Interim Results

F&C Global Smaller Companies PLC 12 December 2006 Date: 11 December 2006 Contact: Peter Ewins F&C Management Limited 020 7628 8000 F&C GLOBAL SMALLER COMPANIES PLC Unaudited Interim Statement of Results for the half-year ended 31 October 2006 HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS • Net asset value outperformed the benchmark • Strong relative performance in the UK, Europe and Pacific ex Japan • Interim dividend up by 2.7% from 1.49p to 1.53p • More than 3,500 new shareholders SUMMARY OF UNAUDITED RESULTS FOR THE HALF-YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2006 31 October 2006 30 April 2006 % Change Share price 410.75p 435.00p -5.6 Net asset value per share (debenture at nominal value) 454.43p 470.83p -3.5 Net asset value per share (debenture at market value) 446.70p 463.47p -3.6 Benchmark (capital return) -4.2 Half-year ended Half-year ended 31 October 2006 31 October 2005 % Change Revenue return per share 2.41p 2.37p +1.7 Interim dividend per share* 1.53p 1.49p +2.7 * Payable on 30 January 2007 to shareholders on the register at 29 December 2006. Chairman's Statement The first half of the current financial year was a testing period for global smaller company shares. World equity markets enjoyed a good start to 2006, but some came under pressure as the year progressed, particularly at the smaller company end where gains over recent years have been strongest. The blended benchmark* against which the performance of your Company is measured, fell by 4.2% over the six months. The Company's net asset value ('NAV') declined by 3.5% and we therefore performed better than the benchmark. Both the NAV and the share price have outperformed the benchmark by a clear margin over the last five years. The Company's share price fell by slightly more than the NAV, down by 5.6%. When measured against the NAV including the debenture at market value, the shares ended the period at an 8.0% discount. While a fall in the share price at any time is disappointing, it should be remembered that this came after a 62% rise in the last financial year. Shareholders who held the shares for the five years to the end of October 2006 have seen a total return of 125%, well ahead of most other investments. Continuing the theme of recent years, dividend income received from the investment portfolio was encouraging. This has led the Board to declare an interim dividend of 1.53p, which is 2.7% higher than last year. We are keen to maintain a progressive approach to the dividend although, of course, this depends in the final analysis on the performance of our portfolio companies. There is no plan to declare another special dividend in the current financial year, as last year's payout was prompted by the circumstances surrounding the Tender Offer. Investment performance Our investment performance over the six months was strong in relation to the relevant local benchmarks in the UK, Europe and Pacific ex Japan, whilst in the US and Japan we underperformed. The background to the different regional performances is discussed below. Returns from the different regions varied quite considerably, with the UK the best and Japan the worst by quite a distance. The Company has been overweight in the UK and also in Europe throughout the period and this has proved to be advantageous. Over the course of the six months, the Manager reduced the level of gearing on the portfolio. Gearing is only helpful when markets are rising, and being geared over the first half of the year had a marginally detrimental effect on performance. Discount At the time of the Tender Offer last year we said that, going forward, we intended to use our share buyback powers actively so as to ensure that, as far as possible, the discount to NAV at which our shares trade remains close to the tender level discount of 5%. We have followed this policy and the Company bought in 475,000 shares for cancellation over the period. Previously, there had been considerable volatility in the discount partly depending on whether smaller companies as an asset class were in or out of favour. Over the last year, the discount has been less volatile reflecting a more balanced shareholder base. Good investment performance and effective marketing of the Company to the investment community also benefited the discount by increasing the demand for the Company's shares. I am pleased to say that the various F&C savings schemes have continued to be an effective tool for gaining new shareholders. Over the course of the last six months, more than 3,500 new shareholders have joined the register and we now have over 22,000. In addition to our everyday marketing to institutional and private client brokers, a direct mailing campaign was used in November to target new private investors. We estimate that over 71% of the Company's shares are now held privately. * 40% Hoare Govett Smaller Companies Index, 60% MSCI World ex UK Small Cap Index Markets and investment policy Over the six months, the fundamental world economic background remained largely supportive for corporate profitability. The dynamic growth of the Chinese economy continued and this helped to foster faster growth in other parts of the world. UK growth was better than expected and Europe threw off its previous sluggishness. The main area which witnessed a slowdown was the US, where the series of interest rate rises has had an impact on the housing sector and elsewhere. Early in the period, the rise in oil and other commodity prices served to dampen enthusiasm in stockmarkets and stoked concern about rising inflation and a growth slowdown. Volatility and risk aversion increased. This can cause smaller company shares to find themselves out of favour relative to large companies, and this was particularly evident in the US and Japan. However, circumstances improved as the period progressed. We break our portfolio down into five main segments; the UK, Europe, the US, Japan and Pacific ex Japan. In each we judge success against a local small cap benchmark. The UK was the best performing market. Japan suffered from reduced private investor confidence following