Final Results

RNS Number : 0163J

JPMorgan Japan Smaller Co Tst PLC

23 June 2011

 



LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN JAPAN SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC

FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2011

Chairman's Statement

Investment Performance

The year to 31st March 2011 proved to be difficult one for your Company. I commented at the Half Year stage that performance had been unsatisfactory and in the second half of the year, it should be noted, relative performance did markedly improve. March, which witnessed the Great East Japan earthquake, saw this better trend interrupted, but it has since resumed and it is crucial that it is maintained.

During the year to 31st March 2011, the Company's undiluted total return on net assets (or portfolio return) was -13.7%. This underperformed the return of the Company's benchmark, the S&P Japan Small Cap Index (Total Return Net), which rose by 3.2% and the peer group median, which rose by 1.2%, during the same period. The Company's diluted return on net assets, which assumes that all of the Subscription shares in issue were exercised at the rate of 147 pence per share and that all of the Treasury shares were re-issued in accordance with the Board's policy on the re-issuance of Treasury shares, was -10.7%. Over the same period, the Company's Ordinary share price fell by 8.8%, reflecting a narrowing of the discount to the diluted net asset value per share from 13.1% to 11.2%.

At this point, I would like on behalf of the Board of Directors to express our sympathy to all those affected by the dreadful aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March. The Board visited Japan in early June and were impressed at how hard the Japanese people were working to assist those in distress and that the rebuilding and recovery efforts appear to be well underway.

Review of Services Provided by the Manager

The Company's objective is to achieve long term capital growth through investment in small and medium-sized Japanese companies. After a period of much improved performance in 2009-10, the Company's performance in the year to 31st March 2011 has been disappointing. The longer term performance record also makes difficult reading.

The Board has undertaken a thorough review of the investment management process being employed by the Manager, JF Asset Management ('JFAM'), and of the personnel in place to carry this out. This exercise included intensive discussions with the nominated individuals managing the Company's assets in both Tokyo and Hong Kong as well as with their senior colleagues. As a result of this review, a number of changes in process have been instigated and discussions continue on several other specific issues. During these discussions, the Board has made it very clear to JFAM that a sustained improvement in investment performance must be the first priority over the coming year. It should be noted that David Mitchinson has relocated to the Hong Kong office of the Manager to benefit from the wider experience of the management team based there.

Gearing

The Company has a Japanese yen 2.0 billion credit facility with Scotiabank Europe PLC which gives the Investment Managers the ability to gear tactically. The facility is due to expire on 4th October 2011. The Board reviews the level of gearing at each Board meeting and has given the Investment Managers the flexibility to operate within the range of 90% to 120% invested. During the year the Company's gearing ranged between 90% and 117% and at the time of writing was 109%.

Subscription Shares

On 5th March 2009 the Company issued 7,798,873 Subscription shares as a bonus issue to Ordinary shareholders on the basis of one Subscription share for every five Ordinary shares held on 3rd March 2009. Each Subscription share confers the right (but not the obligation) to subscribe for one Ordinary share at predetermined prices on any business day during the period from 1st April 2009 until 31st March 2014, after which the rights on the Subscription shares will lapse. From 1st April 2010 to 31st March 2011, 510,043 Subscription shares were exercised into Ordinary shares raising proceeds of £691,000. At the time of writing, a further 3,397 Subscription shares have been exercised raising proceeds of £5,000.

From 1st April 2010, the initial exercise price of 135 pence per share increased to 147 pence per share. The final step-up in exercise price, to 174 pence per share, takes place on 1st April 2012.

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.jpmjapansmallercompanies.co.uk

Share Issues and Repurchases

The Company did not repurchase any Ordinary shares into Treasury during the year under review. Neither did the Company issue any shares from Treasury nor issue any new Ordinary shares during this period, other than Ordinary shares issued as a result of the exercise of Subscription shares.

