Last checked at 7 Mar 2023 07:00
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT
JPMORGAN EMERGING MARKETS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS
ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2022
Legal Entity Identifier: 5493001VPQDYH1SSSR77
Information disclosed in accordance with DTR 4.2.2
CHAIR'S STATEMENT
Introduction
In her final statement as Chair, published in September 2022, my predecessor Sarah Arkle highlighted the challenges of the global environment including higher inflation and interest rates, together with geopolitical concerns such as the continuing war in Ukraine and tensions between the US and China. In this, my first statement as Chair of your Company, I should note that these challenges continue to have an impact on markets. However, I am pleased to be able to report on a period of positive performance for your Company in both absolute and relative terms.
Investment Performance
Although the Company's benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index with net dividends reinvested (in sterling terms), retreated further since the Company's financial year end, finishing the reporting period down -2.1%, the Company's total return on net assets fared better and returned +1.3%. The Company's share price total return for the period was +5.1%, reflecting a welcome narrowing of the discount that the Company's shares trade at, relative to their Net Asset Value ('NAV') per share. It is also pleasing to report that the long-term outperformance of your Company has been sustained. Over five years the cumulative total return to shareholders is +32.8%, against the benchmark return of +4.8%.
The reporting period was a game of two halves: between 1st July to 30th September 2022, our benchmark index fell -11.6% in US dollar terms, however, it rebounded by +9.7% in US dollar terms over the following three months. Taking account of sterling's volatility over the period, these quarters translated into a six month benchmark total return of -2.1% for UK investors. This marked reversal of fortunes for emerging market equities in Q4 2022 is most welcomed and has continued into 2023. Your Investment Managers, Austin Forey and John Citron, comment upon the factors driving this renewed optimism for emerging markets, together with a review of performance and details of changes made to the Company's portfolio over the reporting period in their report which follows. In particular they note the significance of a weaker US dollar and major COVID-19 policy changes in China.
Share Rating
At the end of the last financial year, the Company's shares traded at a 10.3% discount (to the cum income net asset value), the discount having widened substantially over the financial year in line with the experience of many other investment trusts. Indeed, at the end of June 2022 the investment trust sector as a whole (ex 3i Group plc and on a weighted basis) was trading at approximately a 10.6% discount. Over the last six months however the Company's discount has narrowed, closing the reporting period at 7.0%.
The Board regularly considers the merits of buying back shares in order to manage the level and volatility of the discount and will buy back shares if the discount is out of line with the peer group, markets are orderly and it is in the best interests of shareholders to do so. As shares are only bought back at a discount to the prevailing net asset value, share buybacks benefit shareholders as they increase the net asset value per share. Over the six month period 7,253,717 shares (representing 0.62% of the outstanding share capital) were bought back into Treasury at an average discount of 10.4% at a cost of £7.6 million. This compares to 17,153,866 shares that were bought back in the fiscal year to 30th June 2022 and reflects the narrowing of the discount over the period. Shares repurchased are held in Treasury and such Treasury shares and any new ordinary shares will only be sold or issued at a premium to NAV.
Environmental, Social and Governance ('ESG')
Your Manager has long held the belief that companies which identify material ESG risks and opportunities are a more attractive investment, able to deliver superior returns over time and the consideration of ESG factors in the evaluation of companies has long been a critical part of the Manager's investment process. In more recent years, the integration of ESG has become formalised and the application of JPMorgan Asset Management's proprietary analysis adds further rigour to the process. Engagement with companies has always been an important way for the Investment Managers to promote these standards and principles and the dedicated emerging markets and Asia Pacific investment team has conducted over 3,000 company meetings over the past year. They are further supported by a team of over 30 sustainable investing specialists. The Manager has recently published a document containing its latest Investment Stewardship Priorities, which may be of interest to shareholders. This can be found at: https://am.jpmorgan.com/gb/en/asset-management/institutional/about-us/investment-stewardship/ At each Board meeting the Board reviews the portfolio for its ESG characteristics versus the benchmark and its carbon intensity, both in terms of absolute data and relative to the Index. While the Company is not described as a 'sustainable' fund, the profile of the portfolio shows favourable ESG characteristics, including a low carbon footprint compared against the benchmark. The Company's MSCI ESG rating is 'A' and the Company is ranked highly among the Lipper Peer Group. The Company publishes these ratings on a quarterly basis and they can be found on the company's website in the documents section.