a number of reported corporate scandals. The solid UK market performance owed something to a spate of takeover activity. With companies feeling more confident, finance readily available to fund deals and private equity companies awash with liquidity, this was perhaps not a surprise. Our portfolio benefited from takeovers of MacLellan Group and Hardman Resources. More important to performance however were significant gains in our long standing and large holdings in Aveva Group, Omega International and Chemring Group. All these companies reported better than expected results. Our European portfolio continued its good form from last year, rising well ahead of the benchmark. A notable contributor here, continuing the takeover theme, was Europistas, the Spanish motorway concessions company, which attracted attention from two competing bidders. Logitech, the communications device company, also performed strongly in the period. In the US, we had a more difficult time. Two particular disappointments were Lenox, the giftware/tableware business, where management appear to have failed to deliver synergies from a merger, and TRX, an IT software company serving the travel industry, where there have been order delays. On the other hand Reynolds and Reynolds, which provides software into the car dealership market, was taken over giving the portfolio a boost, and technology stock Avocent also rose strongly on completion of a number of acquisitions. The Japanese portfolio underperformed with a poor October largely to blame. Over the six months, Nippon Yushoki which supplies fork-lift equipment was weak on concerns of a cyclical downturn. MTI, the telecoms retailer and mobile content company also fell heavily as competition in its sector increased. Partially offsetting these falls, Jin the opticians business, performed well, as did Ahresty the automotive components group which benefited from the trend towards the greater use of aluminium in the industry. We believe that there are some interesting opportunities in Japan following the recent weakness and we have started to increase exposure to the market. The Pacific ex Japan portfolio performed strongly in the period. We said in the Annual Report that we would be moving towards a portfolio of third party managed collectives for this region as we felt that this was likely to result in better and more consistent returns over the longer term. While we have made progress towards this, three of the remaining direct holdings have contributed good results. Leyshon Resources was up over 50% as it announced encouraging gold drilling results in China. Labroy Marine is continuing to benefit from high demand for its services, as is Olam, the supply chain manager in the commodities market. In overall asset allocation terms, the Company's exposure to the UK and the US increased over the period, though we remain underweight in the US against the benchmark. The overweight position in Europe was a good call and produced a positive return. However, we have recently started to take profits in Europe as we perceive value is becoming harder to find in the smaller company universe. The Board I am pleased to say that Mr Leslie Cullen joined your Board as a non-executive director on 1 September 2006. Les is an MBA and a Fellow of both the Association of Certified Accountants and the Association of Corporate Treasurers. He is an independent trustee and audit chairman of the British Telecom Pension Scheme and a non-executive director of Sustrans Ltd, Interserve plc, Avis Europe plc and DTZ Holdings plc. Les has worked in the UK and overseas for a number of large public companies, including being group finance director of Prudential plc and Inchcape plc. He was chairman of a number of private equity backed organisations. He is already making a great contribution to our deliberations and we are very pleased to have him. Outlook Market sentiment has improved since late summer as hopes have risen that the monetary tightening phase in the US has come to an end. Takeover activity continues to be supportive and most companies are still enjoying positive trading conditions. Valuations in some sectors and parts of the world do look high however. Against this backdrop, the Manager is making some changes to asset allocation based on the relative attractiveness of valuations in the different parts of the world. The effects of the recent fall in the US dollar are also being appraised. For the long-term, the Board remains confident that astute stock selection from the wide smaller company stock universe, should deliver good returns to shareholders. Gerry Grimstone Chairman December 2006 UNAUDITED INCOME STATEMENT Half-year ended 31 October 2006 Half-year ended 31 October 2005 Revenue Capital Total* Revenue Capital Total* £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s (Losses)/gains on investments - (6,565) (6,565) - 43,023 43,023 Exchange losses (1) (42) (43) (3) (965) (968) Income 1,977 - 1,977 2,865 - 2,865 Management fee (129) (303) (432) (175) (408) (583) Performance fee - (138) (138) - - - Other expenses (324) (32) (356) (284) (29) (313) Net return before finance costs and taxation 1,523 (7,080) (5,557) 2,403 41,621 44,024 Finance costs (178) (415) (593) (232) (541) (773) Net return on ordinary activities before taxation 1,345 (7,495) (6,150) 2,171 41,080 43,251 Taxation on ordinary activities (183) 53 (130) (165) - (165) Net return attributable to equity shareholders 1,162 (7,442) (6,280) 2,006 41,080 43,086 Return per share - pence 2.41 (15.45) (13.04) 2.37 48.62 50.99 *The total column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company. All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. A statement of total recognised gains and losses is not required as all gains and losses of the Company have been reflected in the above statement. UNAUDITED RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS Half-year ended 31 October 2006 Called up Share Capital Total equity share premium redemption Capital Revenue shareholders' capital account reserve reserves reserve funds £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s