Interim Results

JPMorgan Fleming Japanese Smllr Cos 05 December 2005 STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT JPMORGAN FLEMING JAPANESE SMALLER COMPANIES INVESTMENT TRUST PLC Unaudited Results for the six months ended 30th September 2005 Performance I am pleased to report that the Company enjoyed extremely favourable conditions during the first six months of our year, with the return to shareholders - the gain in our share price - reaching 23.9%. This was due to a combination of net asset value growth of 12.8% and a narrowing of the discount at which the shares trade from 9.2% as at 31st March to just 0.2% by 30th September 2005. This narrowing reflects substantially improving market perceptions of Japan amid signs that the prolonged stagnation of the economy, and the correspondingly poor stock market returns, may be coming to an end. The volatility which has long characterised the Japanese smaller company sector was again in evidence in our opening half year. Swings in investor sentiment were once more marked, as industries and individual companies moved swiftly into and out of favour. This pattern of short term volatility poses challenges to investment managers operating in this sector and also means that performance monitoring is best conducted over lengthy time frames. Compared with our net asset growth of 12.8% and overall shareholder returns of 23.9%, the Citigroup Equity Japan Extended Market Index was up 18.9% in the first half. During the six months under review the investment managers have kept to their principal fundamental belief of buying attractively priced good companies with strong growth prospects, or companies which are turning around and restructuring. The Board continues to support the investment managers in this strategy which involves focusing on individual company research to seek out those stocks with the highest growth potential. Over the longer term this should result in strong growth in underlying earnings per share which will, in turn, produce positive returns for the Company. However, due to improving economic news in the Japan in the first part of this reporting period, the Japanese smaller companies which showed the strongest performance tended to be the poorer quality companies in cyclically exposed sectors such as materials, technology, financials and machinery and, as we were underweight within these sectors, this detracted from the portfolio's overall performance. More recently, however, sentiment has changed and there is evidence that the market is beginning to move in favour of the companies in which we are invested. This has become more apparent since the end of the reporting period as the Company's performance for the two months to the end of November was an increase in net asset value of +20.5%. Investment Manager With effect from 1st October 2005 David Mitchinson assumed sole responsibility for managing the investment portfolio. The Board believes that it is beneficial for the Company to have a single manager focusing on the portfolio and we have been extremely impressed with David's track record and all-round knowledge of the Japanese market. I would like to thank Tadashi Ohta for his past involvement with the management of the Company's portfolio. Alan Clifton Chairman 5th December 2005 The JPMorgan Fleming Japanese Smaller Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the six months ended 30 September 2005 Statement of Total Return (Unaudited) Six months to 30 September 2005 Six months to 30 September 2004 Year to 31 March 2005 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Realised losses on investments - (1,465) (1,465) - (3,388) (3,388) - (5,794) (5,794) Unrealised gains/ (losses) on investments - 14,513 14,513 - (15,878) (15,878) - (3,482) (3,482) Currency gains on cash and short-term deposits held during the period - - - - 284 284 - 252 252 Realised gains on repayment of Yen loan - 25 25 - 124 124 - 363 363 Unrealised gains/ (losses) on Yen loans - 30 30 - 324 324 - (10) (10) Other capital charges - (35) (35) - (16) (16) - (43) (43) Overseas dividends 318 - 318 209 - 209 715 - 715 Other income 108 - 108 215 - 215 308 - 308 _______ ________ _______ ______ _______ ________ _______ _______ _______ Gross return/(loss) 426 13,068 13,494 424 (18,550) (18,126) 1,023 (8,714) (7,691) Management fee (665) - (665) (740) - (740) (1,361) - (1,361) Other administrative expenses (129) - (129) (92) - (92) (250) - (250) Interest payable (50) - (50) (52) - (52) (114) - (114) _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ (Loss)/return before taxation (418) 13,068 12,650 (460) (18,550) (19,010) (702) (8,714) (9,416) Taxation (22) - (22) (15) - (15) (43) - (43) ______ _______ _______ ______ _______ ______ _______ _______ _______ (Loss)/return attributable to ordinary shareholders (440) 13,068 12,628 (475) (18,550) (19,025) (745) (8,714) (9,459) Return/(loss) per ordinary share 32.04p (48.28)p (24.00)p The JPMorgan Fleming Japanese Smaller Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the six months ended 30 September 2005 BALANCE SHEET 30 September 30 September 31 March 2005 2004 2005 £'000 £'000 £'000 Investments at valuation 119,635 88,040 96,703 Net current assets 1,442 10,092 6,719 Creditors (amounts falling due after more than one year) (9,975) (9,224) (4,948) _______ _______ _______ Total net assets 111,102 88,908 98,474 ===== ===== ===== Net asset value per ordinary share 281.9p 225.6p 249.9p CASH FLOW STATEMENT 30 September 30 September 31 March 2005 2004 2005 £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash outflow from operating activities (257) (194) (565) Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance (624) (624) (1,244) Net cash (outflow)/inflow from capital expenditure and financial investment (6,839) 12,576 12,931 Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing 5,084 (5,106) (7,774) _______ _______ ______ (Decrease)/Increase in cash for the period (2,636) 6,652 3,348 ===== ===== ==== The above financial information does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The comparative financial information is based on the statutory accounts for the year ended 31st March 2005. These accounts, upon which the auditors issued an unqualified opinion, have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED 5th December 2005 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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