Interim Results

JPMorgan Fleming Smaller Cos IT PLC 27 March 2003 JPMORGAN FLEMING SMALLER COMPANIES INVESTMENT TRUST PLC STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT OF UNAUDITED HALF YEARLY RESULTS TO 31st JANUARY 2003 The Board of the Company today release the unaudited interim results of the Company for the half year to 31st January 2003. The following are comments from the Chairman and the Investment Managers: Chairman's Statement Performance Over the six month period to the end of January 2003, the Company's net asset value total return fell by 10.7%. This compares with a fall in the benchmark index, the FTSE Small Cap Index (excluding investment trusts) of 15.3%. The discount narrowed from 20.8% to 16.2%, and the share price declined 5.1% on a total return basis. Management Changes Georgina Brittain, who has been involved in the day-to-day management of the Company's assets since 1998, was appointed by JPMorgan Fleming Assets Management (UK) Limited as lead investment manager of this Company's portfolio on 13th January 2003. She will be supported in this role by Mark Davids who has worked in the JPMFAM Smaller Companies investment management team for the last 3 years. This change has resulted from Ross Hollyman's decision to leave JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management (UK) Limited. Share Repurchases and Gearing Since this half-year end, the Company has repurchased 1,200,000 shares, representing 4.5% of the issued share capital at a price of 134.5p and a discount of 25.8%, thereby enhancing the net asset value per share for remaining shareholders by 1.2%. At the time of writing, following this repurchase, gearing is at 113%, having drawn £6m out of the total facilities available of £15m. The Board remains cautious about increasing gearing materially at the current time. Outlook The markets continue to be particularly unsettled, and at the time of writing the net asset value stands at 177.7p per share and the discount has widened to 26.5%. However, the Board is confident that your Company has the flexibility to take advantage of any change to more positive sentiment in the financial markets, and that while further significant volatility can be expected, good value is now available in the smaller company sector. Strone Macpherson Chairman, 27th March 2003 Investment Manager's Review Market Background The last six months have been a turbulent period for global stockmarkets, and the UK stockmarket has been no exception. The FTSE All Share index declined by 16% during the six months under review, and volatility has remained a key feature. The two main causes of this on-going decline in stockmarkets were the further deterioration of the geo-political situation, in particular the increased likelihood of war in Iraq; and the lack of signs of global economic recovery. In addition, insurance companies also contributed to the market's malaise as the value of their equity portfolios dropped and they became forced sellers of equities in order to maintain solvency ratios. In the UK the economy remained strong compared with much of the rest of the world, particularly Continental Europe. Much of the UK's higher growth came from heavy ongoing government investment in public services. This has also been key to keeping unemployment at 30 year lows. Portfolio Performance over the last six months has been strong relative to the index, despite the negative impact of gearing. This outperformance was concentrated in the first quarter of the Company's year, and was attributable in the main to positive stock selection and to avoiding severe profit warnings across a variety of sectors. In the second quarter performance was more muted. Over the last six months the shape of the portfolio has not changed dramatically, as there has been little change in the economic outlook over the period. Both the Cyclical Consumer and Non Cyclical Consumer sectors have been slightly reduced. The notable increases in the portfolio were in Cyclical Services and in Financials. We also reduced our underweight position in the General Retailers as Christmas trading was not as difficult as many analysts had been forecasting. Likewise, following the collapse of several share prices in the Leisure sector, we selectively bought back into a number of companies in this area. In Financials, we maintained our overweight position in Speciality & Other Financials as these stocks continued to look undervalued and to trade well, and after the decline in Insurance stocks over the summer months we increased our weighting again in Insurance by adding to our Lloyds investment vehicles holdings. The overall focus has remained firmly on valuation and on delivery against expectations. Investors have begun again to place emphasis on the dividend yields on stocks, as the technology bubble, with its sole focus on capital appreciation, has continued to unwind. As valuations have continued to decline and yields have climbed commensurately, we have seen the benefit of this within the value holdings of the portfolio, and the Company currently has a yield on the shareholdings within the portfolio of 3.4%. Gearing, which has detracted from short term performance, was gradually reduced throughout the six month