REG - JPMorgan Asia G&I - Half-year Report
30/05/2025 07:00
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RNS Number : 6726K JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income PLC 30 May 2025
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT
JPMORGAN ASIA GROWTH AND INCOME INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
UNAUDITED HALF YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED
31st MARCH 2025
Legal Entity Identifier: 5493006R74BNJSJKCB17
Information disclosed in accordance with the DTR 4.1.3
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
Performance and Market Background
I am pleased to report that despite challenging market conditions, your
Company has once again demonstrated resilience and outperformance. While the
broader Asian markets declined by 2.2% over the six months ended 31st March
2025, our portfolio limited its decline to just 1.1%, and shareholders enjoyed
a positive total return of 1.4%. This continues our strong track record of
outperforming the benchmark (MSCI AC Asia ex Japan) in eight of the last ten
calendar years, delivering cumulative returns of 106% over the decade -
substantially ahead of the benchmark's 74.1%.
Despite the new US administration's threats of swingeing tariffs on Chinese
exports, the Chinese market rose by 10.4% in sterling terms. This was a
response to more co-ordinated government action to address ongoing weaknesses,
particularly in the real estate sector, and to the launch of DeepSeek, a
platform that offers various open-source AI models. DeepSeek's advanced
capabilities and cost-effectiveness took its western competitors, and global
markets, by surprise. However, the improvement in Chinese market sentiment was
more than offset by weakness in several other markets, notably Taiwan,
South Korea, Indonesia and India. The latter is experiencing a broad-based
correction following the strong gains seen in recent years.
The Portfolio Managers' Report which follows provides more detail on recent
market developments, performance, and portfolio activity, along with the
Managers' view on the outlook for Asian equity markets.
Dividend Policy
Since 2016, the Company's dividend policy has been to pay a regular, quarterly
'enhanced dividend' - i.e. one funded from a combination of revenue and
capital reserves. Historically this dividend was set at 1% of the Company's
NAV. Earlier this year, the Board recommended an increase in the enhanced
dividend to 1.5% per quarter i.e. a notional yield of 6%. Shareholders
approved this at February's Annual General Meeting, and the increase took
effect from 31st March 2025. The Board believes that this dividend increase is
preferable to returning funds to shareholders through share buybacks, will
further differentiate your Company from its peers and will generate additional
demand for its shares. The initial shareholder response to the dividend
increase has certainly been very positive.
Premium/Discount and Share Capital Management
The discount at which the Company's shares trade narrowed during the review
period, ending at 9.2%. Encouragingly, this is lower than the discount of
11.2% at the end of the last financial year and is within the Board's targeted
range of 8% to 10% in normal market circumstances. The Board's view is that
buy back activity can help balance the demand for and supply of the Company's
shares, while maintaining underlying liquidity. The Company utilised its buy
back powers over the period, buying in a total of 7.5 million shares
(representing 10.5% of issued share capital) and holding them in Treasury.
Since the end of the period, the Company has repurchased a further 731,866
shares. It is important to note that such share buybacks are accretive to the
NAV per share of remaining shares in issue and added 3.9p per share to the NAV
during the review period.
Gearing
Over most of the reporting period, the Company was not geared. This is
appropriate, given the high levels of market volatility, especially over
recent months. However, the Board regularly discusses gearing with the
Portfolio Managers. At the end of March 2025, the portfolio was 4.0% geared.
This modest amount of leverage reflects the Portfolio Managers' generally
positive view on the outlook for Asian markets.
The Company currently has no loan facility in place, so this level of gearing
was achieved via the use of contracts for difference (CFDs), a strategy which
was foreshadowed in the last Annual Report. CFDs are a flexible, low-cost,
capital-efficient alternative to loan facilities and thus offer considerable
advantages to the Portfolio Managers. The Board will closely monitor the use
and effectiveness of this form of gearing.
Environmental, Social and Governance issues
It is the Board's conviction that effective investment stewardship can
materially contribute to the construction of stronger portfolios over the long
term and therefore enhance returns. The Company's Investment Manager has a
well-established approach to investment stewardship, designed both to
understand how companies address issues related to Environmental, Social and
Governance ('ESG') factors and to seek to influence their behaviour and
encourage best practice. Financially material ESG factors have been integrated
into the investment process, and these issues are considered as part of the
investment decision making process. The Board receives regular ESG updates
from the Investment Manager.
