Final Results

RNS Number : 7430W

JPMorgan Russian Securities PLC

30 January 2013

 



LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN RUSSIAN SECURITIES PLC

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FINAL RESULTS

The Directors of JPMorgan Russian Securities plc announce the Company's results

for the year ended 31st October 2012.

Chairman's Statement

During the year under review Russian equities fared somewhat better when compared with 2011. Nonetheless the market remained volatile and ended the year lower than at the start, a disappointing outcome in the context of positive performances from other major emerging markets. Although your Company's net asset value ('NAV') also fell in this period, I am pleased to announce that performance exceeded that of its benchmark by a strong margin. In the financial year to 31st October 2012, the Company's NAV total return was -1.6%, representing a 4.2% outperformance against the Company's benchmark, which fell by 5.8%. The return to shareholders was -6.2%, reflecting a widening of the discount at which the Company's shares trade relative to net asset value. The discount to NAV was 10.3% at year end compared with 5.9% the previous year, in line with a widening of discounts in the emerging markets investment trust sector in general. Stock prices fell across key sectors with the highest benchmark weightings including energy, utilities and materials. In contrast the consumer, telecoms and financials sectors performed well, but not enough to counter the poor performance by the rest of the market. Some high quality companies did perform well, although stocks with weak balance sheets continued to struggle.

The Board's risk control investment guidelines, which were implemented to help to eliminate excessive volatility of the Company's returns versus its benchmark, have now been in place for a year. Shareholders will recall that these guidelines limited the deviation from the benchmark for sector positions and also introduced a maximum overweight position for stocks against their benchmark weighting. The guidelines represent a sensible risk mitigation approach and continue to allow the investment management team to operate with a high degree of conviction. The major change in terms of portfolio construction has been the reduction of the Company's underweight position in the energy sector which is now the lowest it has been for seven years. This significant shift reflects the investment managers' outlook for production growth, increased dividends and attractive current valuations in this sector.

Discount Control

During the year the Company repurchased 1,297,200 shares for cancellation at an average discount to net asset value of 10.9%. The Board's objective remains to use the share repurchase authority to assist in managing any imbalance between supply and demand for the Company's shares, thereby reducing the volatility of the discount. The Board operates a policy under which the Company intends, subject to market conditions, to buy shares at discounts above 8% to achieve this. The market capitalisation and liquidity of the shares are of paramount importance to our Shareholders and the Board believes that active management of the discount via share buybacks is the best mechanism to achieve this.

The Board will only repurchase shares at a discount to their prevailing net asset value, and issue shares when they trade at a premium to their net asset value, so as not to prejudice existing shareholders. The Board will seek authority to renew the Company's share issuance and buyback powers at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Board of Directors

In compliance with corporate governance best practice, all Directors will be standing for re-election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. Further to the Company's annual evaluation of the Directors, the Chairman, the Board and its Committees, the Board recommends to Shareholders that all Directors be re-elected.

With two members recently appointed to the Board it was decided that the Directors should visit Moscow to increase their knowledge of the Russian market. In December 2012 the Board spent three days in Moscow and met 11 companies as well as four stock analysts and market commentators. This provided the Board with an insight into the very different opportunities and challenges faced by Russian companies, and how our investment managers evaluate the prospects for these companies.

Revenue and Earnings

Income after expenses was positive for the year to 31st October 2012. An increase in the payment of dividends by Russian companies is a major positive development and hopefully signals a trend of improving corporate governance across the Russian market. Greater attention to shareholder returns and increased dividend distributions by quoted companies would be good news for the Russian market and investors. In addition the lower management fee paid to JPMAM this year made a significant contribution to a reduction in expenses, indeed the Company's newly defined 'ongoing charges' have fallen to 1.51%, from 1.82% in 2011. Please refer to the glossary of terms and definitions in the Company's Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st October 2012 ('Annual Report and Accounts') for more details on this calculation.