Your Board believes that the ability to issue new Ordinary shares, repurchase Ordinary and Subscription shares for cancellation and to hold and reissue Ordinary shares from Treasury at a premium, is in the interests of shareholders in assisting the Company in managing any imbalance between the supply and demand for the Company's shares, in reducing the volatility of the discount and in raising trading liquidity. Accordingly, the Board will be seeking shareholders' approval to renew these authorities at this year's Annual General Meeting.

Board of Directors

In accordance with the Company's Articles of Association, Ben Grigsby and myself will retire by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The Nomination Committee has met to consider the attributes and contributions of Ben and myself and, following this review, recommends our re-election.

Annual General Meeting

This year's Annual General Meeting will be held at the Armourers' Hall, 81 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ on Friday 22nd July 2011 at 11.30 a.m. In addition to the formal proceedings, there will be a presentation by David Mitchinson, one of the Investment Managers, who will review the past year and comment on the outlook for the current year.

Outlook

In recent years, investors in the Japanese Stock Market have been poorly rewarded for their commitments. The economy has struggled to register any material real growth and the country has suffered from limp and inadequate leadership. The latest natural and man-made disasters have only served to heighten Japan's challenges.

All this having been said, there is undoubtedly excellent value to be found among listed smaller Japanese stocks and our managers have re-affirmed their belief that they can successfully identify these attractively-priced growing companies.

Alan Clifton

Chairman                                                                                                                                        22nd June 2011

Investment Managers' Report

The last year for Japanese smaller companies was, once again, turbulent. After a strong 2009, we underperformed the benchmark, giving back our prior gains as our pro-growth portfolio was hit by the weak performance of the Japanese economy. The year started on a high and finished with the devastating earthquake and with the markets at close to their lows. From a situation where Japan was seeming, finally, to recover the economy has once again been pushed into recession and will have to face a tough year for sales, and profits. We believe that whilst a full recovery will only be possible in the second half of the year, there is only a temporary impact on earnings and that markets are already starting to anticipate a stronger showing later this year and next.

It is the consequences of the earthquake in terms of policy, power and production that will shape the coming year. Valuation levels remain close to post Lehman lows with Japanese small caps trading at a substantial discount to book value. Our portfolio reflects a positive outlook for these small cap stocks, based on extremely low levels of valuation, robust order and sales momentum as production recovers and an attractive medium term demand outlook driven by global (especially Asian) demand.

After a very weak start to the year in Japan with the economy slowing sharply from the autumn we saw a period of continuing improvements in the global economy and robust company earnings even in the face of the strong yen. In February it finally seemed as though even the sluggish domestic economy might be about to pick up and follow the trend elsewhere in the world. There were positive developments in corporate Japan with the announcement of the merger of two of the largest steel companies (Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries) and a series of management buyouts amongst smaller companies.

The outlook, however, changed substantially on 11th March as Japan was hit by the catastrophic Great East Japan Earthquake. It is this terrible event that we focus on below.

The Great East Japan Earthquake

The Great East Japan Earthquake struck at 14:45 Japan Standard time on 11th March 2011. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was the fifth largest earthquake in recorded history. The earthquake triggered an enormous tsunami wave of up to 25 metres high which in some cases travelled 10 kilometres inland. Tragically, at the time of writing there are over 26,000 people reported as dead or missing. The event was followed by a failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power. The World Bank subsequently estimated the cost of the damage to be as high as US$ 235 billion.

Economic Consequences of the Disaster

•           Factories and supply chains were severely hit by the quake and it will take some months for production to normalise. Some factories and plants were completely destroyed. Our core view is that this is a temporary factor which will reduce earnings in the short-term but that long-term competitiveness, in most cases, is not impaired.

•           In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake there were power shortages in the Tokyo region with rolling blackouts for the capital. This, alongside the aforementioned supply chain disruptions, had a severe impact on industrial production and consumption. At the time of writing the situation has significantly improved, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the summer months when electricity demand peaks and may outstrip supply.

•           Japan's long-term energy policy will likely be reconsidered. At the most basic level the fact is that 20% of the world's nuclear plants are located in the most earthquake prone country. The crisis in Fukushima may eventually lead to changes in energy policy globally. In Japan, the most likely alternative is liquefied natural gas ('LNG').