The Investment 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/adv/about-us/investment-stewardship/
(https://am.jpmorgan.com/gb/en/asset-management/adv/about-us/investment-stewardship/)
Board Succession
The Board is committed to succession planning to maintain a balanced mix of
skills, knowledge, and diverse perspectives. Our current composition meets all
diversity targets for UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange, and we
intend to continue this compliance.
Diana Choyleva, a Director since 2023, will step down at the end of our
financial year due to the pressure of her other commitments.
Peter Moon will retire at the AGM in February 2026, following the completion
of his nine-year tenure as a Director, as noted in the 2024 Annual Report.
On behalf of the Board, we extend our gratitude to both Diana and Peter for
their valuable contributions.
To ensure a smooth transition and uphold governance standards, the Board plans
shortly to start the process of recruiting new Directors to replace Diana
Choyleva and Peter Moon.
Stay Informed
The Company is committed to engaging with its shareholders, in particular
those with smaller holdings who invest via platforms. To support this goal,
the Company provides email updates on the Company's progress with regular news
and views, as well as the latest performance data. If you have not already
signed up to receive these communications and you wish to do so, you can opt
in via https://tinyurl.com/JAGI-Sign-Up (https://tinyurl.com/JAGI-Sign-Up) or
by scanning the QR code on page 10 of the Company's Half Year Report for the
six months ended 31st March 2025 ('2025 Half Year Report').
Outlook
We agree with the Portfolio Managers' view on the impact of the new US
administration's approach to trade policy. Effective levels of tariffs may
prove to be lower than initially threatened but it is likely that economic
growth will be slower than previously expected. Uncertainties around the
broader geopolitical landscape are unlikely to dissipate. None of this is good
news for investors.
That said, there are ample reasons to be optimistic about the opportunities
offered by Asian equities in relative and absolute terms. Asian economies will
continue to grow more rapidly than their Western counterparts, where
lacklustre growth is likely to be further diminished by the threat of a trade
war. Most important, the Chinese authorities are trying to stimulate their
economy which is showing some signs of recovery. This should be good for
regional growth, as will interest rate cuts by Asian central banks. In
addition, the launch of DeepSeek serves as a reminder of how rapidly
artificial intelligence is evolving. This, combined with the more general
trend towards digitalisation should provide further impetus to regional growth
and improved productivity. At the corporate level, an increasing focus on
improving governance is lifting shareholder returns in Korea and China via
increased dividends and share buybacks. We hope that this is an example which
other Asian markets will follow.
It is important to bear in mind that market volatility, whether generated by
near-term geopolitical disturbances or longer-term structural change, almost
always creates opportunities for watchful, nimble and well-informed investors.
The Portfolio Managers' strong track record leaves the Board confident in
their ability to recognise and capitalise on such opportunities and to keep
providing shareholders with capital gains and an attractive income, despite
the challenges presented by the investment environment.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank you for your continuing support.
Sir Richard Stagg
Chairman
29th May 2025
PORTFOLIO MANAGERS' REPORT
Market Environment
The Company's benchmark index returned -2.2% in sterling terms in the six
months to 31st March 2025. However, there was considerable dispersion in
performance by country. China and Singapore posted double digit returns over
the period. China's performance was driven by signs of stabilisation as
government stimulus measures in second half of 2024 began to take effect. In
addition, the launch of DeepSeek, a Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI)
start-up, drove a re-rating of stocks across the Chinese technology sector, as
investors were surprised by Deepseek's advanced AI technology and low cost.
Internet-based companies such as on-line retailer Alibaba announced
significant investments in their cloud businesses to take full advantage of
Deepseek's AI offering. This is in spite of previous year's economic
challenges persisting, with property market and exports remaining weak.
Meanwhile, the Singaporean market was supported by strong results and
improving shareholder returns from the major banks.