Revenue and Dividends
In respect of the financial year to 30th June 2022 an interim dividend of 0.52 pence per share and a final dividend of 0.83p were paid to shareholders on 19th April and 18th November 2022 respectively. The Company's primary focus is to generate a total return for shareholders, in line with its investment objective, rather than targeting a particular level of income. For any individual year, dividends received in sterling terms can fluctuate according to the underlying earnings of the portfolio as well as changes in its composition and of course currency movements. This means that the level of dividends will vary.
Net revenue after taxation for the six months to 31st December 2022 was £7.47 million (2021: £4.44 million) and earnings per share were 0.64p (2021: 0.38p). The Board has declared an interim dividend of 0.58p (2021: 0.52p), representing growth of 11.5%, to be paid on 25th April 2023 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 17th March 2023. The ex-dividend date will be 16th March 2023.
Board of Directors
Sarah Arkle retired as the Chair and as a Director of the Company following the Annual General Meeting on 9th November 2022. Sarah joined the Board in 2013 and served as a Director for nine years, the latter five as Chair. The Board and the Company benefited greatly from Sarah's counsel, dedication and leadership during her tenure and we wish her well for the future.
The Board notes the Hampton-Alexander recommendations and the FCA's new Listing Rules concerning specific board diversity targets. The Board will be reporting against these targets in the Company's 2023 Annual Report and setting out future succession plans in more detail.
Shareholder Communications
We are developing a new initiative to provide email updates on the Company's progress which could be especially helpful for investors who hold shares through an investment platform and who may not otherwise have a direct line of communication. If shareholders wish to sign up to receive these communications, please visit https://tinyurl.com/JMG-Sign-Up In addition our Investment Managers both record webinars and video updates which can be found on the Company's website.
Outlook
2022 was a difficult year for emerging markets and for your Company. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, COVID-19 resurgence in China and tightening US monetary policy posed various challenges. However, your Company has experienced several periods of volatility and uncertainty since its launch and your Investment Managers have considerable experience in navigating through such turbulence. Whilst the precise future direction of inflation and monetary policy remains unclear, recent US dollar weakness and the reopening of China after the COVID-19 restrictions have benefited emerging economies. Both these factors could be tailwinds for emerging market equities, especially after the large swathe of earnings downgrades seen last year. Meanwhile as a Board we will continue to be watchful around geopolitical issues and indeed around the possibility of future economic, political or regulatory disruption.
All that said, the Board is confident that emerging markets will continue to provide a wide selection of opportunities for disciplined stockpickers, based on the Investment Managers' approach of identifying high quality businesses that can deliver long term, sustainable growth and supported by a highly capable analyst and research team. Whilst there may be periods when this approach underperforms our benchmark index, we believe that it will continue to reward investors over the longer term.
Aidan Lisser
Chair
6th March 2023
INVESTMENT MANAGERS' REPORT
Market Review
2022 was not an easy year for investors, and that observation applies equally to emerging markets. But we can report that the year ended on a rather more positive note, and the rise in markets from the end of October onwards was enough to leave our benchmark index down only marginally in sterling terms over the six months to 31st December 2022. That is much better than things looked at the end of October, when the MSCI Emerging Markets Index had fallen 10% from the end of June. The underlying swings in local share prices during that period were actually larger than this, but were masked to some extent by moves in sterling, which itself declined against many emerging market currencies and against the US dollar in September and October before recovering towards the end of the year.
Performance
The performance of your Company's portfolio against the asset class also improved in the last six months; the net asset value total return over the last six months was +1.3%, compared with -2.1% from the asset class as a whole, so after a difficult first half of 2022, it is pleasing to be able to report on a period of outperformance for this latest half year. Shareholders will note also that the Company's share price did better still, rising by +5.1% on a total return basis, as the discount to net asset value narrowed.
Signs of Recovery?
