Half Year Results 2011

RNS Number : 7754G

JPMorgan Asian Investment Tst PLC

17 May 2011

 



LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN ASIAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED

31ST MARCH 2011

Chairman's Statement

Performance

I am pleased to announce that the Company outperformed its benchmark (the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index) in a six month review period characterised by continued volatility in Asian equity markets. In the period from 1st October 2010 to the beginning of January 2011 the Index rose by just over 10%, albeit with a number of sharp corrections along the way. From its peak on 6th January 2011, however, it then fell by 11.6% in just seven weeks, before climbing again to end the period with a total return of 6.1% for the six months. Under such conditions the Company's return of 6.7% at a portfolio level, net of management fees and expenses, was highly creditable. The return to Ordinary shareholders was 5.6%. The Company's diluted net asset value total return (which assumes that the 11.8 million Subscription shares outstanding at 31st March 2011 were all exercised at 176p per share) was 6.5%. A full commentary on the market environment and review of portfolio performance are set out in the investment managers' report below.

Continuation Vote and Discount Management

Shareholders voted overwhelmingly for the continuation of the Company at the AGM in January and subsequently approved proposals for a one-off tender offer for up to 5% of the Company's Ordinary share capital. This was effected at a 2% discount to net asset value, less the direct costs and expenses of the tender offer. A total of 8,852,698 shares, representing 5% of the Company's then outstanding Ordinary shares, were repurchased at a price of 229.62 pence per share and were subsequently cancelled in late February.  There were no further buy-backs of shares during the review period and there have been no buy-backs subsequent to the period end.

Shareholders also gave approval for a conditional tender offer, which may be implemented in 2012. This conditional tender offer, if implemented, will also be for up to 5% of the Company's Ordinary shares in issue on 30th September 2011 and at the same price formula as the one-off tender offer. The conditional tender offer may be implemented by the Board if the Ordinary shares have traded at an average discount of more than 9% to their diluted cum income NAV over the six month period ending 30th September 2011. If the Board does resolve to implement the conditional tender offer, a circular will be sent to shareholders with the annual report and accounts of the Company in December this year. Since 1st April 2011 to the date of this report, the Company's shares have traded at an average discount of 8.9%.

The annual report & accounts for the year ended 30th September 2010 and the tender offer documents sent to Shareholders articulated the Board's commitment to manage both the absolute level and the volatility of the discount and also described how it may use a range of methods, including tender offers, in prosecution of this objective. The Board remains firm in this resolve.

Subscription Shares

Shareholders are reminded that Subscription shares may be exercised on any business day until 31st March 2014, after which the rights on these shares will lapse. At present the Subscription share exercise price is 176p per share. This exercise price will increase to 203p on 1st April 2012. In the six month period to 31st March 2011, 78,476 Subscription shares were converted into Ordinary shares, raising proceeds of £138,000. As at the date of this Report, a further 22,202 Subscription shares have been exercised, so that a total of £27,644,000 has now been raised for investment by the Company since the Subscription shares were issued, with just over 63% of the original issue of Subscription shares being converted.

Further details on the Subscription shares, including their exercise prices, the apportionments for capital gains tax purposes and how they may be exercised, can be found on the Company's website at www.jpmasian.co.uk and on page 21 of the Company's Half Year Report.

Gearing

Over the period the Company's gearing ranged between 97 and 107%. Reflecting the investment managers' growing caution in the review period, gearing at the end of March was 101%. The Board has a policy that permits the investment managers to use gearing within a range of 90-120% invested.

Outlook

Asian earnings forecasts are generally expected to decline and interest rates to rise, but these negatives are mostly priced in to valuations around the region.  An ascendant US stock market is a positive for Asia. However, events in the Middle East and their effect on the price of oil remain an overhang. On the other hand, the strength of Korean earnings and order books gives strong evidence that the global economy is healing, albeit fitfully.  India's outlook in the short term remains extremely fluid and unpredictable and, within the ASEAN region, monetary tightening is expected to continue. In Greater China, markets are expected to remain volatile and will be wary of a further sharp rise in oil prices. However, over a slightly longer time horizon, optimism about China and Taiwan remains unchanged and valuations, particularly in China, are not obviously stretched. Against this backdrop our investment managers are cautious, but remain confident in their ability to uncover sound investment opportunities that have the potential to deliver strong returns over the longer term.

