22 Nov 2019 12:02
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT
JPMORGAN JAPAN SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC
(the 'Company')
UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED30TH SEPTEMBER 2019
Legal Entity Identifier: 549300KP3CRHPQ4RF811
Information disclosed in accordance with DTR 4.2.2
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Dear Shareholders,
This is my first report to you as Chairman following the retirement of Robert White after our Annual General Meeting held in July this year.
Investment Performance
The Japanese stock market in the first half of the financial year was characterised by continuing volatility, fuelled by rising concerns about the effect on the outlook for global growth of the slowdown in general business confidence in the US and in Europe, and the ongoing trade war between the US and China.
The Company's total return on net assets per share (net of fees and expenses) in sterling terms was +8.8% over the half year, marginally outperforming the benchmark, the S&P Japan SmallCap Net Return Index in sterling terms, which returned +8.3%. The return to Ordinary shareholders was +11.2%, reflecting a narrowing of the Company's share price discount to net asset value ('NAV') per share over the period. The Company continues to build on the strong long term performance illustrated in the charts on page 3 of the Half Year Report.
The principal reasons for the Company's outperformance against the benchmark are detailed in the Investment Managers' report.
Dividend Policy and Discount Management
The Company's revised dividend policy has now been in place for over a year. As a reminder, the dividend policy aims to pay, in the absence of unforeseen circumstances, a regular quarterly dividend equivalent to 1% of the Company's NAV on the last business day of each financial quarter, being the end of June, September, December and March. These dividends are paid from a combination of revenue, capital and other reserves. For the year ended 31st March 2019, dividends paid totalled 18.0 pence. In respect of the quarters to 30th June 2019 and to 30th September2019, dividends of 4.4p and 4.6p respectively were paid. Two further dividends will be declared on the first business day after 31st December 2019 and 31st March 2020.
Over the period, the Company's discount narrowed from 12.8% to 11.1%. The Company did not repurchase any shares during the six months. However, the Board continues to monitor the discount closely with its advisers and is prepared to repurchase shares when it feels that it is appropriate, taking into account market conditions. At the time of writing, the discount stands at 10.3%.
Borrowing
After the period end, the Company renewed its revolving credit facility of Yen 4.0 billion (introducing an option of further increasing the facility to Yen 6.0 billion) with Scotiabank, extending its maturity date to October 2022. The loan renewal was secured on favourable terms and allows the Company to repay the loan as and when required without any penalties.
The credit facility with Scotiabank is flexible and provides the Investment Managers with the ability to gear tactically. The Company's investment policy permits gearing within a range of 10% net cash to 25% geared. However, the Board requires the Investment Managers, in normal market conditions, to operate in the range of 5% cash to 15% geared. The level of gearing is reviewed by the Directors at each Board meeting. During the six months, the Company's gearing level ranged between 6.4% and 11.2%, and finished the half year at 8.1%.
Board of Directors
As part of the Board's succession planning and as reported in the last Annual Report, Martin Shenfield and Tom Walker joined the Board immediately after the AGM in July this year. I assumed the role of Chairman of the Board and of the Nomination Committee upon the retirement of Robert White. Tom has replaced me as the Chairman of the Audit Committee. Following these changes of the Board, no further changes to its composition or size are anticipated in the next twelve months.
Both Martin and Tom bring with them a wealth of investment experience and different skill sets. Martin is a specialist in Asia Pacific macroeconomics with over 35 years' experience in the asset management industry, comprising both global asset allocation and, in particular, active portfolio management of Japanese equities along with extensive exposure to Japanese capital markets including working in Japan. After qualifying as a chartered accountant, Tom spent over 30 years as a fund manager gaining experience of many regions, including Asia, and a working understanding of investment trusts. The Board looks forward to their contribution.
Outlook
The Company's performance since the end of September 2019 has continued to be strong. Our Investment Management team believes that the investment case for Japanese equities remains positive, however, this positivity is tempered to some extent by the maturing current economic cycle, headwinds from a range of global trade issues and other short-term economic indicators. The Board has confidence that the Investment Managers, supported by the extensive research resources of JPMorgan, will continue to apply rigorous stock selection criteria and invest in companies that can generate attractive long-term returns for shareholders.
