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JMG Jpmorgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust Plc

107.00
-0.60 (-0.56%)
10 May 2024 - Closed
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Jpmorgan Emerging Markets Investment Trust Plc LSE:JMG London Ordinary Share GB00BMXWN182 ORD 2.5P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  -0.60 -0.56% 107.00 107.00 107.20 108.00 106.60 106.60 1,965,711 16:26:48
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Mgmt Invt Offices, Open-end 20.13M -1.91M -0.0016 -668.75 1.26B

JPMorgan Emerging Mkts Invest Trust Half-year Report (7730Q)

02/03/2021 7:00am

UK Regulatory


Jpmorgan Emerging Market... (LSE:JMG)
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TIDMJMG

RNS Number : 7730Q

JPMorgan Emerging Mkts Invest Trust

02 March 2021

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN EMERGING MARKETS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

(the 'Company')

HALF YEAR REPORT & FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 31ST DECEMBER 2020

Legal Entity Identifier : 5493001VPQDYH1SSSR77

Information disclosed in accordance with the DTR 4.2.2

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

The three key objectives that the Directors of your Company set out at the beginning of the financial year to

30th June 2020 were to continue the strong record of investment performance; to reduce the discount of our share price to the net asset value; and to broaden the shareholder base. These objectives were reconfirmed at the beginning of the current financial year with an additional objective to ensure that the increasing focus on ESG and sustainable investing and its more formalised integration into the investment process is more fully communicated to the Company's shareholders. I am pleased to report that progress has been made on each of these objectives as outlined below.

Investment Performance

During the first half of the Company's financial year, emerging markets delivered strong positive returns for investors, with the Company's benchmark index, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (in sterling terms), rising 18.5% over the six months. In the same period the Company's return on net assets, at +24.9%, was again

better than the benchmark. The return to shareholders was +32.8%, reflecting a narrowing of the discount to net asset value at which the Company's shares trade, from 8.7% at the previous financial year end to 3.0% at the half year end.

This continues the Company's outstanding record of long term outperformance, the net asset value and share price having both outperformed the benchmark index over one, two, three, five and ten years to 31st December 2020. Over five years the cumulative return to shareholders is +158.1%, against the benchmark return of +97.0%. This outperformance shows the significant benefits that can be achieved from investing in emerging markets using active management compared with investments in either passive or exchange traded funds. This strong performance has been recognised by the Company winning a number of impressive awards; for the second year running the Company won the Investment Week Best Emerging Markets Trust and for the third consecutive year it was the winner of the prestigious Citywire Global Emerging Market Equities award.

A review of the Company's performance for the first six months of this financial year and the outlook for the remainder of the year is provided in the Investment Manager's Report which follows.

Discount/Premium Management

The Board is very pleased that the discount on the Company's shares has continued to narrow over the first half of the financial year. 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 and markets are orderly. 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 period, 701,916 shares were bought back at an average discount of 10.4% at a cost of GBP7.48 million. This compares with 1,412,278 shares for the same period last year at an average discount of 8.2%. There have been no buybacks since 29th September 2020.

In the last few weeks the Company's shares have traded close to or at a premium to their NAV. If the shares were to trade at a premium to NAV for a sustained period of time, the Board may decide to use its authority to re-issue shares out of Treasury, but only if the impact of any share issuance after costs is of benefit to existing shareholders and not dilutive to NAV. Over the six months the discount (to the cum income net asset value) on the Company's shares ranged between 12.8 % and 2.5%, averaging 7.3%.

Broadening the Shareholder Base

The Board has agreed with the Manager an increased marketing and PR programme, to be part funded by the Company, with the aim of attracting new investors to the Company and thereby broadening the shareholder base. We believe this has been an important factor in helping to achieve our objective of reducing the level and volatility of the discount at which the Company's shares trade. It is notable that over the past 3 years, Retail/Platform ownership has grown from 21.4% to 29.9% and wealth manager ownership of the Company has increased from 14.8% to 28.6%. Conversely, the institutional share ownership has come down from 63.8% to 41.5%. It is our intention to further broaden the shareholder base through continued investment in a number of marketing channels.