What accounted for this turnaround? Over the past year and more, two macroeconomic factors have presented serious headwinds for emerging market equities: a strengthening US dollar, and policy in China. As the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates to combat inflation, other central banks around the world found themselves doing the same. Although central bankers in developing countries generally acted earlier and more sharply than their developed world counterparts, this was not enough to stop the US dollar rising to a level that was very high compared with historic levels. In simple terms, a strong US dollar draws money to the United States and away from other parts of the world, and this time was no exception. The United Kingdom suffered its own version of exactly the same pattern, with sterling losing 12% against the US dollar in August and September alone. But as the year drew to a close, markets became hopeful that much of the monetary tightening in the US was already done, and the US dollar began to weaken considerably, boosting emerging market currencies and also relieving some of their own need to run tighter monetary policy. That means easier monetary conditions, which should in turn aid economic growth and corporate earnings.
The second major headwind for emerging markets has been China. For almost three years, the Chinese government pursued a distinctive 'zero COVID-19' policy, long after other countries have found a way to reopen their economies. The stresses induced by this approach were evident not only in Chinese macroeconomic data, which pointed to a much lower rate of growth in the economy, but even more so in our meetings with individual companies. We talked to one business which had a significant part of their salesforce caught in lockdown, another whose workers were unable to reach factories, and another which had a large number of their restaurants closed for extended periods. Not surprisingly, this took a toll on business performance, and as Chinese firms struggled to maintain profits, equity prices fell steeply. The more entrenched this policy became, the harder it appeared for the government to change course, regardless of the economic consequences. But eventually a combination of popular discontent and economic necessity prevailed, and the government changed its policy completely almost overnight. This produced a surge in COVID-19 cases, but also a significant boost to the economic outlook, and the Chinese equity markets responded strongly in the last couple of months of the year. China is by far the largest single part of the overall emerging market index, so this recovery in Chinese equities had a notable effect even on the broader benchmark.
Portfolio Changes
Against this background of market volatility, we made few changes to your Company's portfolio. It is worth noting, however, that we added to investments in China as the period progressed. The new investments during the last six months included Yili, the leading dairy products company in China, which forms part of the portfolio's exposure to consumer demand as the economy reopens. We also bought back into Greentown Service, a premises management company we have owned before, and added to existing holdings across a number of industries including branded spirits, software and healthcare. At the time, this felt like a series of bad decisions: every new stock we added in China fell in value almost from the moment we purchased it. However, this increase in exposure did mean that we arrived at the low point in the market in early November almost neutrally weighted in China when taken together with Hong Kong. The natural outcome of our investment approach has long resulted in an underweight allocation to China; but the decline in Chinese share prices over the last couple of years brought a number of good businesses to acceptable valuations, including those mentioned above, triggering some additions to the portfolio and leading to a larger than usual allocation to that market. This has helped the portfolio keep pace with the recovery in China and the overall Index since the beginning of November 2022.
Outlook
The more optimistic note in markets has carried over so far into 2023, and both of these main drivers of emerging equity markets, the US dollar and Chinese economic re-opening, may yet have further to run: the developed world faces a tough year economically, while emerging economies continue to grow, and will be helped further by a recovery in China. While that will affect the timing of some of the decisions we make in the Company's portfolio, it will not alter our approach, which remains focused on identifying businesses able to create value over a sustained period into the future.
Austin Forey
John Citron
Investment Managers
6th March 2023
INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT
The Company is required to make the following disclosures in its half year report:
Principal and Emerging Risks and Uncertainties
The principal and emerging risks and uncertainties faced by the Company have not changed from those reported in the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 30th June 2022 ('AFRS') and fall into the following broad categories: investment underperformance; loss of investment team or investment manager; political and economic; strategy/business management; operational and counterparty failure and cyber crime; share price discount; change of corporate control of the manager; legal and regulatory; corporate governance and shareholder relations; and financial. Information on each of these areas is given in the Business Review within the AFRS.
Related Parties Transactions
During the first six months of the current financial year, no transactions with related parties have taken place which have materially affected the financial position or the performance of the Company.
Going Concern
The Directors believe, having considered the Company's investment objectives, risk management policies, capital management policies and procedures, nature of the portfolio and expenditure projections, that the Company has adequate resources, an appropriate financial structure and suitable management arrangements in place to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and more specifically, that there are no material uncertainties pertaining to the Company that would prevent its ability to continue in such operational existence for at least 12 months from the date of the approval of this half year financial report. For these reasons, they consider there is reasonable evidence to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.