Alexa Henderson
Chairman
22nd November 2019
INVESTMENT MANAGERS' REPORT
Market Review
Over the six months to 30th September 2019, the Company's benchmark, the Standard & Poor's Japan SmallCap Net Return Index (in sterling terms), produced a total return of 8.3%. The Company's net assets outperformed the index by 0.5% over the same period, delivering a return of 8.8%. The Company's performance is ahead of the benchmark by 2.6% per annum over three years and by 3.1% per annum over five years.
The Japanese stock market experienced a volatile six months and ended the period with a flat return. A major source of this volatility was elevated uncertainty driven by US-China trade friction and associated concerns about the outlook for global economic growth. During the same period, the Japanese yen strengthened against the US dollar and sterling.
Investment Philosophy
The Company's portfolio has a bias towards quality and growth. We aim to invest in innovative and fast-growing smaller companies that are at the core of the Japanese economy and which we believe can compound earnings growth over the long term, supported by sustainable competitive advantages and good management teams. We believe such companies' strong and durable market positioning will allow them in future to substantially to increase their intrinsic value.
Our stock selection process is based on extensive experience and local 'on-the-ground' knowledge. The Company is managed by a Tokyo-based team of over 20 investment professionals offering expertise and in-depth knowledge of local markets in what is a very under-researched and under-appreciated market. This local knowledge provides us with a significant strength in identifying investment opportunities, with a focus on businesses that reinvest to provide higher growth potential.
Investment Themes
Smaller companies in Japan comprise a diverse sector with strong growth potential, serving both local and global market needs. While our decisions are based on company-specific factors, there are also structural, long-term trends and themes that underlie much of our stock selection. These include:
• Changing demographics: Japan's population is ageing, providing opportunities for innovative smaller companies that are working to improve quality of life for seniors as well as for those businesses whose focus is on labour productivity in the workplace.
• Technological innovation: many companies are embracing the productivity opportunities that technology offers. Despite Japan being an advanced industrial economy, certain areas such as financial services and payments lag other markets in terms of technological sophistication. Japanese manufacturing is world class and the country is a leading supplier of factory automation equipment, robots, and electronics parts and materials.
• Improving corporate governance standards across Japanese companies: this has resulted in increasing numbers of independent, external directors serving on company boards, as well as improving governance policies overall, including shareholders returns, internal controls and disclosure. The market is likely to reward companies that improve their governance standards and we maintain a constructive dialogue with companies on this broad theme.
• Overseas growth: businesses operating beyond Japan's shores are in a very strong position to capture the benefits of the dynamic economic growth across Asia which is creating new customers for high quality Japanese goods, services and brands.
• Government policy reforms that improve labour productivity: the record numbers of Japanese women in employment is testament to this. The stable political environment has also led to the adoption of policies to reform labour laws and corporate governance and to encourage inbound tourism.
Performance Review
During the review period, sector allocation had a positive impact. Top sector contributors included semiconductors & semiconductor equipment (where we were overweight), and top detractors included real estate (underweight). The portfolio's largest overweight positions were in the Information Technology and Communication Services sectors. We maintained our higher weighting in them, favouring companies with high earnings growth potential.
In terms of specific stocks, we highlight below three of the stocks that made the most positive contributions to performance:
• Grace Technology produces business-to-business repair and maintenance manuals for large manufacturers, who are starting to outsource the production of such specialist materials. Grace Technology provides a more efficient, cost-effective solution for producing technical/operation manuals. It is the market leader in this field, with over 30 years' experience.
• Taiyo Yuden manufactures multi-layer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) and is benefitting from ongoing technological innovation in the automobile industry related to autonomous driving, electric vehicles and the use of mobile internet technology. These factors stand to create huge potential markets for Japan's specialist MLCC manufacturers.
• Nippon Prologis REIT invests in high quality ('Class A') logistics facilities in Japan. We believe that strong structural trends, particularly higher e-commerce penetration, will continue to propel the growth of Class A facilities. Nippon Prologis REIT has a big advantage over its competitors because of pipeline business coming from its sponsor Prologis Inc. which continues to invest into Japanese real estate.
Negative contributors to relative performance included internet service and software companies Sansan (which is a new addition to the portfolio as detailed below) and Mercari, due to concerns over weak share price movements experienced by their US peers. Tosho, one of Japan's best sports gym operators in terms of operating margin and return on assets, declined due to short-term concerns over tougher competition across the health and fitness industry. In spite of these immediate headwinds, we remain committed to all three stocks as we believe that all they have competitive advantages that will help them to grow over the long-term.