James M Long

Chairman

17th May 2011

Investment Managers' Report

Market Review

The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index rose 6.1% in sterling terms in the six months ended 31st March 2011, although it was highly volatile over the period. Asian markets rallied strongly at the start of the six month period, on reduced concerns of a double dip recession in the US and as a hard landing in China failed to materialise. Importantly, global central banks signalling possible further quantitative easing measures provided a liquidity boost to equity markets and helped them to rally at the end of 2010 and into 2011. However, markets were later impacted in February and March 2011 by two major developments: the popular uprisings in the Arab world and what will in time be known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake in Japan. These events led to a leap of over 30% in the oil price during the first quarter of 2011 and concerns over supply disruptions due to production stoppages in Japan.

In Asia the main problems faced by policy makers were rising inflation and upward pressure on currencies. Inflation in Asia was exacerbated by temporary food price inflation, but it eventually became clear that this was moderating. Margin pressures came into focus across the Asian manufacturing spectrum especially as one of the consequences of quantitative easing in the West has been to drive liquidity into commodities, underpinning their elevated prices. In China policymakers' actions to rein in monetary policy and control property prices led to Chinese equities underperforming the rest of the region during the period under review. It was only in

March 2011 that investors began to discount further monetary tightening measures and the Chinese equity market began to rally.

In general the top performing markets over the six month period were those that were associated with earnings upgrades and low valuations, such as Korea and Thailand. Several stocks in these countries were also seen as key beneficiaries of supply disruptions post the earthquake, such as petrochemical stocks and Korean automakers. Taiwan also performed very strongly over the period, as the financial sector surged on an improved cross-straits relationship with China and as an improved US consumer end-demand outlook buoyed the performance of technology stocks. However, Taiwan gave up a large part of its gains following the Japanese earthquake due to concerns over the impact that a disruption in component supply from Japan would have on the earnings of the Taiwanese technology sector.

India was the worst performing market over the period. After a strong performance in the first three quarters of 2010, the Indian market was trading at valuation levels above the regional average and was weighed down by earnings downgrades, persistently high inflation, a raft of corruption scandals and large foreign investment outflows.

Performance

At the portfolio level, the Company outperformed our benchmark index by 60 basis points. Throughout the period we employed gearing of 105% on average, which contributed to performance.

If we look at the underlying stock selection, the most significant contributors to performance were our stock picks in Korea. Our large positions in shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy and in construction company Samsung Engineering both rose strongly over the period, on the back of earnings upgrades. Both companies continued to gain market share, see rising international order books and benefit from a relatively weak currency which helped translated earnings. In addition, we had a large overweight in OCI, a manufacturer of polysilicon, a material used in solar cells, which helped performance as the stock rose due to new order wins, especially following the fall-out from the nuclear accident in Japan.

Two petrochemicals stocks in the portfolio, Korea's Kumho Petrochemical and Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Group, also helped performance. We initiated positions in these stocks because we had a positive outlook on the demand/supply outlook and on rising product prices. These stocks received a further boost following the shutdown of competing refining supply in Japan.

In China, we increased positions in cement and building materials stocks after we believed that the stock prices had fallen to sufficiently attractive valuations to factor in the associated risks associated with the property sector. This decision turned out to be profitable, with overweights in China Resources Cement and in China National Building Materials being amongst the top contributors to performance over the period.

Our overweight position in Singapore is driven by our holdings in regional stocks listed on the Singapore exchange or in Singapore companies that derive a significant proportion of their earnings offshore. GMG Global, a Singapore-listed owner of rubber plantations, was one of the top contributors to performance following its outperformance on the back of strong rubber prices. Keppel Corp, Singapore's largest conglomerate and the world's largest manufacturer of offshore oil rigs, was also a strong contributor to performance as rising oil exploration budgets and a replacement cycle led to a sharp increase in Keppel Corp's order books.

On the negative side, performance suffered through stock selection in India, where our holding in Maruti Suzuki was a key negative detractor from performance, as the stock disappointed on earnings due to falling margins driven by rising competitive pressure and input cost. Our overweight in power equipment producer Bharat Heavy and in Infrastructure Development Finance Co. of India also detracted from performance as investors questioned the outlook for infrastructure in India following the raft of corruption scandals.

Holdings in mid-cap Chinese stocks further detracted from performance. Our holdings fared poorly, especially in the fourth quarter of 2010 as increased risk aversion, driven by concerns over continued monetary tightening, led to sharp share price drops in our holdings such as Nine Dragons Paper and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology. Our overweight in China Eastern Airlines also detracted from performance as it fell sharply due to the spike in oil prices. In Taiwan, we were hurt by our underweight in several technology stocks such as Taiwan Semiconductor and smart-phone manufacturer HTC, which both had a strong run due to optimism over demand for their products.