Directors' Responsibilities
The Board of Directors confirms that, to the best of its knowledge:
(i) the condensed set of financial statements contained within the half yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with FRS 104 'Interim Financial Reporting' and gives a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the assets, liabilities, financial position and net return of the Company, as at 31st December 2022 as required by the UK Listing Authority Disclosure and Transparency Rules 4.2.4R; and
(ii) the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R of the UK Listing Authority Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
In order to provide these confirmations, and in preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business;
and the Directors confirm that they have done so.
For and on behalf of the Board
Aidan Lisser
Chair
6th March 2023
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |||||||
Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | |||||||
31st December 2022 | 31st December 2021 | 30th June 2022 | |||||||
Revenue | Capital | Total | Revenue | Capital | Total | Revenue | Capital | Total | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Gains/(losses) on investments | |||||||||
held at fair value through | |||||||||
profit or loss | - | 14,026 | 14,026 | - | (60,246) | (60,246) | - | (300,802) | (300,802) |
Net foreign currency gains | - | 942 | 942 | - | 629 | 629 | - | 6,561 | 6,561 |
Income from investments | 9,971 | - | 9,971 | 7,922 | - | 7,922 | 23,043 | - | 23,043 |
Interest receivable | 843 | - | 843 | 19 | - | 19 | 158 | - | 158 |
Gross return/(loss) | 10,814 | 14,968 | 25,782 | 7,941 | (59,617) | (51,676) | 23,201 | (294,241) | (271,040) |
Management fee | (1,532) | (3,575) | (5,107) | (1,872) | (4,369) | (6,241) | (3,537) | (8,252) | (11,789) |
Other administrative expenses | (648) | - | (648) | (647) | - | (647) | (1,346) | - | (1,346) |
Net return/(loss) before |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
taxation | 8,634 | 11,393 | 20,027 | 5,422 | (63,986) | (58,564) | 18,318 | (302,493) | (284,175) |
Taxation | (1,169) | (3,293) | (4,462) | (981) | (9,622) | (10,603) | (2,326) | (5,420) | (7,746) |
Net return/(loss) after |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
taxation | 7,465 | 8,100 | 15,565 | 4,441 | (73,608) | (69,167) | 15,992 | (307,913) | (291,921) |
Return/(loss) per share (note 3) | 0.64p | 0.69p | 1.33p | 0.38p | (6.23)p | (5.85)p | 1.36p | (26.13)p | (24.77)p |
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the period.
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 net return/(loss) after taxation represents the profit/(loss) for the period and also the total comprehensive income.
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
Called up |
| Capital |
|
|
|
| |
share | Share | redemption | Other | Capital | Revenue |
| |
capital | premium | reserve | reserve | reserves | reserve1 | Total | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Six months ended 31st December 2022 (Unaudited) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 30th June 2022 | 33,091 | 173,631 | 1,665 | 69,939 | 1,072,940 | 18,040 | 1,369,306 |
Repurchase of shares into Treasury | - | - | - | - | (7,652) | - | (7,652) |
Net return | - | - | - | - | 8,100 | 7,465 | 15,565 |
Dividends paid in the year (note 4) | - | - | - | - | - | (9,683) | (9,683) |
At 31st December 2022 | 33,091 | 173,631 | 1,665 | 69,939 | 1,073,388 | 15,822 | 1,367,536 |
Six months ended 31st December 2021 (Unaudited) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 30th June 2021 | 33,091 | 173,631 | 1,665 | 69,939 | 1,401,743 | 17,974 | 1,698,043 |
Repurchase of shares into Treasury | - | - | - | - | (12,086) | - | (12,086) |
Net (loss)/return | - | - | - | - | (73,608) | 4,441 | (69,167) |
Dividend paid in the period (note 4) | - | - | - | - | - | (9,812) | (9,812) |
At 31st December 2021 | 33,091 | 173,631 | 1,665 | 69,939 | 1,316,049 | 12,603 | 1,606,978 |
Year ended 30th June 2022 (Audited) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 30th June 2021 | 33,091 | 173,631 | 1,665 | 69,939 | 1,401,743 | 17,974 | 1,698,043 |
Repurchase of shares into Treasury | - | - | - | - | (20,890) | - | (20,890) |
Net (loss)/return | - | - | - | - | (307,913) | 15,992 | (291,921) |
Dividend paid in the year (note 4) | - | - | - | - | - | (15,926) | (15,926) |
At 30th June 2022 | 33,091 | 173,631 | 1,665 | 69,939 | 1,072,940 | 18,040 | 1,369,306 |