Portfolio Activity
The company maintained its focus on stocks that we believe will be able to deliver earnings growth over the long term, supported by strong management teams and healthy cash flow. We avoided stocks that have no clear differentiation and operate in industries plagued by excess supply. Many stocks in the Financial Services and Real Estate sectors fall into this category.
Three of our most significant new purchases are summarised below:
• Sansan is a software company that provides a cloud-based, multi-platform contact management tool for corporate customers in Japan and beyond. Its product is centered around digitised business cards, which can be simply scanned to build a database that can be shared with colleagues to enhance staff productivity in sales, marketing and client service activities.
• Riso Kyoiku is an educational service provider which has benefitted from Japan's shrinking population; education spending per child has been increasing following the Japanese government's gift tax system reforms, by enabling parents and grandparents to spend more on education. This trend is a tailwind for its core one-to-one tutoring business 'TOMAS' and its infant education business "Shingakukai".
• Milbon is Japan's leading supplier of hair care products for salons, with a strategy in place to establish itself globally. It is already achieving growth from Asian regions such as China and Korea. The key opportunity is China, where the market is underdeveloped and where the huge Chinese population and its growing middle classes provide a significant opportunity for Milbon.
Three of our largest divestments were Chiba Bank, construction company Yokogawa Bridge Holdings, and metals manufacturer Dowa Holdings. We sold these stocks as we considered that future improvements in corporate governance and shareholder returns would be slower than for their competitors.
Over the period, the annualised portfolio turnover rate was 12.8%. The overall shape of the portfolio has not changed materially and we maintain our bias towards quality and growth. The Company's gearing level ranged between 6.4% and 11.2%, ending the period at 8.1%.
Outlook
Although many economies around the world have seen steady growth over recent years, there has been an undeniably marked slowdown this year, notably in China. The outlook for global markets remains uncertain, with the fallout from the US/China trade tensions continuing to cast a shadow.
In Japan, cyclical sectors have experienced sluggish earnings growth. And there could be uncertain times ahead, leaving companies reliant on export business potentially vulnerable. Japanese companies are sensitive to economic cycles in overseas markets and, although we do not expect a recession, a failure to achieve a positive outcome for the current range of trade issues would pose a headwind.
In the midst of widespread caution, it is important to highlight that valuations of Japanese companies remain reasonable, lower than historical averages and below those of most major markets. The fundamental long-term outlook for Japanese smaller companies remains positive, in our view, and we see no shortage of exciting investment opportunities.
As symbolised by the new Imperial era named Reiwa (meaning 'beautiful harmony') which began on 1st May, Japan is seeking to achieve sustainable and broadly-based growth thanks to progress in corporate governance, free trade, international relations and tourism. Japan's key structural challenge, the declining size of its population, presents significant opportunities, especially for smaller companies.
The Company maintains its focus on investing in businesses with leading market positions, strong cash generation and solid balance sheets, across a diverse range of industries. We believe that by focusing on companies with these attributes, the Company is well positioned to benefit from secular trends in Japan as well as weathering potential short-term changes in sentiment driven by trade policies or other economic indicators.
Eiji Saito
Naohiro Ozawa
Michiko Sakai
Investment Managers
22nd November 2019
INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT
The Company is required to make the following disclosures in its half year report.
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company have not changed and fall into the following broad categories: investment and strategy; discount; operational; loss of investment team; and political and economic. Information on each of these areas is given in the Business Review within the Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31st March 2019.
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 during the period.