•           The yen surged to a post-war high of ¥76.25 versus the U.S Dollar following the quake. Shortly afterwards the G7 nations announced coordinated currency intervention for the first time in eleven years. Coordinated intervention has a much better track record of stabilising currencies, having succeeded four times out of five between 1985 and 2000. Indeed, these interventions have marked fundamental turning points for currencies. We are now more confident that the yen will be at least stable around current levels.

•           The crisis has not, as yet, led to the political stalemate being broken. If anything the political paralysis has worsened - with no coherent policy response at a fiscal or monetary level. Indeed, one of the major concerns is that taxes are increased to help pay for reconstruction, which may further dampen the outlook for domestic demand. We have downgraded our medium term expectations for the domestic economy even further. A lack of effective policy response is also increasing the longer term risks of a fiscal crisis in Japan.

The portfolio is structured around a longer term pro-export stance with a particular focus on Asian demand. This reflects both the ongoing strength of Japanese manufacturing even with the yen at 80/$, very strong growth in Asian consumption and also the unattractive domestic outlook. After the earthquake we concentrated on whether there had been any significant business impairment that should change our longer term earnings projections - fortunately in most instances that was not the case. Whilst many companies face a disruption for several months in terms of production, very few had seen any significant impairment in their long run positions. Although earnings this year may not look exciting as production normalises, from May onwards we should see very strong output recovery and this should provide a basis for strong profit growth in both the second half and into next year. We had expected a quicker than originally forecast recovery in power and production facilities and this is gradually becoming more apparent. Consequently, analysts and companies are likely to review their earnings forecasts and raise their expectations, providing a steady stream of positive newsflow for the rest of this year.

Our largest weighting is in motorbike parts manufacturers who supply the rapidly growing Indian, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese markets. Ongoing rapid expansion means that often 70%+ of profit comes from these high growth markets. Motorbike business has been relatively unaffected by the earthquake, although the car parts they produce will be a drag this year until output is fully restored. We believe that the share prices of many of these companies trade on just 5-6x next year's earnings, despite offering double digit sales growth.

The earthquake is also forcing a re-examination of the Japanese energy policy. Previously, Japan has relied heavily upon nuclear energy, but this is set to change. We anticipate further LNG, coal and solar power will be required to replace the energy that has been taken offline. A number of our holdings are beneficiaries of this trend including Nippon Sheet Glass, Disco, Asahi Diamond, Chiyoda Corp. and Tomoe Engineering. The earthquake provided an additional catalyst to what was an already emerging investment theme as the LNG capex cycle resumes after a multi-year pause. Valuations remain low despite the potential for strong medium term growth.

Domestically we expect that demand will slowly recover from post earthquake levels but that the risks of higher taxes and a confused political situation will constrain spending and consumer confidence. Many companies have also recognised the need to internationalise further their supply chains and production bases so we anticipate more investment overseas and more production shifting from Japan. This is often positive for the companies involved but is not such a positive factor for Japan. That said, there are selected areas of the domestic market that are very attractive for investing. Usually these are areas of long term poor performance where companies are finally pulling out of the market, rationalising production, consolidating the market and there is substantial opportunity to improve profits. A combination of very low starting valuations and improving profits can offer very good performance potential.

One industry that is seeing large scale structural change is the airline industry. We believe that the key beneficiary is Skymark. This is a discount airline that for years has faced strong competition from JAL, whose bankruptcy and forced withdrawal from many routes has left Skymark with less competition, more opportunity to fly passengers and a much more rational competitor on pricing. As a result Skymark now expects to grow 20% over the next few years as it rolls out new planes and new routes but its shares trade on only 7.5x earnings. We also own equipment rental and aerial crane companies which are trading far below the value of their assets - the long term pick up in demand after the earthquake should sharply boost their profitability as discounting ends and utilisation rates begin to rise. Even after a post earthquake bounce they still trade below 0.5x price to book value.