The Korean stock market fell 11.5% over the six months to end March 2025,
mainly due to former President Yoon's declaration of martial law in early
December 2024, which triggered domestic demonstrations and international
criticism. Yoon was impeached by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. The
Indonesian stock market dropped 20% over the period, driven in part by a
series of policy u-turns by the new president. The country's fiscal situation
is also deteriorating, and investors fear that the new sovereign wealth fund,
Danatara, could lead to a misallocation of funds. Taiwan's market declined by
6%, mainly on concerns regarding over-investment in chips and in the data
centres which power AI models.
The Indian stock market experienced a significant correction, mainly in
response to slowing consumption, lower earnings and a de-rating of highly
valued small cap indices. The broad market fell sharply towards the end of the
period on growing concerns that the US administration could announce
unexpectedly aggressive tariffs. These fears were realised in mid-April when
the US announced heavy tariffs on many countries, including India, although
their imposition was subsequently delayed subject to negotiations, which could
take many months. Indian equity markets have been further unsettled in recent
weeks by brief military conflict between India and Pakistan, triggered by a
bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir. A US-brokered ceasefire between the
two nuclear powers was holding at the time of writing, but tensions in the
region remain high.
Performance
The Company outperformed its benchmark over the period, returning -1.1% on a
net asset value ('NAV') total return basis (in sterling terms), compared with
the benchmark's 2.2% decline, but as our investment strategy adopts a
longer-term perspective, we feel it is more meaningful to assess performance
on the same basis. In the ten years ended 31st March 2025, the Company has
delivered a cumulative total return of +106.0% in NAV terms and +115.0% on a
share price basis, well above the benchmark's cumulative total return of
+74.1%. These results equate to annualised returns of +7.5% in NAV terms, and
+8.0% on a share price basis, compared to annual rises of 5.7% for the
benchmark. The managers continue to focus on bottom-up stock selection to
drive consistent performance through market cycles and leverage JP Morgan
Asset Management's deep resources in research and technology.
Attribution
The most significant contributor to performance over the six-month review
period was our decision to open a position in and overweight Alibaba. In
addition to its investment in AI tools, mentioned above, Alibaba enjoyed good
Q424 results in e-commerce, its market share losses have stabilised and
profitability increased after three years' of decline. The next largest
contributor to returns was Hong Kong Exchange, which owns and operates stock
exchanges in Hong Kong and Mainland China. This business has benefitted from a
recovery in turnover in Chinese markets, and from growth in secondary equity
issuance.
Notable detractors included two Indian businesses. Reliance Industries, an oil
and gas refiner which also has interests in retail and digital services, was
hit by the decline in the Indian market, and by weaker results in its telecom
segment. Zomato, India's leading on-line food delivery company, saw its stock
underperform on the back of heighted competition. Although Zomato retains its
top market ranking, expectations that the company will move into profit have
been pushed out to 2026.
Performance Attribution
For the six months ended 31st March 2025
% %
Contributions to total returns
Benchmark return -2.2
Stock selection -0.2
Currency effect 0.0
Gearing/(net cash) 0.0
Investment Manager contribution -0.2
Dividend/residual(1) 0.1
Portfolio return -2.3
Management fee and other expenses -0.4
Impact of the provision for Indian capital gains tax 0.6
Share buy-back 1.0
Return on net assets(A) -1.1
Effect of movement in discount over the year 2.5
Return on share price(A) 1.4
(1) The dividend/residual arises principally from timing differences
in the treatment of income flows.
(A) Alternative Performance Measure ('APM').
Source: FactSet, JPMAM and Morningstar.
All figures are on a total return basis. Performance attribution analyses how
the portfolio achieved its recorded performance relative to its benchmark.
A glossary of terms and APMs is provided on pages 31 to 33 of the 2025 Half
Year Report.
Portfolio Activity
The purchase and overweighting of Alibaba was one of the Company's key
transactions over the financial half year. Alibaba operates various platforms
connecting on-line retailers to customers. Additionally, the company provides
cloud computing services, digital media, and entertainment. We have avoided
this name in the past due to continued market share losses in domestic
e-commerce. However, Alibaba has been expanding its global influence across
multiple sectors and our decision to gain exposure was based on the company's
improving growth prospects, combined with an attractive valuation after a
protracted period of share price weakness. We also added to an existing
position in Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications company, due to
its attractive valuation and an easing in concerns about US tariffs. Sales
include AIA, a leading pan-Asian insurer. This holding was sold after its
share price rebounded in response to higher shareholder returns and an
improvement in China's outlook.