Balance brought forward at 30 April 2006 12,088 23,132 14,095 170,960 7,377 227,652 Movements during the half-year ended 31 October 2006 Dividends paid - - - - (1,944) (1,944) Shares purchased by the Company (119) - 119 (1,865) - (1,865) Return attributable to equity - - - (7,442) 1,162 (6,280) shareholders Balance carried forward at 31 October 2006 11,969 23,132 14,214 161,653 6,595 217,563 Half-year ended 31 October 2005 Called up Share Capital Total share premium redemption Capital Revenue shareholders' capital account reserve reserves reserve funds £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s Balance brought forward at 30 April 2005 21,231 23,132 4,952 207,658 7,425 264,398 Movements during the half-year ended 31 October 2005 Dividends paid - - - - (2,499) (2,499) Shares purchased by the Company (125) - 125 (1,384) - (1,384) Return attributable to equity - - - 41,080 2,006 43,086 shareholders Balance carried forward at 31 October 2005 21,106 23,132 5,077 247,354 6,932 303,601 Year ended 30 April 2006 Called up Share Capital Total share premium redemption Capital Revenue shareholders' capital account reserve reserves reserve funds £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s £'000s Balance brought forward at 30 April 2005 21,231 23,132 4,952 207,658 7,425 264,398 Movements during the year ended 30 April 2006 Dividends paid - - - - (3,258) (3,258) Shares purchased by the Company (9,143) - 9,143 (133,240) - (133,240) Return attributable to equity - - - 96,542 3,210 99,752 shareholders Balance carried forward at 30 April 2006 12,088 23,132 14,095 170,960 7,377 227,652 UNAUDITED BALANCE SHEET 31 October 2006 31 October 2005 30 April 2006 £'000s £'000s £'000s Fixed assets Investments 223,716 256,243 238,228 Current assets Debtors 744 13,831 1,609 Taxation recoverable 9 10 10 Cash at bank and short-term deposits 5,404 45,753 2,652 6,157 59,594 4,271 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Loans - - (3,000) Other (2,310) (2,236) (1,847) (2,310) (2,236) (4,847) Net current assets/(liabilities) 3,847 57,358 (576) Total assets less current liabilities 227,563 313,601 237,652 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year Debenture (10,000) (10,000) (10,000) Net Assets 217,563 303,601 227,652 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 11,969 21,106 12,088 Share premium account 23,132 23,132 23,132 Capital redemption reserve 14,214 5,077 14,095 Capital reserves 161,653 247,354 170,960 Revenue reserve 6,595 6,932 7,377 Total equity shareholders' funds 217,563 303,601 227,652 Net asset value per ordinary share - pence 454.43 359.61 470.83 UNAUDITED CASH FLOW STATEMENT Half-year ended Half-year ended 31 October 2006 31 October 2005 £'000s £'000s Net cash inflow from operating activities 1,633 2,160 Cash outflow from servicing of finance (591) (792) Total tax paid (129) (165) Net cash inflow from financial investment 8,900 57,181 Equity dividends paid (1,944) (2,499) Net cash inflow before use of liquid resources and financing 7,869 55,885 Increase in short-term deposits (1,000) (30,862) Net cash outflow from financing (4,865) (15,601) Increase in cash 2,004 9,422 Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net (debt)/funds Increase in cash 2,004 9,422 Increase in short-term deposits 1,000 30,862 Decrease in short-term loans 3,000 14,217 Movement in net funds resulting from cash flows 6,004 54,501 Exchange movement (44) (969) Movement in net funds 5,960 53,532 Net debt brought forward (10,556) (17,779) Net (debt)/funds carried forward (4,596) 35,753 Represented by: Cash at bank 3,404 11,210 Short-term deposits 2,000 34,543 5,404 45,753 Debenture (10,000) (10,000) (4,596) 35,753 Notes 1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES These results have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the Company's financial statements at 30 April 2006. These accounting policies are expected to be followed in the year ending 30 April 2007 as well. 2 RETURN PER ORDINARY SHARE Revenue return The revenue return per share for the half-year ended 31 October 2006 is based on the revenue return attributable to equity shareholders of £1,162,000 profit (half-year ended 31 October 2005: £2,006,000 profit). Capital return restated The capital return per share for the half-year ended 31 October 2006 is based on the capital return attributable to equity shareholders of £7,442,000 loss (half-year ended 31 October 2005: £41,080,000 profit). Weighted average number of shares in issue Both the revenue and capital returns per share for the half-year ended 31 October 2006 are based on a weighted average number of 48,176,100 shares in issue (half-year ended 31 October 2005: 84,490,527). 3 DIVIDEND The Directors have declared an interim dividend of 1.53p per ordinary share payable on 30 January 2007 to shareholders on the register on 29 December 2006. The amount of this dividend will be £732,000 based on 47,825,781 shares in issue at 11 December 2006. This amount has not been accrued in the results for the half-year ended 31 October 2006. 4 RESULTS The results for the half-year ended 31 October 2006 and for the half-year ended 31 October 2005, which are unaudited, constitute non-statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The latest published accounts which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies are for the year ended 30 April 2006; the report of the auditors thereon was unqualified and did not contain a statement under Section 237 of the Companies Act 1985. The abridged financial statements shown above for the year ended 30 April 2006 are an extract from those accounts (except as noted above). 5 REPORT AND ACCOUNTS The Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders in early January 2007. Copies may be obtained during normal business hours from the Company's Registered Office, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2NY. By order of the Board F&C Management Limited, Secretary Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2NY 11 December 2006 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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