Market Outlook

Asia continues to be supported by reasonable valuations of 13.3 times 2011 price/earnings, earnings upgrades and moderating food inflation. However, overall inflation is being underpinned by buoyant wages and property costs and by rates priced off the US dollar. Central banks across the region will continue to have a tightening bias for the next couple of quarters. In addition, the global backdrop continues to look challenging for Asia with high unemployment in the US and ongoing sovereign debt issues in Europe. The oil price needs to be watched very carefully as there seems to be a general assumption that the oil price will fall back towards the US$100 level. The uncertainty over oil will add to margin pressures in Asia and across the globe and it would be hard for Asia to register positive returns against a backdrop of sustained high oil prices. The next set of corporate results will reflect higher costs and this may bring to an end the current period in which markets have ignored bad news.

We will continue to have limited gearing in the portfolio and focus on stock selection to add value. We may move the portfolio to adopt a more defensive stance, such as by the addition of high-dividend yielding telecommunication stocks, if we believe that the market environment will turn less favourable. However, in the medium to longer term, the balance sheet strength and superior growth prospects of Asia are a sharp contrast to those of Europe and the US and we believe that this will be increasingly recognised and rewarded by investors.

In terms of the countries that the portfolio is invested in, China is near the end of its tightening cycle and we will remain overweight here, especially in view of its relative insulation from further oil price rises. We prefer China to India at present given the latter's higher valuations and earnings downgrades. North Asian export economies may have seen the best of the recent cycle and the effects of supply disruption due to the earthquake in Japan may impact earnings this quarter. We remain underweight in the export orientated sectors and in countries such as Taiwan, as demand in the West is not dependable. Furthermore, Taiwanese technology companies are the most adversely affected by the component shortage out of Japan. In the ASEAN region, Thailand remains as an overweight given its attractive valuation and we have positioned the portfolio to gain exposure to capital expenditure, energy and petrochemicals.

Joshua Tay

Pauline Ng

Investment Managers

17th May 2011

Interim Management Report

The Company is now required to make the following disclosures in its half year report.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company fall into the following broad categories: investment and strategy; financial; accounting, legal and regulatory; corporate governance and shareholder relations and operational. Information on each of these areas is given in the Business Review within the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30th September 2010.

Related Parties Transactions

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 during the period.

Going Concern

The Directors believe, having considered the Company's investment objectives, risk management policies, capital management policies and procedures, nature of the portfolio and expenditure projections, that the Company has adequate resources, an appropriate financial structure and suitable management arrangements in place to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For these reasons, they consider there is reasonable evidence to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.

Directors' Responsibilities

The Board of Directors confirms that, to the best of its knowledge:

(i)                    the condensed set of financial statements contained within the half year financial report has been prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standards Board's Statement 'Half Yearly Financial Reports'; and

(ii)                   the half year management report includes a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the UK Listing Authority Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of the Board

James Long

Chairman

17th May 2011                                                                                                                       

For further information, please contact:

Alison Vincent

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited, Secretary

020 7742 6000

Please note that up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can be found at www.jpmasian.co.uk

Unaudited figures for the six months ended 31st March 2011

Income Statement

for the six months ended 31st March 2011

	(Unaudited)				(Unaudited)				(Audited)
	Six months ended				Six months ended				Year ended
	31st March 2011				31st March 2010				30th September 2010
	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue		Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss	-	25,632	25,632	-		48,482	48,482	-	83,627	83,627
Net foreign currency losses	-	(442)	(442)	-		(1,371)	(1,371)	-	(1,529)	(1,529)
Income from investments	1,726	-	1,726	1,390		-	1,390	7,241	-	7,241
Other interest receivable and similar income	7	-	7	5		-	5	15	-	15
Gross return	1,733	25,190	26,923	1,395		47,111	48,506	7,256	82,098	89,354
Management fee	(1,520)	-	(1,520)	(1,105)		-	(1,105)	(2,413)	-	(2,413)
Performance fee	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	(53)	(53)
Other administrative expenses	(469)	-	(469)	(358)		-	(358)	(792)	-	(792)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation	(256)	25,190	24,934	(68)		47,111	47,043	4,051	82,045	86,096
Finance costs	(322)	-	(322)	(244)		-	(244)	(540)	-	(540)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation	(578)	25,190	24,612	(312)		47,111	46,799	3,511	82,045	85,556
Taxation	(185)	-	(185)	(114)		-	(114)	(514)	-	(514)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation	(763)	25,190	24,427	(426)		47,111	46,685	2,997	82,045	85,042
Return /(loss) per Ordinary share - diluted (note 4)	(0.43)p	14.14p	13.71p	(0.25)p		27.72p	27.47p	1.75p	47.90p	49.65p
Return/(loss) per Ordinary share - undiluted (note 4)	(0.44)p	14.37p	13.93p	(0.26)p		28.95p	28.69p	1.76p	48.20p	49.96p