1 This reserve forms the distributable reserve of the Company and may be used to fund distributions to investors.
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
At | At | At | |
31st December | 31st December | 30th June | |
2022 | 2021 | 2022 | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Fixed assets |
|
|
|
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss | 1,323,386 | 1,568,198 | 1,313,276 |
Current assets |
|
|
|
Debtors | 2,514 | 1,660 | 4,203 |
Cash and cash equivalents | 50,531 | 46,921 | 57,700 |
53,045 | 48,581 | 61,903 | |
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year | (182) | (179) | (453) |
Net current assets | 52,863 | 48,402 | 61,450 |
Total assets less current liabilities | 1,376,249 | 1,616,600 | 1,374,726 |
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year | (8,713) | (9,622) | (5,420) |
Net assets | 1,367,536 | 1,606,978 | 1,369,306 |
Capital and reserves |
|
|
|
Called up share capital | 33,091 | 33,091 | 33,091 |
Share premium | 173,631 | 173,631 | 173,631 |
Capital redemption reserve | 1,665 | 1,665 | 1,665 |
Other reserve | 69,939 | 69,939 | 69,939 |
Capital reserves | 1,073,388 | 1,316,049 | 1,072,940 |
Revenue reserve | 15,822 | 12,603 | 18,040 |
Total shareholders' funds | 1,367,536 | 1,606,978 | 1,369,306 |
Net asset value per share (note 5) | 117.6p | 136.4p | 117.0p |
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | |
31st December | 31st December | 30th June | |
2022 | 2021 | 2022 | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Net cash outow from operations before | |||
dividends and interest (note 6) | (2,766) | (6,499) | (11,608) |
Dividends received | 10,817 | 7,648 | 18,579 |
Interest received | 666 | 19 | 158 |
Overseas tax (paid)/recovered | (174) | (180) | 93 |
Net cash inflow from operating activities | 8,543 | 988 | 7,222 |
Purchases of investments | (25,349) | (73,563) | (109,362) |
Sales of investments | 29,266 | 141,799 | 192,011 |
Settlement of foreign currency contracts | - | 85 | 98 |
Net cash inflow from investing activities | 3,917 | 68,321 | 82,747 |
Dividends paid | (9,683) | (9,812) | (21,670) |
Repurchase of shares into Treasury | (7,814) | (13,026) | (15,926) |
Net cash outflow from financing activities | (17,497) | (22,838) | (37,596) |
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | (5,037) | 46,471 | 52,373 |
Cash and cash equivalents at start of period/year | 57,700 | 510 | 510 |
Exchange movements | (2,132) | (60) | 4,817 |
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period/year | 50,531 | 46,921 | 57,700 |
Cash and cash equivalents consist of: |
|
|
|
Cash and short term deposits | 650 | 1,451 | 487 |
Cash held in JPMorgan US Dollar Liquidity LVNAV Fund | 49,881 | 45,470 | 57,213 |
Total | 50,531 | 46,921 | 57,700 |
RECONCILIATION OF NET DEBT
As at |
|
| As at | |
30th June |
| Exchange | 31st December | |
2022 | Cash flows | movement | 2022 | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Cash and cash equivalents |
|
|
|
|
Cash | 487 | 162 | 1 | 650 |
Cash equivalents | 57,213 | (5,199) | (2,133) | 49,881 |
Total | 57,700 | (5,037) | (2,132) | 50,531 |
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the six months ended 31st December 2022
1. Financial statements
The information contained within the condensed financial statements in this half year report has not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditors.
The figures and financial information for the year ended 30th June 2022 are extracted from the latest published financial statements of the Company and do not constitute statutory accounts for that year. Those financial statements have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and including the report of the auditors which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006.
2. Accounting policies
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' of the 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 revised 'SORP') issued by the Association of Investment Companies in July 2022.
FRS 104, 'Interim Financial Reporting', issued by the Financial Reporting Council ('FRC') in March 2015 has been applied in preparing this condensed set of financial statements for the six months ended 31st December 2022.
All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.
The accounting policies applied to this condensed set of financial statements are consistent with those applied in the financial statements for the year ended 30th June 2022.