Environmental, Social and Governance Issues

The Manager believes that sustainable investing delivers superior returns over the long-term, and has followed this approach since long before ESG issues gained prominence. The team has always incorporated ESG considerations into how it selects stocks in emerging markets companies and, more recently, the integration of these processes has become formalised. The Board is aware of the ever increasing focus by shareholders on sustainable and responsible investing. We published our first ESG Statement in our 2020 Annual Report and have recently released our first externally measured ESG Rating on our website, which gives the Company an 'A' rating and an impressive

93rd percentile rank (100th being the highest) in the Equity Emerging Markets Global peer group. We will continue to share more information about the Company's ESG approach and activities with investors on the website.

Share Split

Following the Company's strong share price performance, the Board proposed a share split, to sub divide each ordinary share of 25p into 10 ordinary shares of 2.5p each. Shareholders approved the resolution for the share split at our AGM on 5th November 2020 and the sub division of shares took effect on 6th November 2020 when the new ordinary shares were admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Revenue and Dividends

In the financial year to June 2020 an interim dividend of 5.2 pence per share (which is equivalent to 0.52 pence per share following the 10 for 1 share split) and a final dividend of 9.2p (equivalent to 0.92p) were paid to shareholders on 17th April and 12th November 2020. The Company is focused on generating a total return for shareholders, in line with its investment objective, rather than any particular level of dividend and, for individual years, dividends received in sterling terms will fluctuate in line with underlying earnings as well as any changes in the portfolio holdings and currency movements. For the current financial year the revenue return per share is expected to remain below the pre-Covid levels for the second year running. However, one of the advantages of being an investment trust is having the ability to use the Company's revenue reserves to smooth dividends paid to shareholders from year to year.

For the current financial year, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 0.52p per share payable on 16th April 2021 to shareholders on the register as at 12th March 2021. The ex-dividend date will be 11th March 2021.

Continuation of the Company

As shareholders will be aware, every three years the Company offers shareholders a Continuation Vote to determine whether the Company should continue in existence. Shareholders were asked to vote on this in a resolution at the AGM in November 2020 and I am pleased to say shareholders almost unanimously voted in favour of the continuation of the Company, with 99.97% of votes in favour. The next continuation vote will be put to shareholders in 2023.

Outlook

Global economies are now beginning to recover from the sharp downturns seen last year and there is increased optimism about the future impact from the coronavirus vaccines. However, the extent of the recovery is still unclear and is likely to vary across different countries and different sectors of the economies. Following the strong rises in stock markets, emerging market valuations are now looking less compelling than they did last year, although the changing nature of the areas of growth within economies, which has in many cases been accelerated by the pandemic, is creating a number of interesting opportunities at a company level. Developments in China and elsewhere may create challenges and there may be periods when the Manager's investment approach underperforms the index. Nevertheless, the Directors still believe that the Manager's active fund management process, which focuses on identifying sustainable high quality growth companies, will reward investors and outperform over the longer term, as has been the case over a number of years.

Sarah Arkle

Chairman

1st March 2021

INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REPORT

The last six months, from July to December 2020, have seen the beginning of recovery in many countries around from the world from the ravages wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Although the situation remained severe in many countries, progress on vaccine development also offered hope that the pandemic will eventually pass. Against this background, it may seem strange to see equity markets reaching new highs; yet share prices are determined by investors making forward-looking judgements, and have therefore reflected the economic recovery and the ending of the public health crisis that we all hope for. As a result, the half year that concluded at the end of December saw strong rises not just in markets overall, but also in the share price of your Company.

One might think, after such a period, that one should be cautious. It is certainly true that valuations have risen, and our overall view of the prospects for markets has moderated: our analysts' expectations of potential returns are lower now than when the pandemic engulfed Europe in March 2020, and they should be, given the strong recovery in equity prices. And yet it is not an exaggeration to say that the opportunities we see at the level of individual companies are as great as at any time in the last three decades, if not greater.