Outlook for 2025
The outlook for the global economy has shifted considerably due to the new US
administration's threatened tariffs. Economists have reduced their 2025 US GDP
forecasts from around 2.5% to almost zero. Broad measures of policy
uncertainty have surpassed levels reached during President Trump's first
administration and could rise further depending on retaliatory responses from
trading partners. As a consequence, US survey data on capital expenditures and
employment intentions have deteriorated, with some dipping into contractionary
territory. US tariffs, if implemented, will also take a toll on growth in
other regions, including Asia. Asian countries face the prospect of higher
tariffs on some Chinese goods along with products from most other regional
economies. Tariffs will have their most adverse growth impact on more open and
trade-sensitive countries such as Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore,
while China, Australia, Indonesia and India are likely to be relatively
insulated due to their greater reliance on domestic demand.
In China, the authorities have adopted a more pro-growth, pro-business stance
over the past year and policy action finally seems to be broadening out, but
many investors would like to see further stimulus, as economic activity
remains below trend, with real estate weakness still weighing on consumer
confidence and spending. However, on a more positive note, there are signs of
property market stabilisation in major cities, although this improvement needs
to spread to smaller cities to cement a sector-wide recovery. Chinese equity
valuations, while likely capped by geopolitical concerns, have nonetheless
recovered from record lows, and could rise further as and when earnings begin
to surprise on the upside.
Finally, tech heavy North Asia is becoming an integral part of the expanding
global AI supply chain, thanks to its leading role as a provider of servers,
components, cooling systems and related services. This should ensure that
Taiwan and South Korea see continued demand growth in these sectors. However,
the region remains vulnerable to recession risks if corporates reduce their
capital expenditure plans in the wake of potentially hefty tariffs and other
geopolitical uncertainties.
This all amounts to a decidedly mixed economic outlook for the Asian region.
And with economic and political uncertainties simmering, volatility will
remain elevated. But there are, nonetheless, reasons to be optimistic about
Asian equities: regardless of near-term fluctuations, the region continues to
grow more strongly than developed economies, and China's economy is still
growing, even if the recovery will take longer to unfold than originally
envisaged; falling global inflation provides Asian central banks with scope
to cut interest rates; and the US dollar is down substantially from its peak.
Furthermore, the significance of the rapid development and penetration of AI
should not be underestimated. This structural change will boost productivity
and cut costs across most sectors for years to come. And finally, it is
important to remember that although volatility can be uncomfortable, it is the
source of many attractive investment opportunities, which hold the potential
to compound earnings growth and returns over the long run. So, as always, we
will continue to seek out and capitalise on these opportunities for the
benefit of shareholders.
For and on behalf of the Investment Manager
Robert Lloyd
Pauline Ng
Portfolio Managers
29th May 2025
INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT
The Company is required to make the following disclosures in its half year
report:
Principal Risks and Uncertainties
The principal and emerging risks faced by the Company fall into the following
broad categories: investment and strategy, geopolitical and economic,
operational risk and cybercrime, climate change and global pandemic.
Information on the principal and emerging risks faced by the Company is given
in the business review section within the Annual Report and Financial
Statements for the year ended 30th September 2024.
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 (being mainly securities which are readily realisable) 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-yearly financial report. For these reasons, they consider there is
reasonable evidence to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the
financial statements. This conclusion also takes into account the Board's
assessment of the impact of heightened market volatility due to the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the unrest in Israel and Gaza.
Continuation votes are held every three years and the next continuation vote
will be put to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in 2026.