period from 119% to approximately 115%. Since the end of the half year, gearing has continued to be reduced. Market Outlook UK equities remain attractively valued compared with bonds, and smaller companies remain the cheapest class of UK equities. The recent surprise cut in interest rates by the Bank of England should provide a further boost to the economy. The principal positive impact will be to shore up consumer spending, which should provide some counterbalance to the National Insurance increases and Council Tax increases which will start to bite in the Spring of 2003. In addition, the subsequent sharp fall in sterling during February implies that pressure may now start to ease on the beleaguered manufacturing sector. There is unlikely to be a sustainable market recovery until the short term stockmarket concerns over Iraq are resolved. Besides politics, concern is also focused on the performance of the US economy. In the UK, the domestic focus of smaller companies continues to be a positive factor during the global economic slowdown. While a sustained period of positive performance in the short term may be unlikely in the face of international weakness, considerable value is beginning to emerge. The evidence for this comes not only from low earnings multiples and high dividend yields, but from a surge in corporate activity. As the market languishes, your Company's managers fully expect this trend to continue. This corporate activity not only suggests that many valuations within the smaller companies arena are extremely attractive on a fundamental basis, but also demonstrates that there are future re-rating opportunities as that value is recognised by a wider audience. Georgina Brittain Mark Davids Investment Managers, 27th March 2003 Please note that the above statements may differ from the final version to be published in the interim accounts. For further information, please contact: Fraser Easton J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management (UK) Limited, 020 7742 3425 Secretary to the Company JPMorgan Fleming Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the six months ended 31 January 2003 Statement of Total Return (Unaudited) Six months to 31 January 2003 Six months to 31 January 2002 Year to 31 July 2002 Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Realised losses on investments - (1,991) (1,991) - (3,251) (3,251) - (9,874) (9,874) Increase in unrealised depreciation - (4,818) (4,818) - (2,216) (2,216) - (10,367) (10,367) Other capital Charges - - (9) (9) - - - (20) (20) Franked investment income 619 - 619 759 - 759 1,572 - 1,572 Unfranked investment income - - - - - - 3 - 3 Scrip dividends 25 - 25 24 - 24 89 - 89 Deposit interest 38 - 38 98 - 98 149 - 149 Underwriting - - - 6 - 6 8 - 8 Commissions _______ ________ _______ ______ _______ ________ _______ _______ _______ Gross return 682 (6,818) (6,136) 887 (5,467) (4,580) 1,821 (20,261) (18,440) Management fee (141) (141) (282) (202) (202) (404) (386) (386) (772) Other administrative expenses (113) - (113) (104) - (104) (228) - (228) Interest payable (106) (106) (212) (212) (212) (424) (359) (359) (718) _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Return before 322 (7,065) (6,743) 369 (5,881) (5,512) 848 (21,006) (20,158) taxation Taxation (5) 5 - (14) 14 - (21) 21 - ______ _______ _______ ______ _______ ______ _______ _______ _______ Total return 317 (7,060) (6,743) 355 (5,867) (5,512) 827 (20,985) (20,158) attributable to ordinary shareholders Dividend (s) - - - - - - (800) - (800) payable on ordinary shares ______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ Transfer to/ (from) 317 (7,060) (6,743) 355 (5,867) (5,512) 27 (20,985) (20,958) reserves Return per ordinary 1.19p (26.52)p (25.33)p 1.33p (22.00)p (20.67)p 3.10p (78.70)p (75.60)p share Dividend per ordinary share Nil Nil 3.00p JPMorgan Fleming Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc Unaudited figures for the six months ended 31 January 2003 BALANCE SHEET 31 January 31 January 31 July 2003 2002 2002 £'000 £'000 £'000 Investments at valuation 55,690 82,105 65,963 Net current (liabilities)/assets (7,306) 1,045 (5,759) Creditors (amounts falling due after more than one year) - (12,500) (5,000) _______ _______ _______ Total net assets 48,384 70,650 55,204 ===== ===== ===== Net asset value per ordinary share 181.8P 264.9p 207.0p CASH FLOW STATEMENT 2003 2002 2002 £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash inflow from operating activities 232 308 719 Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance (234) (486) (780) Net cash inflow from capital expenditure and financial investment 3,218 3,455 6,037 Total equity dividends paid (800) (613) (613) Net cash outflow from financing (5,019) (4,915) (5,000) _______ ______ ______ (Decrease)/increase in cash for the period (2,603) (2,251) 363 ===== ===== ===== 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 July 2002. These accounts, upon which the auditors issued an unqualified opinion, have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. J.P. MORGAN FLEMING ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED 27th March 2002 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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