How can we hold both these views at the same time? Well on the one hand, the outlook for share prices in many industries remains closely tied to the overall economic situation; and while there will be a recovery from the downturn, growth prospects in the medium term remain subdued in many areas. After all, the level of interest rates - which is still very low around the world, including in many emerging markets - is telling us something about the prospects for growth in general. But at the same time, the rate at which value is being created in certain areas of the global economy is remarkable. That is because three very powerful and long-lasting effects are producing huge challenges and huge opportunities for companies around the world, with significant implications for the way we manage your company's portfolio.

The first of these factors is digitalisation. The ability to collect data on an unprecedented scale is overturning industries, and radically altering the skillset needed to survive and prosper within them. We are all familiar with this in our everyday lives, and need look no further than the rise of Amazon and the decline of high street retail businesses to see an example of this process in action. Yet the importance of data is now changing things in every industry, and in particular, enabling the separation of intangible value creation from the ownership of physical assets. That is bad news for businesses that depend heavily on fixed assets, and very good news for those that deal mostly in intangible value, whether through brands, or software in some form.

The second trend is the rise of China, which comes at a time of tremendous entrepreneurial business creation in that country, much of it enabled by digitalisation. In several areas, China is now ahead of Western economies in the adoption of digital and online business models. Moreover, the Chinese corporate sector as a whole is now much more accessible to external investors because of the opening of its domestic equity market to foreign capital. This presents us with both opportunities and challenges. Alone among emerging markets, we see the depth and range of the equity market in China matching that of the United States, which has big implications for the opportunity set we face as investors. Yet investment in China it is not straightforward: it comes with regulatory complexity, state involvement in many industries and companies, and a relatively immature corporate sector and equity market. Increased strategic rivalry with the West has led recently not just to trade disputes, but to direct sanctions from the USA targeted at specific parts of the Chinese corporate sector. Even so, we think that China will remain an important investment destination for your company in the coming years, and we expect opportunities in China in sectors like healthcare, software and clean energy, as well as manufacturing and consumption, to be a continuing focus of our attention in the future.

The third secular trend is the need to develop a low-carbon economy, which has enormous implications for the ways energy is produced and consumed. While the far-sighted have been working on this for many years, it is clear that carbon transition has become a serious political priority recently in a way that was not previously the case, and that this is being reinforced with real regulatory action too. The numbers here are so large that they can be hard to comprehend: some estimates put the investment required for effective carbon transition at USD 10 trillion over the next 30 years. Whether or not that is a realistic forecast, it is certain that, like digitalisation, environmental necessity will create huge winners, and also some huge losers, in the corporate world. Can we conceive of a time when no road vehicles require refined petroleum, or when renewable energy means we don't need to burn coal? Yes. Yet somehow the view that much if not all of the value of the global hydrocarbon industry might eventually migrate to companies involved in renewable energy and electric transportation seems almost heretical. As investors, however, we need to imagine possibilities like this precisely when they still seem unlikely; once they become received wisdom, they will also be largely reflected in share prices.

This last secular theme also has implications for the way we work as investors. As the focus on sustainability grows, it becomes a more important determinant of corporate success. I mentioned in the latest annual report that during the last year we have enhanced our research process to better assess the most material issues in each industry related to corporate sustainability; that work has already begun to inform our assessments and investment views; it is also very complementary to the broad framework for assessing ESG risks which we originally implemented in 2013. We are also working on targeted engagements with companies, both pursuing issues that this enhanced research has highlighted, and also following JPMorgan Asset Management's overall engagement priorities.