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 March 2025, as required by the UK Listing Authority
Disclosure Guidance 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 Guidance 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
Sir Richard Stagg
Chairman
29th May 2025
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31st March 2025 31st March 2024 30th September 2024
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
(Losses)/gains on investments
held at fair value through
profit or loss - (7,181) (7,181) - 11,787 11,787 - 39,462 39,462
Losses on derivative financial
instruments - (504) (504) - - - - - -
Net foreign currency losses - (2) (2) - (233) (233) - (415) (415)
Income from investments 2,425 - 2,425 2,465 - 2,465 7,000 - 7,000
Interest receivable and
similar income1 57 - 57 49 - 49 126 - 126
Gross return/(loss) 2,482 (7,687) (5,205) 2,514 11,554 14,068 7,126 39,047 46,173
Management fee (827) - (827) (842) - (842) (1,736) - (1,736)
Other administrative expenses (472) - (472) (478) - (478) (821) - (821)
Net return/(loss) before finance
costs and taxation 1,183 (7,687) (6,504) 1,194 11,554 12,748 4,569 39,047 43,616
Finance costs (67) - (67) (29) - (29) (20) - (20)
Net return/(loss) before taxation 1,116 (7,687) (6,571) 1,165 11,554 12,719 4,549 39,047 43,596
Taxation (charge)/credit (221) 1,207 986 (316) (481) (797) (692) (2,507) (3,199)
Net return/(loss) after taxation 895 (6,480) (5,585) 849 11,073 11,922 3,857 36,540 40,397
Return/(loss) per share (note 3) 1.20p (8.67)p (7.47)p 0.96p 12.50p 13.46p 4.51p 42.75p 47.26p
( )
(1) Includes income from securities lending.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.
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.
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 Exercised Capital
share Share warrant redemption Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserves(1) reserve(1) Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Six months ended 31st March 2025 (Unaudited)
At 30th September 2024 24,449 46,705 977 25,121 232,375 - 329,627
Repurchase of shares into Treasury - - - - (28,508) - (28,508)
Net (loss)/return - - - - (6,480) 895 (5,585)
Dividends paid in the period (note 4) - - - - (5,468) (895) (6,363)
At 31st March 2025 24,449 46,705 977 25,121 191,919 - 289,171
Six months ended 31st March 2024 (Unaudited)
At 30th September 2023 24,449 46,705 977 25,121 247,577 - 344,829
Repurchase of shares into Treasury - - - - (18,926) - (18,926)
Proceeds from share forfeiture(2) - - - - 412 - 412
Net return - - - - 11,073 849 11,922
Dividends paid in the period (note 4) - - - - (5,661) (1,059) (6,720)
Forfeiture of unclaimed dividends (note 4)(2) - - - - - 210 210
At 31st March 2024 24,449 46,705 977 25,121 234,475 - 331,727
Year ended 30th September 2024 (Audited)
At 30th September 2023 24,449 46,705 977 25,121 247,577 - 344,829
Repurchase of shares into Treasury - - - - (42,765) - (42,765)
Proceeds from share forfeiture(2) - - - - 426 - 426
Net return - - - - 36,540 3,857 40,397
Dividends paid in the year (note 4) - - - - (9,403) (4,067) (13,470)
Forfeiture of unclaimed dividends (note 4)(2) - - - - - 210 210
At 30th September 2024 24,449 46,705 977 25,121 232,375 - 329,627
(1) These reserves form the distributable reserves of the Company and
may be used to fund distributions to investors.
(2) During the period, the Company undertook an Asset Reunification
Program to reunite inactive shareholders with their shares and unclaimed
dividends. Pursuant to the Company's Articles of Association, the Company has
exercised its right to reclaim the shares of shareholders whom the Company,
through its previous Registrar, has been unable to locate for a period of 12
years or more. These forfeited shares were sold in the open market by the
Registrar and the proceeds, net of costs, were returned to the Company. In
addition, any unclaimed dividends older than 12 years from the date of payment
of such dividends were also forfeited and returned to the Company.