Despite the Company generating positive current year revenues, it still has a revenue reserve deficit, and therefore Directors are not proposing the payment of a dividend this year. Although the Company's investment policy is aimed at maximising capital growth and does not focus on income generation, your Board believes that investors would welcome an income stream from their shares. The payment of dividends to investors will in turn depend on an increased number of Russian companies making sustained dividend distributions to their shareholders. The Board expects to report further to shareholders in the Company's half-year results on this matter.

Annual General Meeting and General Meeting

The Company's tenth Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday, 4th March 2013 at 12.00 noon, at Holborn Bars, 138-142 Holborn, London EC1N 2NQ. In addition to the formal part of the meeting, there will be a presentation from the Investment Managers who will be available to answer questions on the portfolio and performance. There will also be an opportunity to meet the Board, the Investment Managers and representatives of JPMAM. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at this meeting. Shareholders are asked to submit in writing any detailed or technical questions that they wish to raise at the AGM in advance to the Company Secretary at Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ. Alternatively you can lodge questions on the Company's website at www.jpmrussian.co.uk.

Outlook

Our investment managers believe that despite the risk that much-needed economic reforms will be slow to materialise, the Russian market continues to provide a good risk/reward proposition for long-term investors. This applies in particular within the area of investing in medium sized companies which our investment managers specialise in. The flexibility which the Investment Managers have in investing in smaller, high-growth opportunities remains one of the key advantages that your Company has over competing open-ended investment vehicles. As with any emerging market, Russia is not immune from market inefficiencies which our active investment managers believe they can use to the Company's advantage.

Lysander Tennant

Chairman

30th January 2013

Investment Managers' Report

The Russian stockmarket began 2012 with an enthusiastic rally, which lasted until mid-March, when it lost ground on the back of global uncertainty over Greece and concerns about the slowdown in China. The political background in Russia also contributed to a deterioration in market sentiment. Although the outcome of the presidential election was as predicted with an overwhelming majority voting for Mr Putin, there was nevertheless the usual associated drama. From June the market moved up in a very choppy manner, but at least in a positive direction. The market then weakened in October on the back of concerns about rates of sustainable worldwide economic growth. Overall, during the financial year to 31st October 2012, our benchmark index, the MSCI Russian 10/40 Equities Indices Index fell by 5.8% in sterling terms. Your Company's NAV fell by a more modest 1.6%, producing an outperformance of 4.2% over the benchmark index.

The Russian economy continued to grow at the relatively modest rate of 3% per annum, which is below its potential, although this represents a strong performance in comparison with many other major markets worldwide. Inflation declined and remained in the range of 6% to 6.5%. The ruble appreciated by 4.5% versus the US dollar in nominal terms despite relatively higher inflation, reflecting the strength of the current account in the light of continued high energy prices.

Performance Attribution

The Company's performance benefited from its minimal exposure to the utilities sector. Utilities are highly regulated businesses in Russia within a generally poorly regulated economic environment. The process for setting tariffs is still not based on economic parameters, and the cross-subsidisation of consumer tariffs by business charges is a highly politicised issue. In addition the State would like to see a substantial level of capital investment across infrastructure projects, which makes the utility sector in Russia different to other markets through the absence of free cash flow generation and large/stable dividends. The portfolio's underweight in Rushydro was one of key positive contributors to relative performance.

Another underweight position to highlight was VTB Bank of Russia. This Bank has a significant exposure to investment banking. This area is highly cyclical and dependent on the overall equity market. In years of weak equity market performance such as 2012, such exposure represents a costly liability rather than an asset, as it has minimum revenue from a relatively high fixed cost base. This distortion of the business model deterred us from taking a position in VTB and the Company's performance relative to its benchmark was rewarded accordingly since VTB's stock price underperformed the market.

Our position in Kalina continued to benefit the Company in the reporting year. Elsewhere other industrial names such as Sollers and Eurasia Drilling finally appreciated as the market realised that their operations were intact when valuations looked too low. In addition O'Key, a new position within the retail sector, performed strongly.

In contrast, holdings in Bank Saint Petersburg and Alliance Oil were hit by operational disappointments. We still see fundamental value in both companies and believe that the current minor delays and setbacks operationally will not substantially reduce the long term fair value of these businesses. However, it may take some time for the potential upside to be delivered. In the reporting period these positions were major detractors in the relative performance of the Company.