As we look forward to the remaining six months of your company's financial year, we hope to see the pandemic gradually receding, not just in the United Kingdom, but around the globe. The progress on vaccines is an impressive reminder, if one were needed, of what human ingenuity and technology can achieve within relatively short periods of time. But it is that very ingenuity and innovation that leads me to think that in the longer term, the secular changes described above will in fact be of much greater significance for investors, and for your company's prospects. When we look back at the economic and social change enabled during the last century by the internal combustion engine and the use of electricity, we see the difference between the modern world and what went before. There seems no reason to believe that the changes possible in the twenty-first century will be any less significant.

Austin Forey

Investment Manager

1st March 2021

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 2020 ('AFRS') and fall into the following broad categories: investment underperformance; political, economic and pandemic; loss of investment team or investment manager; strategy/business management; operational and cyber crime; share price discount; change of corporate control of the manager; legal and regulatory; corporate governance, ESG 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

twelve 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 2020 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

Sarah Arkle

Chairman

1st March 2021

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 31(ST) DECEMBER 2020

 
                               (Unaudited)                      (Unaudited)                       (Audited) 
                             Six months ended                 Six months ended                    Year ended 
                            31st December 2020               31st December 2019                 30th June 2020 
                       Revenue    Capital      Total    Revenue    Capital      Total    Revenue    Capital      Total 
                       GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000    GBP'000 
-------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 
   Gains on 
   investments 
   held at fair 
   value through 
   profit or loss            -    320,969    320,969          -     49,725     49,725          -     23,660     23,660 
 Net foreign 
  currency 
  (losses)/gains             -      (223)      (223)          -       (48)       (48)          -        292        292 
 Income from 
  investments            8,437          -      8,437      9,742          -      9,742     20,247          -     20,247 
 Interest 
  receivable                13          -         13        109          -        109        136          -        136 
-------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Gross return            8,450    320,746    329,196      9,851     49,677     59,528     20,383     23,952     44,335 
 Management fee        (1,778)    (4,148)    (5,926)    (1,670)    (3,896)    (5,566)    (3,231)    (7,539)   (10,770) 
 Other 
  administrative 
  expenses               (726)          -      (726)      (714)          -      (714)    (1,324)          -    (1,324) 
-------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Net return before 
  taxation               5,946    316,598    322,544      7,467     45,781     53,248     15,828     16,413     32,241 
 Taxation              (1,208)          -    (1,208)      (679)          -      (679)    (1,651)          -    (1,651) 
-------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Net return after 
  taxation               4,738    316,598    321,336      6,788     45,781     52,569     14,177     16,413     30,590 
-------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------  --------- 
 Return per share 
  (note 3)(1)            0.40p     26.55p     26.95p      0.56p      3.77p      4.33p      1.17p      1.36p      2.53p 
 

(1) Comparative figures for the period ended 31st December 2019 and Year ended 30th June 2020 have been restated following the sub -- division of each existing ordinary share of 25p into ten ordinary shares of 2.5p each in November 2020.

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 31(ST) DECEMBER 2020

 
                                    Called 
                                        up                  Capital 
                                     share      Share    redemption      Other      Capital       Revenue 
                                   capital    premium       reserve    reserve     reserves    reserve(1)        Total 
                                   GBP'000    GBP'000       GBP'000    GBP'000      GBP'000       GBP'000      GBP'000 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 Six months ended 31st 
  December 2020 (Unaudited) 
 At 30th June 2020                  33,091    173,657         1,665     69,939    1,002,828        22,735    1,303,915 
 Repurchase of shares 
  into Treasury                          -          -             -          -      (7,528)             -      (7,528) 
 Costs relating to subdivision 
  of shares                              -          -             -          -         (26)             -         (26) 
 Net return                              -          -             -          -      316,598         4,738      321,336 
 Dividend paid in the 
  period (note 4)                        -          -             -          -            -      (10,710)     (10,710) 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 At 31st December 2020              33,091    173,657         1,665     69,939    1,311,872        16,763    1,606,987 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 Six months ended 31st 
  December 2019 (Unaudited) 
 At 30th June 2019                  33,091    173,657         1,665     69,939    1,009,708        25,709    1,313,769 
 Repurchase of shares 
  into Treasury                          -          -             -          -     (14,041)             -     (14,041) 
 Net return                              -          -             -          -       45,781         6,788       52,569 
 Dividend paid in the 
  period (note 4)                        -          -             -          -            -      (10,895)     (10,895) 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 At 31st December 2019              33,091    173,657         1,665     69,939    1,041,448        21,602    1,341,402 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 Year ended 30th June 
  2020 (Audited) 
 At 30th June 2019                  33,091    173,657         1,665     69,939    1,009,708        25,709    1,313,769 
 Repurchase of shares 
  into Treasury                          -          -             -          -     (23,293)             -     (23,293) 
 Net return                              -          -             -          -       16,413        14,177       30,590 
 Dividend paid in the 
  period (note 4)                        -          -             -          -            -      (17,151)     (17,151) 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 At 30th June 2020                  33,091    173,657         1,665     69,939    1,002,828        22,735    1,303,915 
-------------------------------  ---------  ---------  ------------  ---------  -----------  ------------  ----------- 
 

