321,466,000) and on the 42,850,949 (2009: 42,725,949) shares in issue at the year end.

5.         Status of announcement

2009 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2009 are extracted from the published Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2009 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for that year.  The Annual Report and Accounts has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the Report of the Independent Auditor which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

2010 Financial Information

         The figures and financial information for 2010 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2010 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year. The Annual Report and Accounts includes the Report of the Independent Auditor which is unqualified and does not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. The Annual Report and Accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course.

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

JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED

ENDS

A copy of the annual report will shortly be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at www.hemscott.com/nsm.do

The annual report will also shortly be available on the Company's website at www.jpmamerican.co.uk where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can also be found.

JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED

 

END

 

 

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