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

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		Exercised	Capital
Six months ended	share	Share	warrant	redemption	Other	Capital	Revenue
31st March 2011	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
(Unaudited)	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 30th September 2010	44,371	26,438	977	3,789	100,436	265,518	3,473	445,002
Repurchase and cancellation of the Company's own Ordinary shares following a Tender Offer	(2,213)	-	-	2,213	(20,527)	-	-	(20,527)
Exercise of Subscription shares into Ordinary shares	(1)	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of Subscription shares	20	118	-	-	-	-	-	138
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	-	25,190	(763)	24,427
Dividends appropriated in the period	-	-	-	-	-	-	(3,010)	(3,010)
At 31st March 2011	42,177	26,557	977	6,002	79,909	290,708	(300)	446,030
	Called up		Exercised	Capital
Six months ended	share	Share	warrant	redemption	Other	Capital	Revenue
31st March 2010	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
(Unaudited)	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 30th September 2009	40,430	4,187	977	3,009	106,481	183,473	2,920	341,477
Repurchase of the Company's own Ordinary shares for cancellation	(190)	-	-	190	-	(1,491)	-	(1,491)
Exercise of Subscription shares into Ordinary shares	(41)	41	-	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of   Subscription shares	1,021	4,571	-	-	-	-	-	5,592
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	-	47,111	(426)	46,685
Dividends appropriated in the period	-	-	-	-	-	-	(2,444)	(2,444)
At 31st March 2010	41,220	8,799	977	3,199	106,481	229,093	50	389,819
	Called up		Exercised	Capital
Year ended	share	Share	warrant	redemption	Other	Capital	Revenue
30th September 2010	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
(Audited)	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 30th September 2009	40,430	4,187	977	3,009	106,481	183,473	2,920	341,477
Repurchase of the Company's own Ordinary shares for cancellation	(780)	-	-	780	(6,045)	-	-	(6,045)
Exercise of Subscription shares into Ordinary shares	(197)	197	-	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of Subscription shares	4,918	22,054	-	-	-	-	-	26,972
Net return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	-	82,045	2,997	85,042
Dividends appropriated in the year	-	-	-	-	-	-	(2,444)	(2,444)
At 30th September 2010	44,371	26,438	977	3,789	100,436	265,518	3,473	445,002

Balance Sheet

at 31st March 2011

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	31st March 2011	31st March 2010	30th September 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	452,851	427,499	462,427
Current assets
Debtors	4,244	1,941	7,602
Cash and short term deposits	6,136	7,265	31,496
	10,380	9,206	39,098
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Bank loans	(11,229)	(13,185)	(25,384)
Other creditors	(5,972)	(7,330)	(12,096)
Derivative financial instruments	-	(1)	(5)
Net current (liabilities)/assets	(6,821)	(11,310)	1,613
Total assets less current liabilities	446,030	416,189	464,040
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
Bank loans	-	(26,370)	(19,038)
Total net assets	446,030	389,819	445,002
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital	42,177	41,220	44,371
Share premium	26,557	8,799	26,438
Exercised warrant reserve	977	977	977
Capital redemption reserve	6,002	3,199	3,789
Other reserve	79,909	106,481	100,436
Capital reserves	290,708	229,093	265,518
Revenue reserve	(300)	50	3,473
Shareholders' funds	446,030	389,819	445,002
Net asset value per Ordinary
share - diluted (note 5)	259.3p	223.5p	246.7p
Net asset value per Ordinary
share - undiluted (note 5)	265.1p	238.0p	251.4p