(1) This reserve forms the distributable reserve of the Company and is used to fund distributions to investors.

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

AT 31(ST) DECEMBER 2020

 
                                             (Unaudited)      (Unaudited)    (Audited) 
                                           31st December    31st December    30th June 
                                                    2020             2019         2020 
                                                 GBP'000          GBP'000      GBP'000 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 
   Fixed assets 
 Investments held at fair value 
  through profit or loss                       1,596,668        1,338,466    1,288,907 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Current assets 
 Debtors                                           1,111            1,335        1,703 
 Cash and cash equivalents                         9,380            3,862       13,534 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
                                                  10,491            5,197       15,237 
 Current liabilities 
 Creditors: amounts falling due 
  within one year                                  (172)          (2,260)        (229) 
 Derivative financial liabilities                      -              (1)            - 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Net current assets                               10,319            2,936       15,008 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Total assets less current liabilities         1,606,987        1,341,402    1,303,915 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Net assets                                    1,606,987        1,341,402    1,303,915 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Capital and reserves 
 Called up share capital                          33,091           33,091       33,091 
 Share premium                                   173,657          173,657      173,657 
 Capital redemption reserve                        1,665            1,665        1,665 
 Other reserve                                    69,939           69,939       69,939 
 Capital reserves                              1,311,872        1,041,448    1,002,828 
 Revenue reserve                                  16,763           21,602       22,735 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Total shareholders' funds                     1,606,987        1,341,402    1,303,915 
---------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ----------- 
 Net asset value per share (note 
  5)(1)                                           135.0p           111.1p       108.9p 
 

(1) Comparative figures for the period ended 31st December 2019 and Year ended 30th June 2020 have been restated following the sub-division of each existing ordinary share of 25p into ten ordinary shares of 2.5p each in November 2020.

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 31(ST) DECEMBER 2020

 
                                          (Unaudited)      (Unaudited)         (Audited) 
                                           Six months       Six months        Year ended 
                                                ended            ended    30th June 2020 
                                        31st December    31st December           GBP'000 
                                                 2020             2019 
                                              GBP'000          GBP'000 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 
   Net cash outflow from operations 
   before 
   dividends and interest                     (7,816)          (6,486)          (12,390) 
 Dividends received                             7,947           10,688            19,859 
 Interest received                                 13              111               138 
 Overseas tax (paid)/recovered                  (121)               87                91 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Net cash inflow from operating 
  activities                                       23            4,400             7,698 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Purchases of investments                    (87,523)         (60,303)         (133,905) 
 Sales of investments                         102,120           78,669           173,768 
 Settlement of foreign currency 
  contracts                                      (64)               88               257 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Net cash inflow from investing 
  activities                                   14,533           18,454            40,120 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Dividend paid                               (10,710)         (10,895)          (17,151) 
 Repurchase of shares into Treasury           (7,528)         (14,041)          (23,293) 
 Costs relating to subdivision of 
  shares                                         (26)                -                 - 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Net cash outflow from financing 
  activities                                 (18,264)         (24,936)          (40,444) 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 (Decrease)/increase in cash and 
  cash equivalents                            (3,708)          (2,082)             7,374 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents at start 
  of period                                    13,534            5,947             5,947 
 Exchange movements                             (446)              (3)               213 
 Cash and cash equivalents at end 
  of period                                     9,380            3,862            13,534 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 (Decrease)/increase in cash and 
  cash equivalents                            (3,708)          (2,082)             7,374 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents consist 
  of: 
 Cash and short term deposits                   1,808              390               747 
 Cash held in JPMorgan US Dollar 
  Liquidity Fund                                7,572            3,472            12,787 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 Total                                          9,380            3,862            13,534 
------------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ---------------- 
 