3. Return/(loss) per share
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | |
31st December 2022 | 31st December 2021 | 30th June 2022 | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Return per share is based on the following: | |||
Revenue return | 7,465 | 4,441 | 15,992 |
Capital return/(loss) | 8,100 | (73,608) | (307,913) |
Total return/(loss) | 15,565 | (69,167) | (291,921) |
Weighted average number of shares in issue (excluding shares held in Treasury) |
1,166,901,335 |
1,182,428,601 |
1,178,582,565 |
Revenue return per share | 0.64p | 0.38p | 1.36p |
Capital return/(loss) per share | 0.69p | (6.23)p | (26.13)p |
Total return/(loss) per share | 1.33p | (5.85)p | (24.77)p |
4. Dividends paid
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | |
31st December 2022 | 31st December 2021 | 30th June 2022 | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Unclaimed dividends refunded to the Company1 | - | (1) | (1) |
2022 final dividend of 0.83p (2021: 0.83p) | 9,683 | 9,813 | 9,813 |
2022 interim dividend of 0.52p | - | - | 6,114 |
Total dividends paid in the period/year | 9,683 | 9,812 | 15,926 |
1 Represents dividends which remain unclaimed after a period of 12 years and thereby become the property of the Company.
All dividends paid in the period have been funded from the revenue reserve.
An interim dividend of 0.58p (2022: 0.52p) per share amounting to £6,741,000 (2022: £6,114,000), has been declared payable in respect of the six months ended 31st December 2022.
5. Net asset value per share
(Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |
Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | |
31st December 2022 | 31st December 2021 | 30th June 2022 | |
£'000 | £'000 | £'000 | |
Net assets (£'000) | 1,367,536 | 1,606,978 | 1,369,306 |
Number of shares in issue | 1,163,258,513 | 1,178,497,230 | 1,170,512,230 |
Net asset value per share | 117.6p | 136.4p | 117.0p |
6. Reconciliation of net return/(loss) before finance costs and taxation to net cash outflow from operations before dividends and interest
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) |
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended |
| 31st December 2022 | 31st December 2021 | 30th June 2022 |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Net return/(loss) before finance costs and taxation | 20,027 | (58,564) | (284,175) |
(Less capital return)/add capital loss before finance | |||
costs and taxation | (11,393) | 63,986 | 302,493 |
Scrip dividends received as income | - | (51) | (108) |
Decrease/(increase) in accrued income and | |||
other debtors | 1,947 | 789 | (1,728) |
Decrease in accrued expenses | (110) | (253) | (129) |
Overseas withholding tax | (1,253) | (973) | (2,617) |
Management fee charged to capital | (3,575) | (4,369) | (8,252) |
Dividends received | (10,817) | (7,648) | (18,579) |
Interest received | (666) | (19) | (158) |
Realised (loss)/gain on foreign currency transactions | (106) | 37 | 163 |
Exchange gain on liquidity fund | 3,180 | 566 | 1,482 |
Net cash outflow from operations before dividends and interest | (2,766) | (6,499) | (11,608) |
7. Fair valuation of instruments
The fair value hierarchy disclosures required by FRS 102 are given below.
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | |||
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | |||
| 31st December 2022 | 31st December 2021 | 30th June 2022 | |||
| Assets | Liabilities | Assets | Liabilities | Assets | Liabilities |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Level 1 | 1,323,325 | - | 1,568,198 | - | 1,313,216 | - |
Level 31 | 61 | - | - | - | 60 | - |
Total value of investments | 1,323,386 | - | 1,568,198 | - | 1,313,276 | - |
1 The Level 3 investment relates to the Company's holdings in the Russian stock Sberbank of Russia.
| 31st December 2022 | 30th June 2022 | ||
| Equity |
| Equity |
|
| Investments | Total | Investments | Total |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Level 3 |
|
|
|
|
Opening balance | 60 | 60 | - | - |
Transfers into level 3 | - | - | 14,052 | 14,052 |
Change in fair value of unquoted investment | ||||
during the year | 1 | 1 | (13,992) | (13,992) |
Total | 61 | 61 | 60 | 60 |
JPMORGAN FUNDS LIMITED
6th March 2023
For further information, please contact:
Alison Vincent
For and on behalf of
JPMorgan Funds Limited
020 7742 4000
Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED
ENDS
A copy of the Half Year Report has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.
The Half Year Report will also shortly be available on the Company's website at www.jpmemergingmarkets.co.uk where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can also be found.