Our other domestic holdings are companies with strong niche positions that are doing well despite the poor macroeconomic backdrop. These include prescription pharmacies and medical specialists where changes in government policy to reduce healthcare costs are encouraging a shift towards greater efficiency. Companies that promote generic drug prescriptions, improve hospital efficiency or support drug companies are all beneficiaries of this trend. The global shift of commerce and entertainment online is another fruitful area with social networking sites showing very robust growth. Investments in companies that can help companies cut costs through outsourcing non-core services such as logistics, staffing or storage boxes are a major focus. Many of these firms trade at low earnings multiples if they can deliver the growth that management expects. These are well established industries outside Japan but have been slow to develop due to Japanese companies' reluctance to focus on costs. The harsh environment and their improving track record is gradually changing this and providing a structural tailwind to these businesses.

Outlook

In contrast to last year, where companies started the year with strong demand and ended with weak, this year we anticipate the opposite. Orders are currently very low, but should finish the year much stronger and valuations that were higher are once again at rock bottom levels at around 0.7x book values. The prospects for so many companies with excellent medium term track records to trade on single digit earnings valuations suggests to us that the market is materially misvalued. We have deliberately tilted the fund towards areas of medium term business expansion - Asia, changes in domestic energy and healthcare policy and secular trends such as outsourcing - aware that broader domestic economic activity will remain challenging. The disconnect between the sales and profit performance of Japanese companies and the Japanese economy is getting wider and wider, and the valuation gap between Japanese firms (cheap) and their international peers has so far continued to expand despite earnings and customers that are increasingly similar. We believe that, as the economy improves and companies are able to show a recovery from the earthquake, this valuation gap will close. In short, Japanese stocks are very cheap, they will see a rapid improvement in production from now onwards and should see a steady stream of positive news after the past torrents of bad to help push valuations higher.

David Mitchinson-

Nicholas Weindling

Investment Managers                                                                                                  22nd June 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.

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.

Alan Clifton

Chairman                                                                                                       22nd June 2011

Income Statement

for the year ended 31st March 2011

		2011			2010
	Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
(Losses)/gains on investments held at fair
value through profit or loss	-	(8,787)	(8,787)	-	25,071	25,071
Net foreign currency losses	-	(896)	(896)	-	(862)	(862)
Income from investments	1,223	-	1,223	1,019	-	1,019
Other interest receivable and
similar income	-	-	-	25	-	25
Gross return/(loss)	1,223	(9,683)	(8,460)	1,044	24,209	25,253
Management fee	(945)	-	(945)	(938)	-	(938)
Other administrative expenses	(395)	-	(395)	(301)	-	(301)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities
before finance costs and taxation	(117)	(9,683)	(9,800)	(195)	24,209	24,014
Finance costs	(235)	-	(235)	(304)	-	(304)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities
before taxation	(352)	(9,683)	(10,035)	(499)	24,209	23,710
Taxation	(82)	-	(82)	(67)	-	(67)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities
after taxation	(434)	(9,683)	(10,117)	(566)	24,209	23,643
(Loss)/return per Ordinary
share - undiluted (note 2)	(1.10)p	(24.55)p	(25.65)p	(1.45)p	62.19p	60.74p
(Loss)/return per Ordinary share - diluted (note 2)	(1.11)p	(24.70)p	(25.81)p	(1.45)p	62.01p	60.56p

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

for the year ended 31st March 2011

	Called up			Capital
	share	Share	Other	redemption	Capital	Revenue
	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 31st March 2009	4,008	-	314,857	1,794	(258,254)	(11,099)	51,306
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	-	(34)	-	-	-	(34)
Exercise of Subscription shares into
Ordinary shares	(1)	1	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of
Subscription shares	5	64	-	-	-	-	69
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	24,209	(566)	23,643
At 31st March 2010	4,012	65	314,823	1,794	(234,045)	(11,665)	74,984
Exercise of Subscription shares into
Ordinary shares	(5)	5	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of
Subscription shares	51	640	-	-	-	-	691
Net loss on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	(9,683)	(434)	(10,117)
At 31st March 2011	4,058	710	314,823	1,794	(243,728)	(12,099)	65,558