One further disappointment for us was an underweight allocation to Transneft, the state-owned oil transportation company which in our view is an unpredictable business. However this year, the market suddenly decided to give it credit for a potential change in corporate governance and the potential conversion of this stock to a high yielding asset. We disagreed with this view and had to eat humble pie on the back of it. However, we believe that this company is not managed in the interests of minority shareholders and is very unlikely to generate free cash flow any time soon, so this underweight position will be maintained.

Investment Philosophy

There are no changes to our investment philosophy. We ask ourselves two fundamental questions about any investment opportunity in Russia:

1.  Do we like the business? This includes our views on the following components to this question:

•   The long-term sustainability of the business: The quality of management, the company's product and its position in the competitive landscape and regulatory matters affecting the company's prospects;

•   Duration: The quality of corporate governance, share capital structure and key shareholders' attitude/actions towards minorities;

•   Economics: Industry outlook, taxation and forecast returns on investment.

If the combined answer for the first question is 'Yes', then we move to next question. If 'No' then we avoid such investment opportunities as quite simply, they do not meet our risk/reward criteria.

2.  Do we like the business at its current price?

We use our internal research to derive a fair valuation of individual stocks, and based on the expected returns level between the current market price and fair value we will make an investment decision to buy or sell an individual stock. Valuation techniques may vary for different sectors, but the output of our investment analysis is standardised. We believe that there are four major sources of potential return from any investment on the market: earnings growth, dividends, investment multiple change and currency impact. The first two are earned by the company and represent the prime focus for our financial modelling. The last two sources are provided by the market and we can use them to our benefit. However, we also need to be aware of the potential risks related to them, i.e. the investment multiple for a particular market or sector may change due to risk appetite, and currency may fluctuate based on inflation differentials.

To sum up if we like a business and its current price you will see the company in our portfolio, although over time its absolute and relative position will change in line with stock price changes and our view of its return prospects.

Market Developments

We would like to highlight two significant developments which may impact our returns in the foreseeable future. 2012 was the first year to witness a dividend yield of 3+% for the Russian market, putting it on a par with other global emerging markets for the first time in history. This provides an important source of returns for investors and represents a major first step in the improvement of corporate governance standards. The reason for the increase mainly stems from pressure exerted by the state, which as a large shareholder in some major stocks has finally insisted on a specific level of payout on its investments. This has made significant difference. If this policy is sustained we should see a re-rating of investment multiples for the market, as higher company valuations will be supported with a reasonable level of yield. Dividends are a sign of maturity in certain sectors, such as mobile telephony companies, and it is pleasing to see that management in such sectors is acting prudently by releasing part of their capital back to shareholders via dividends.

Another development is an expansion of the valuation gap between large cap at the higher end of the valuation spectrum and small cap companies at the lower end. The same differential applies to companies included in the index which enjoy a higher valuation than non-index names. This is not unique to 2012, but more a continuation of the previous year's changes. The driver for this is clearly that fund flows to the market are increasingly via exchange traded funds (ETFs), most of which track a market index. We believe that this trend is not sustainable and at some stage the closure of this gap will create substantial outperformance for this Company. In the meantime this development will continue to distort the market picture.

Politics

The result of the presidential elections came as no surprise, as there was little doubt that Vladimir Putin would return to office. However, the level of protest showed by activists did come as a surprise for both the political establishment and the majority of the population. The new Russian middle class is demanding a bigger role in state management and better control over how public money is spent by bureaucrats. The protest movement is not well organised and certainly lacks clear leadership, but it is beginning to influence the authorities given that they now have to be alert to public dissatisfaction. Nonetheless we do not expect any speedy or radical reforms to take place immediately. For now external pressures on government from a fall in commodity prices is likely to be more powerful than local protests. The government's major task for this year will be implementation of a budget code and oil price function for the calculation of budget revenue. It has been based on the average price for an extended period, so this should normalise volatility and prevent any enthusiasm for extravagant spending.