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 operation existence for at least twelve months from the date of the approval of this half yearly financial report. For these reasons, they consider that there is reasonable evidence to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
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 the affairs of the Company and of the assets, liabilities, financial position and net return of the Company as at 30th September 2019, as required by the UK Listing Authority Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.2.4R; and
(ii) the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by DTRs 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
Alexa Henderson
Chairman
22nd November 2019
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2019
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) | ||||||
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended | ||||||
| 30th September 2019 | 30th September 2018 | 31st March 2019 | ||||||
| Revenue | Capital | Total | Revenue | Capital | Total | Revenue | Capital | Total |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Gains/(losses) on investments |
|
|
|
|
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|
|
held at fair value through |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
profit or loss | - | 22,310 | 22,310 | - | 7,585 | 7,585 | - | (20,917) | (20,917) |
Net foreign currency |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
losses | - | (1,821) | (1,821) | - | (72) | (72) | - | (530) | (530) |
Income from investments | 1,661 | - | 1,661 | 1,673 | - | 1,673 | 4,007 | - | 4,007 |
Gross return/(loss) | 1,661 | 20,489 | 22,150 | 1,673 | 7,513 | 9,186 | 4,007 | (21,447) | (17,440) |
Management fee | (1,114) | - | (1,114) | (1,213) | - | (1,213) | (2,294) | - | (2,294) |
Other administrative expenses | (255) | - | (255) | (215) | - | (215) | (426) | - | (426) |
Net return/(loss) before |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
finance costs and taxation | 292 | 20,489 | 20,781 | 245 | 7,513 | 7,758 | 1,287 | (21,447) | (20,160) |
Finance costs | (119) | - | (119) | (109) | - | (109) | (220) | - | (220) |
Net return/(loss) before |
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|
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|
|
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taxation | 173 | 20,489 | 20,662 | 136 | 7,513 | 7,649 | 1,067 | (21,447) | (20,380) |
Taxation | (176) | - | (176) | (167) | - | (167) | (389) | - | (389) |
Net (loss)/return after |
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|
|
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|
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taxation | (3) | 20,489 | 20,486 | (31) | 7,513 | 7,482 | 678 | (21,447) | (20,769) |
(Loss)/return |
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per share (note 3) | (0.01)p | 37.59p | 37.58p | (0.06)p | 13.78p | 13.72p | 1.24p | (39.35)p | (38.11)p |
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2019
| Called up |
| Capital |
|
|
|
|
| share | Share | redemption | Other | Capital | Revenue |
|
| capital | premium | reserve | Reserve1,2 | Reserves2 | Reserve2 | Total |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Six months ended 30th September 2019 (Unaudited) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31st March 2019 | 5,595 | 33,978 | 1,836 | 303,766 | (98,486) | (11,579) | 235,110 |
Net return/(loss) | - | - | - | - | 20,489 | (3) | 20,486 |
Dividends paid in the period | - | - | - | (4,742) | - | - | (4,742) |
At 30th September 2019 | 5,595 | 33,978 | 1,836 | 299,024 | (77,997) | (11,582) | 250,854 |
Six months ended 30th September 2018 (Unaudited) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 31st March 2018 | 5,595 | 33,978 | 1,836 | 311,237 | (77,039) | (12,257) | 263,350 |
Share transaction expense3 | - | - | - | (3) | - | - | (3) |
Net return/(loss) | - | - | - | - | 7,513 | (31) | 7,482 |
Dividend paid in the period (note 4) | - | - | - | (2,671) | - | - | (2,671) |
At 30th September 2018 | 5,595 | 33,978 | 1,836 | 308,563 | (69,526) | (12,288) | 268,158 |
Year ended 31st March 2019 (Audited) |
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|
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At 31st March 2018 | 5,595 | 33,978 | 1,836 | 311,237 | (77,039) | (12,257) | 263,350 |
Share transaction expense3 | - | - | - | (3) | - | - | (3) |
Net (loss)/return | - | - | - | - | (21,447) | 678 | (20,769) |
Dividends paid in the year (note 4) | - | - | - | (7,468) | - | - | (7,468) |
At 31st March 2019 | 5,595 | 33,978 | 1,836 | 303,766 | (98,486) | (11,579) | 235,110 |
1 The share premium was cancelled in the period ended 31st March 2001 and re-designated as 'other reserve'.
2 This reserve forms the distributable reserve of the Company and may be used to fund distributions to investors via dividend payments.
