Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC : Inte...
Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC
Interim Management Review for the three months ended 31 August 2012
The Board of Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC (the "Company") is pleased to announce its interim management review for the quarter ended 31 August 2012.
During the period from 1 June 2012 to 31 August 2012, the Company's net asset value per share excluding income and expenses rose by 12.00 per cent. to 325.89p, which compares with a rise of 11.9 per cent. in sterling terms for the Company's benchmark, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Total Return Index, over the same period. Meanwhile, the FTSE World Europe Total Return Index, which includes the UK, returned 10.8 per cent. in sterling terms.
Investment Manager's Report for the Quarter Ended 31 August 2012
European stock markets rebounded sharply from their lows in early June, led by those in the eurozone periphery, which outperformed the majority of global indices. The rally followed Spain's request for a bailout of its troubled banks and the resumption by the ECB of purchases of periphery government bonds. Spain's action was interpreted positively by the market as the precursor to a full-blown bailout and the first step towards a stabilisation of its budget deficit. By sector, financials performed best over the period under review, followed by telecoms; consumer goods underperformed in the rally.
In the period under review your company performed in line with the index. This may come as a surprise, given the market rally in the sectors in which your company is structurally underweight. However, the result serves as a reminder that your company's performance tends to be the result of stock picking, and this quarter was no exception. The best performer was Provident Financial, the UK doorstep lender; the worst was Edenred, the French-listed prepaid vouchers provider. The share price of Novozymes, the enzyme producer, continued to struggle, despite stronger than expected Q2 results.
Portfolio activity was modest. We added to our positions in Fresenius SE, which is seeing strong growth in the US, and in Dassault Systèmes following strong results. We sold our position in Modern Times Group where short-term growth prospects are muted and in Takkt, which had become over-reliant on acquisitions to drive growth. As at 31August 2012 total borrowings stood at £55,880,293 representing gearing of 17 per cent.
Alexander Darwall
Fund Manager, Jupiter Asset Management Limited
Total Assets as at 31 August 2012: £259,309,579
Shares in Issue on 31 August 2012: 79,569,523
| Net Asset Value per share excluding income/expenses(p) | Net Asset Value per share including income/expenses(p) | Market Price (p) | Discount | |
| Ordinary Shares | 325.89 | 327.83 | 304.00 | (7)% |
Portfolio Distribution on 31 August 2012 Percentage of Total Assets plus short term loans/overdraft
| Country | % |
| United Kingdom | 36 |
| Denmark | 13 |
| Germany | 12 |
| France | 11 |
| The Netherlands | 8 |
| Switzerland | 7 |
| Norway | 6 |
| Sweden | 3 |
| Others | 4 |
| Cash and fixed interest | 0 |
| 100 |
The Company had no exposure to other UK listed investment companies on 31 August 2012.
Top Ten Holdings on 31 August 2012
| Company | Country of Listing | Percentage of Portfolio |
| Experian | United Kingdom | 7.2 |
| Syngenta | Switzerland | 6.4 |
| Novo-Nordisk | Denmark | 6.1 |
| Croda International | United Kingdom | 6.1 |
| Intertek Group | United Kingdom | 5.7 |
| Johnson Matthey | United Kingdom | 5.4 |
| Novozymes | Denmark | 5.3 |
| Provident Financial | United Kingdom | 4.8 |
| Elsevier | The Netherlands | 4.6 |
| Wirecard | Germany | 4.5 |
| ____ | ||
| 56.1 |
Comparative Performance to 31 August 2012
| 1 Month % | 3 Months % | 1 Year % | 3 Years % | 5 Years % | Since Launch % | Since Last Annual Report % | |
| Total Assets* | 2.7 | 12.0 | 21.1 | 75.8 | 45.8 | 200.0 | 12.0 |
| FTSE World Europe ex UK Index | 3.7 | 11.9 | 1.4 | 4.6 | (4.8) | 35.4 | 11.9 |
| Ordinary Share NAV | 2.7 | 12.0 | 21.1 | 75.8 | 45.8 | 244.3 | 12.0 |
| Ordinary Share Price | (0.5) | 17.9 | 29.4 | 94.9 | 38.3 | 199.5 | 17.9 |
*Adjusted for changes to share capital and amounts borrowed.
OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPANY
The objective of the Company is to invest in securities of European companies and in sectors or geographical areas which are considered by the investment manager to offer good prospects for capital growth, taking into account economic trends and business development.
INVESTMENT POLICY
The Investment Manager adopts a stock picking approach in the belief that a thorough analysis and understanding of a company is the best way to identify long-term superior earnings prospects. This understanding begins with identifying those companies where the ownership structure and incumbent management are conducive to the realisation of the aim of achieving superior long-term earnings growth. The Investment Manager will seek to identify companies which enjoy certain key business characteristics including some or all of the following:
- a strong management record and team, and the confidence that the Investment Manager has in that management's ability to explain and account for its actions;
- proprietary technology and other factors which indicate a sustainable competitive advantage;
- a reasonable expectation that demand for that company's products or services will enhance long-term growth; and
- an understanding that structural changes are likely to benefit that company's prospects rather than have a negative impact on them.
It is expected that your company will have some exposure to most of the major sectors of the European economy. There may be sectors which do not enjoy the business characteristics described above and in such circumstances the Investment Manager will seek to identify companies that are nonetheless expected to generate superior earnings growth within that sector.
In analysing potential investments, the Investment Manager will employ differing valuation techniques depending on their relevance to the business characteristics of that particular company. However, the underlying feature will be the sustainability and growth of free cash-flow in the long-term.
Material Events
During the period under review there were no material events.
Availability of Monthly Fact Sheets
Monthly fact sheets for the Company are available for download from www.jupiteronline.co.uk and by post or fax on request from the company secretarial department.
The Company's Ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the prices are published in the Financial Times and The Times under `Investment Companies'.
The Net Asset Values of the Company's ordinary shares are calculated weekly and can be viewed on the London Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com (under the heading 'Market News').
For further information, please contact:
Richard Pavry
Director of Investment Trusts
Jupiter Asset Management Limited
rpavry@jupiter-group.co.uk
020 7314 4822
Jenny Thompson
Company Secretarial Department
Jupiter Asset Management Limited
jthompson@jupiter-group.co.uk
020 7314 5565
The Company's Registered office is at 1 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7JJ.
This interim management statement has been prepared solely to provide information to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Jupiter European Opportunities Trust PLC via Thomson Reuters ONE
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