Balance Sheet

at 31st March 2011

	2011	2010
	£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	66,513	87,948
Current assets
Debtors	5,520	1,442
Cash and short term deposits	5,593	2,385
	11,113	3,827
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(12,068)	(16,791)
Net current liabilities	(955)	(12,964)
Total assets less current liabilities	65,558	74,984
Net assets	65,558	74,984
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital	4,058	4,012
Share premium	710	65
Capital redemption reserve	1,794	1,794
Other reserve	314,823	314,823
Capital reserves	(243,728)	(234,045)
Revenue reserve	(12,099)	(11,665)
Equity shareholders' funds	65,558	74,984
Net asset value per Ordinary share - undiluted (note 3)	166.2p	192.6p
Net asset value per Ordinary share - diluted (note 3)	163.2p	182.8p

The Company's registration number is 3916716

Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 31st March 2011

	2011	2010
	£'000	£'000
Net cash outflow from operating activities	(239)	(371)
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest paid	(260)	(289)
Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing
of finance	(260)	(289)
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchases of investments	(94,075)	(88,297)
Sales of investments	100,816	76,687
Other capital charges	(10)	(11)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from capital expenditure and
financial investment	6,731	(11,621)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) before financing	6,232	(12,281)
Financing
Net (repayment)/drawdown of loans	(4,125)	3,091
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of Subscription shares	691	69
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	(98)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing	(3,434)	3,062
Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year	2,798	(9,219)

Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31st March 2011

1.          Accounting policies

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 AIC 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.

	2011	2010
	£'000	£'000
2. (Loss)/return per Ordinary share
(Loss)/return per Ordinary share is based on the following:
Revenue loss	(434)	(566)
Capital (loss)/return	(9,683)	24,209
Total (loss)/return	(10,117)	23,643
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year used
for the purpose of the undiluted calculation	39,447,831	38,928,451
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year used
for the purpose of the diluted calculation	39,203,987	39,040,383
Undiluted
Revenue loss per share	(1.10)p	(1.45)p
Capital (loss)/return per share	(24.55)p	62.19p
Total (loss)/return per share	(25.65)p	60.74p
Diluted
Revenue loss per share	(1.11)p	(1.45)p
Capital (loss)/return per share	(24.70)p	62.01p
Total (loss)return per share	(25.81)p	60.56p

            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 year as adjusted in accordance with the requirements of Financial Reporting Standard 22 'Earnings per share'.

3.         Net asset value per Ordinary share

	2011	2010
Undiluted
Ordinary shareholders funds (£'000)	65,558	74,984
Number of Ordinary shares in issue	39,451,925	38,941,882
Net asset value per Ordinary share	166.2p	192.6p
Diluted
Ordinary shareholders funds assuming exercise of dilutive Subscription shares and
reissuance of Treasury shares (£'000)	76,893	86,126
Number of potential dilutive Ordinary shares in issue	47,108,296	47,108,296
Net asset value per Ordinary share	163.2p	182.8p

            The diluted net asset value per Ordinary share assumes that all outstanding dilutive Subscription shares were converted into Ordinary shares at the year end and all shares held in Treasury at the year end were reissued in accordance with the Board's policy on the reissuance of Treasury shares.

4.         Status of Announcement

2010 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2010 are extracted from the published Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2010 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.

2011 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2011 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2011 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year.  The Annual Report and Financial 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.

Annual Report and Accounts

The Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders on or around 27th June 2011 and will shortly be available on the Company's website (www.jpmjapansmallercompanies.co.uk) or in hard copy format from the Company's Registered Office, Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ. 

JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED

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.jpmjapansmallercompanies.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Andrew Norman

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited, Secretary - 020 7742 6000

23rd June 2011

 

END

 

 

FR UOOSRABANUAR