Cash Flow Statement

for the six months ended 31st March 2011

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	31st March 2011	31st March 2010	30th September 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating
activities (note 6)	(1,141)	(532)	2,729
Net cash outflow from returns on investments
and servicing of finance	(313)	(229)	(551)
Taxation paid	-	(58)	(120)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from capital expenditure
and financial investment	33,037	(15,480)	(15,665)
Dividends paid	(3,010)	(2,444)	(2,444)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing	(53,348)	10,737	32,885
(Decrease)/increase in cash for the period	(24,775)	(8,006)	16,834
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in
net debt
Net cash movement	(24,775)	(8,006)	16,834
Loans repaid/(drawn down)	33,055	(6,636)	(11,958)
Exchange movements	(447)	(1,369)	(1,524)
Changes in net debt arising from cash flows	7,833	(16,011)	3,352
Net debt at the beginning of the period	(12,926)	(16,278)	(16,278)
Net debt at the end of the period	(5,093)	(32,289)	(12,926)
Represented by:
Cash and short term deposits	6,136	7,265	31,496
Bank loans	(11,229)	(39,554)	(44,422)
Net debt at the end of the period	(5,093)	(32,289)	(12,926)

Notes to the Accounts

for the six months ended 31st March 2011

1.          Financial statements

 The information contained within the Financial Statements in this Half Year Report has not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditors.

            The figures and financial information for the year ended 30th September 2010 are extracted from the latest published Accounts of the Company and do not constitute statutory accounts for that year. Those Accounts have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the report of the auditors which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.

2.         Accounting policies

            The accounts have been prepared in accordance with 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', issued in January 2009.

            All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.

            The accounting policies applied in these Half Year Accounts are consistent with those applied in the Accounts for the year ended 30th September 2010.

3.         Dividends

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	31st March 2011	31st March 2010	30th September 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Final dividend paid in respect of the year ended
30th September 2010 of 1.70p (2009: 1.50p)	3,010	2,444	2,444

No interim dividend has been declared in respect of the six months ended 31st March 2011 (2010: nil).

 4.        (Loss)/return per Ordinary share

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	31st March 2011 £'000	31st March 2010 £'000	30th September 2010 £'000
(Loss)/return per share is based on the following:
Revenue (loss)/return	(763)	(426)	2,997
Capital return	25,190	47,111	82,045
Total return	24,427	46,685	85,042
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during
the period used for the purpose of the diluted calculation	178,199,472	169,930,441	171,274,043
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during
the period used for the purpose of the undiluted calculation	175,349,320	162,727,424	170,217,959
Diluted
Revenue (loss)/return per Ordinary share	(0.43)p	(0.25)p	1.75p
Capital return per Ordinary share	14.14p	27.72p	47.90p
Total return per Ordinary share	13.71p	27.47p	49.65p
Undiluted
Revenue (loss)/return per Ordinary share	(0.44)p	(0.26)p	1.76p
Capital return per Ordinary share	14.37p	28.95p	48.20p
Total return per Ordinary share	13.93p	28.69p	49.96p

The diluted (loss)/return per Ordinary share represents the (loss)/return on ordinary activities after taxation divided by the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the period as adjusted in accordance with the requirements of Financial Reporting Standard 22: 'Earnings per share'.

5.         Net asset value per Ordinary share

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	31st March 2011	31st March 2010	30th September 2010
Diluted
Ordinary shareholders' funds assuming exercise of
Subscription shares (£'000)	466,798	427,448	465,907
Number of potential Ordinary shares in issue	180,035,651	191,247,959	188,888,349
Net asset value per Ordinary share (pence)	259.3	223.5	246.7
Undiluted
Ordinary shareholders' funds (£'000)	446,030	389,819	445,002
Number of Ordinary shares in issue	168,235,868	163,781,834	177,010,090
Net asset value per Ordinary share (pence)	265.1	238.0	251.4

The diluted net asset value per Ordinary share assumes that all outstanding Subscription shares were converted into Ordinary shares at the period end.

6.         Reconciliation of net return on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation to net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities

	(Unaudited)	(Unaudited)	(Audited)
	Six months ended	Six months ended	Year ended
	31st March 2011	31st March 2010	30th September 2010
	£'000	£'000	£'000
Net return on ordinary activities before finance costs
and taxation	24,934	47,043	86,096
Less capital return before finance costs and taxation	(25,190)	(47,111)	(82,045)
Scrip dividends received as income	-	-	(671)
Increase in accrued income	(566)	(260)	(6)
(Increase)/decrease in other debtors	(31)	(8)	3
Decrease in accrued expenses	(29)	(82)	(16)
Overseas taxation	(206)	(114)	(632)
Performance fee paid	(53)	-	-
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities	(1,141)	(532)	2,729

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 half year has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at www.hemscott.com/nsm.do

The half year will also shortly be available on the Company's website at www.jpmasian.co.uk 

where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can also be found.

 

END

 

 

IR UBRVRAWAVAAR