We do not expect major changes in the current uncertain global economic environment and we believe that the Russian story may be more exposed to domestic growth and reform. Investments in infrastructure and a state push on savings and investments may accelerate growth substantially as we have witnessed in other countries, so there is considerable potential upside for economic growth, subject to delivery by the authorities. Unfortunately however, market expectations for such delivery are extremely low.

Conclusion

We believe that Russia will continue to surprise us with a variety of reforms at state and corporate levels. We know that current valuations do not reflect the potential of businesses in a 'normal' environment, but of course whether Russia becomes a 'normal' market is a key question for all investors. Timing the Russian market never was and never will be easy, so as investors we have to adapt to its internal level of volatility and adopt a long-term approach to help smooth the extremes of the market. Seeking out less prominent investment opportunities and non-consensual names is the prime strategy for a closed-ended structure such as your Company. The Company may not outperform the benchmark index for every reporting period, but through a disciplined investment approach it should deliver compelling positive deviation over the longer term. Currently we believe that the risk/reward profile of the market is advantageous for investors.

Oleg I. Biryulyov

Vitaly N. Kazakov

Investment Managers

30th January 2013

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 to NAV. The Board manages these risks by diversification of investments through its investment restrictions and guidelines, which are monitored and reported on 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 tactically, within a strategic range set by the Board. However, currently the Company has no loan facility in place.

•   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'). Details of the Company's approval are given under "Business of the Company" on page 16 of the Annual Report and Accounts. Were the Company to breach Section 1158, it might lose investment trust status and, as a consequence, capital gains within the Company's investment portfolio would 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 2006 and, as its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the UKLA Listing Rules. A breach of the Companies Act 2006 could result in the Company and/or the Directors being fined or the subject of criminal proceedings. Breach of the UKLA Listing Rules could result in the Company's shares being suspended from listing which in turn would breach Section 1158. The Directors seek to comply with all relevant regulation and legislation and rely on the services of its Company Secretary, JPMAM, and its professional advisors to monitor compliance with all relevant requirements.

•   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 in the Annual Report and Accounts.  

•   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 in the Annual Report and Accounts.   

•   Financial: The financial risks faced by the Company include market price risk, interest rate risk, foreign currency risk, liquidity risk and credit risk. Further details are disclosed in note 19 in the Annual Report and Accounts.  

•   Political and Economic: Changes in financial or tax legislation, including in the European Union, may adversely affect the Company. The Manager makes recommendations to the Board on accounting, dividend and tax policies and the Board seeks external advice where appropriate. In addition, the Company is subject to administrative risks, such as the imposition of restrictions on the free movement of capital.

Statement of Directors' Responsibilities

The Directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and accounts in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the Directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards) and applicable law. Under Company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:

•   select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

•   make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and

•   state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.

The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The accounts are published on the www.jpmrussian.co.uk website, which is maintained by the Company's Manager, JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited ('JPMAM'). The maintenance and integrity of the website maintained by JPMAM is, so far as it relates to the Company, the responsibility of JPMAM. The work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of the maintenance and integrity of this website and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that have occurred to the accounts since they were initially presented on the website. The accounts are prepared in accordance with UK legislation, which may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Under applicable law and regulations the Directors are also responsible for preparing a Directors' Report and Directors' Remuneration Report that comply with that law and those regulations.

Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed in the Directors' Report confirm that, to the best of their knowledge:

•   the financial statements, which have been 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 return or loss of the Company; and

•   the Directors' 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 faces.