3 Stamp duty on share repurchases into Treasury on 29th March 2018
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AT 30TH SEPTEMBER 2019
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) |
| 30th September 2019 | 30th September 2018 | 31st March 2019 |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Fixed assets |
|
|
|
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss | 271,084 | 286,700 | 253,585 |
Current assets |
|
|
|
Debtors | 1,924 | 1,101 | 1,786 |
Cash and cash equivalents | 10,096 | 7,444 | 10,343 |
| 12,020 | 8,545 | 12,129 |
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year1 | (32,250) | (82) | (30,604) |
Net current (liabilities)/assets | (20,230) | 8,463 | (18,475) |
Total assets less current liabilities | 250,854 | 295,163 | 235,110 |
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year | - | (27,005) | - |
Net assets | 250,854 | 268,158 | 235,110 |
Capital and reserves |
|
|
|
Called up share capital | 5,595 | 5,595 | 5,595 |
Share premium | 33,978 | 33,978 | 33,978 |
Capital redemption reserve | 1,836 | 1,836 | 1,836 |
Other reserve | 299,024 | 308,563 | 303,766 |
Capital reserves | (77,997) | (69,526) | (98,486) |
Revenue reserve | (11,582) | (12,288) | (11,579) |
Total shareholders' funds | 250,854 | 268,158 | 235,110 |
Net asset value per share (note 5) | 460.2p | 491.9p | 431.3p |
1 On 25th October 2019, the Company renewed the Yen 4 billion loan facility for another three years.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2019
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) |
| 30th September 2019 | 30th September 2018 | 31st March 2019 |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
Net cash outflow from operations before |
|
|
|
dividends and interest | (860) | (1,413) | (2,694) |
Dividends received | 2,120 | 2,072 | 3,465 |
Interest paid | (112) | (108) | (222) |
Net cash inflow from operating activities | 1,148 | 551 | 549 |
Purchases of investments | (13,342) | (48,853) | (61,376) |
Sales of investments | 16,714 | 49,897 | 69,840 |
Settlement of forward currency contracts | (43) | (11) | 30 |
Net cash inflow from investing activities | 3,329 | 1,033 | 8,494 |
Dividends paid (note 4) | (4,742) | (2,671) | (7,468) |
Repurchase of shares into Treasury | - | (469) | (469) |
Net cash outflow from financing activities | (4,742) | (3,140) | (7,937) |
(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents | (265) | (1,556) | 1,106 |
Cash and cash equivalents at start of the period | 10,343 | 9,117 | 9,117 |
Exchange movements | 18 | (117) | 120 |
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period | 10,096 | 7,444 | 10,343 |
(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents | (265) | (1,556) | 1,106 |
Cash and cash equivalents consist of: |
|
|
|
Cash and short term deposits | 10,096 | 7,444 | 10,343 |
Total | 10,096 | 7,444 | 10,343 |
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30TH SEPTEMBER 2019
1. Financial statements
The information contained within the 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 31st March 2019 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, 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 November 2014 and updated in February 2018.
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 30th September 2019.
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 31st March 2019.
3. (Loss)/return per share
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) |
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended |
| 30th September 2019 | 30th September 2018 | 31st March 2019 |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
(Loss)/return per share is based on the following: |
|
|
|
Revenue (loss)/return | (3) | (31) | 678 |
Capital return/(loss) | 20,489 | 7,513 | (21,447) |
Total return/(loss) | 20,486 | 7,482 | (20,769) |
Weighted average number of shares in issue | 54,510,339 | 54,510,339 | 54,510,339 |
Revenue (loss)/return per share | (0.01)p | (0.06)p | 1.24p |
Capital return/(loss) per share | 37.59p | 13.78p | (39.35)p |
Total return/(loss) per share | 37.58p | 13.72p | (38.11)p |
4. Dividend paid
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) |
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended |
| 30th September 2019 | 30th September 2018 | 31st March 2019 |
| £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
2019 fourth quarterly dividend of 4.3p (2018: 0.0p) | 2,344 | - | - |
2020 first quarterly dividend of 4.4p (2019: 4.9p) | 2,398 | 2,671 | 2,671 |
2019 second quarterly dividend of 4.9p | n/a | n/a | 2,671 |
2019 third quarterly dividend of 3.9p | n/a | n/a | 2,126 |
Total dividend paid | 4,742 | 2,671 | 7,468 |
The dividends paid in the period/year have been funded from the other reserve.
A second quarterly dividend of 4.6p (2018: 4.9p) per share, amounting to £2,507,000 (2018: £2,671,000) was declared payable in respect of the year ending 31st March 2020. It was paid on 7th November 2019 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 11th October 2019.
5. Net asset value per share
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | (Audited) |
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended |
| 30th September 2019 | 30th September 2018 | 31st March 2019 |
Net assets (£'000) | 250,854 | 268,158 | 235,110 |
Number of shares in issue | 54,510,339 | 54,510,339 | 54,510,339 |
Net asset value per share | 460.2p | 491.9p | 431.3p |
JPMORGAN FUNDS LIMITED
22nd November 2019
For further information, please contact:
Divya Amin
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.
ENDS
A copy of the half year will be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM
The half year will also shortly be available on the Company's website at www.jpmjapansmallercompanies.co.uk where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can also be found.