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE SIX MONTHSED 31(ST) DECEMBER 2020

   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 30th June 2020 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 October 2019.

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 2020.

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 2020.

   3.    R etur n per share 
 
                                   (Unaudited)      (Unaudited)       (Audited) 
                                    Six months       Six months      Year ended 
                                         ended            ended       30th June 
                                 31st December    31st December            2020 
                                          2020             2019         GBP'000 
                                       GBP'000          GBP'000 
-----------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 
   Return per share is based 
   on the following: 
 Revenue return                          4,738            6,788          14,177 
 Capital return                        316,598           45,781          16,413 
-----------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 Total return                          321,336           52,569          30,590 
-----------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 Weighted average number of 
  shares in 
  issue (excluding shares 
  held in Treasury)(1)           1,192,616,854    1,213,930,430   1,207,942,160 
 Revenue return per share(1)             0.40p            0.56p           1.17p 
 Capital return per share(1)            26.55p            3.77p           1.36p 
-----------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 Total return per share(1)              26.95p            4.33p           2.53p 
-----------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 

(1) Comparative figures for the period ended 31st December 2019 and Year ended 30th June 2020 have been restated following the sub-division of each existing ordinary share of 25p into ten ordinary shares of 2.5p each in November 2020.

   4.    Dividends paid 
 
                                        (Unaudited)      (Unaudited)     (Audited) 
                                         Six months       Six months    Year ended 
                                              ended            ended     30th June 
                                      31st December    31st December          2020 
                                               2020             2019       GBP'000 
                                            GBP'000          GBP'000 
----------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ------------ 
 
   2020 Final dividend of 0.9p(1) 
   (2019: 0.9p(1) )                          10,710           10,895        10,895 
 2020 interim dividend of 
  0.5p(1)                                         -              n/a         6,256 
----------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ------------ 
 Total dividends paid in the 
  period/year                                10,710           10,895        17,151 
----------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  ------------ 
 

(1) The dividend rate has been restated following the sub-division of each existing ordinary share of 25p into ten ordinary shares of 2.5p each in November 2020.

   5.    Net asset value per share 
 
                                    (Unaudited)      (Unaudited)       (Audited) 
                                     Six months       Six months      Year ended 
                                          ended            ended       30th June 
                                  31st December    31st December            2020 
                                           2020             2019 
------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 
   Net assets (GBP'000)               1,606,987        1,341,402       1,303,915 
 Number of shares in issue(1)     1,190,033,240    1,207,069,580   1,197,052,400 
------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 Net asset value per share(1)            135.0p           111.1p          108.9p 
------------------------------  ---------------  ---------------  -------------- 
 

(1) Comparative figures for the period ended 31st December 2019 and Year ended 30th June 2020 have been restated following the sub-division of each existing ordinary share of 25p into ten ordinary shares of 2.5p each in November 2020.

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 FUNDS LIMITED

1st March 2021

For further information, please contact:

Nira Mistry

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Funds Limited

020 7742 4000

ENDS

A copy of the 2020 Half Year Report will shortly be submitted to the FCA's National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism

The 2020 Half Year Report will 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.

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END

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