For and on behalf of the Board
Lysander Tennant
Chairman

30th January 2013

Income Statement

for the year ended 31st October 2012

		2012			2011
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Losses on investments held at fair value through profit or loss		-	(7,969)	(7,969)	-	(63,520)	(63,520)
Net foreign currency losses		-	(417)	(417)	-	(327)	(327)
Income from investments		8,581	-	8,581	7,548	-	7,548
Other interest receivable and similar income		8	-	8	2	-	2
Gross return/(loss)		8,589	(8,386)	203	7,550	(63,847)	(56,297)
Management fee		(3,715)	-	(3,715)	(5,760)	-	(5,760)
Other administrative expenses		(978)	-	(978)	(1,170)	-	(1,170)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation		3,896	(8,386)	(4,490)	620	(63,847)	(63,227)
Finance costs		(5)	-	(5)	(1)	-	(1)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities before taxation		3,891	(8,386)	(4,495)	619	(63,847)	(63,228)
Taxation		(1,137)	-	(1,137)	(969)	-	(969)
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities after taxation		2,754	(8,386)	(5,632)	(350)	(63,847)	(64,197)
Return/(loss) per share (Note 2)		5.03p	(15.32)p	(10.29)p	(0.63)p	(115.53)p	(116.16)p

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	Other	redemption	Capital	Revenue
	capital	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 31st October 2010	553	49,281	48	330,771	(4,550)	376,103
Repurchase of the Company's own shares for cancellation	(2)	(799)	2	-	-	(799)
Net loss on ordinary activities	-	-	-	(63,847)	(350)	(64,197)
At 31st October 2011	551	48,482	50	266,924	(4,900)	311,107
Repurchase of the Company's own shares for cancellation	(13)	-	13	(6,640)	-	(6,640)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities	-	-	-	(8,386)	2,754	(5,632)
At 31st October 2012	538	48,482	63	251,898	(2,146)	298,835

Balance Sheet

at 31st October 2012

		2012	2011
		£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss		297,614	304,496
Investment in liquidity fund held at fair value through profit or loss		2,172	7,666
Total investment portfolio		299,786	312,162
Current assets
Debtors		1,013	319
Cash and short term deposits		4,217	102
		5,230	421
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(6,181)	(1,476)
Net current liabilities		(951)	(1,055)
Total assets less current liabilities		298,835	311,107
Net assets		298,835	311,107
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital		538	551
Other reserve		48,482	48,482
Capital redemption reserve		63	50
Capital reserves		251,898	266,924
Revenue reserve		(2,146)	(4,900)
Total equity shareholders' funds		298,835	311,107
Net asset value per share (Note 3)		555.2p	564.4p

Company registration number: 4567378.

Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 31st October 2012

		2012	2011
		£'000	£'000
Net cash inflow from operating activities		2,730	1,453
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest paid		(5)	(1)
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchases of investments		(177,769)	(76,764)
Sales of investments		184,693	73,827
Other capital charges		(372)	(285)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from capital expenditure and financial investment		6,552	(3,222)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) before financing		9,277	(1,770)
Financing
Repurchase of the Company's own shares for cancellation		(4,745)	(799)
Net cash outflow from financing		(4,745)	(799)
Increase/(decrease) in cash for the year		4,532	(2,569)

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31st October 2012

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 in January 2009. All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments at fair value.

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

2.  Return/(loss) per share

The revenue return per share is based on the revenue return attributable to the ordinary shares of £2,754,000 (2011: £350,000 loss) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 54,744,578 (2011: 55,263,230).

The capital loss per share is based on the capital loss attributable to the ordinary shares of £8,386,000 (2011: £63,847,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 54,744,578 (2011: 55,263,230).

The total loss per share is based on the total loss attributable to the ordinary shares of £5,632,000 (2011: £64,197,000) and on the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year of 54,744,578 (2011: 55,263,230).

3.  Net asset value per share

The net asset value per share is based on the net assets attributable to the ordinary shareholders of £298,835,000 (2011: £311,107,000) and on the 53,827,112 (2011: 55,124,312) shares in issue at the year end.

4.  Status of announcement

2011 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2011 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st October 2011 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year. The Annual Report and Accounts includes the Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

2012 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2012 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st October 2012 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year. The Annual Report and Accounts includes the Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

Annual Report and Accounts

The Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders on or around 31st January 2013 and will shortly be available on the Company's website (www.jpmrussian.co.uk ) or in hard copy format from the Company's Registered Office, Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ.

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.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM

The annual report is also available on the Company's website at www.jpmrussian.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

 

 

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