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
At At At
31st March 31st March 30th September
2025 2024(1,2) 2024(1,2)
£'000 £'000 £'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss(1) 282,950 324,381 326,288
Investments on loan(1) 2,382 5,430 5,964
Total investments held at fair value through profit or loss 285,332 329,811 332,252
Current assets
Debtors 1,606 1,133 2,948
Current asset investments(2) 700 443 1,171
Cash at bank(2) 3,613 1,629 2,350
5,919 3,205 6,469
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (830) (563) (6,613)
Derivative financial liabilities (961) - -
Net current assets/(liabilities) 4,128 2,642 (144)
Total assets less current liabilities 289,460 332,453 332,108
Provision: Indian capital gains tax (289) (726) (2,481)
Net assets 289,171 331,727 329,627
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 24,449 24,449 24,449
Share premium 46,705 46,705 46,705
Exercised warrant reserve 977 977 977
Capital redemption reserve 25,121 25,121 25,121
Capital reserves 191,919 234,475 232,375
Total shareholders' funds 289,171 331,727 329,627
Net asset value per share (note 5) 405.3p 388.4p 417.9p
( )
(1) For the period ending 31st March 2024 and the year ending 30th
September 2024, investments that have been loaned under securities lending
arrangements have been separately disclosed as 'investments on loan' from
those that are not on loan. This change aligns with the requirements of FRS102
to disclose separately investments involved in securities lending
arrangements. This adjustment does not impact any other line items in the
Statement of Financial Position or the total current assets.
(2) For the period ending 31st March 2024 and the year ending 30th
September 2024, the 'Cash and cash equivalents' line item in the Statement of
Financial Position has been revised to 'Cash at bank' and 'Current asset
investments, in accordance with the statutory format required by the Companies
Act 2006, this revision separately reports holdings in the JPMorgan USD
Liquidity Fund, a money market fund, as 'Current asset investments'. This
adjustment does not affect any other line items in the Statement of Financial
Position or the total current assets.
CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31st March 31st March 30th September
2025 2024 2024
£'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net (loss)/return before finance costs and taxation (6,504) 12,748 43,616
Adjustment for:
Net losses/(gains) on investments held at fair value through
profit or loss 7,181 (11,787) (39,462)
Net losses on derivative financial instruments 504 - -
Net foreign currency losses 2 233 415
Dividend income (2,242) (2,465) (6,852)
Interest income (42) (42) (98)
Scrip dividends received as income (183) - (148)
Realised losses on foreign exchange transactions (442) (173) (195)
Realised exchange gains/(losses) on the JPMorgan
USD Liquidity Fund 153 (69) (178)
Increase in accrued income and other debtors (22) (5) (11)
Decrease in accrued expenses (50) (109) (17)
Net cash outflow from operations before dividends,
interest and taxation (1,645) (1,669) (2,930)
Dividends received 1,457 1,738 6,182
Interest received 42 42 98
Overseas withholding tax recovered 107 22 21
Indian capital gains tax paid (985) - (272)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities (1,024) 133 3,099
Purchases of investments and derivative financial instruments (150,576) (98,751) (216,601)
Sales of investments and derivative financial instruments 186,847 126,366 273,018
Settlement of derivative financial instruments 457 - -
Net cash inflow from investing activities 36,728 27,615 56,417
Equity dividends paid (note 4) (6,363) (6,720) (13,470)
Forfeiture of unclaimed dividends - 210 210
Repurchase of shares into Treasury (28,791) (18,717) (42,245)
Proceeds from share forfeiture - 412 426
CFD interest paid (41) - -
Interest paid (4) (18) (23)
Net cash outflow from financing activities (35,199) (24,833) (55,102)
Increase in cash and cash equivalents 505 2,915 4,414
Cash and cash equivalents at start of period/year 3,521 (851) (851)
Exchange movements 287 8 (42)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period/year 4,313 2,072 3,521
Cash and cash equivalents consist of:
Cash at bank 3,613 1,629 2,350
JPMorgan USD Liquidity Fund 700 443 1,171
Total 4,313 2,072 3,521
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the six months ended 31st March 2025
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 auditor.
The figures and financial information for the year ended 30th September 2024
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 included 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 are prepared in accordance with the Companies Act
2006, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice ('UK GAAP')
including FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and
Republic of Ireland' and with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial
Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' (the
'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 March 2025.
All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.
During the period ended 31st March 2025, the Company used Contracts for
Difference (CFDs) as part of its derivative transactions. Under FRS 102, these
derivatives are measured at fair value both initially and subsequently. The
fair value of CFDs is determined by the difference between the initial price
of the CFD contract and the value of the underlying shares, as per the
investment accounting policy. Open CFD positions at the period-end are shown
at fair value in the Statement of Financial Position under current assets or
liabilities.
Income from CFDs is recognised as derivative income in the revenue column of
the Statement of Comprehensive Income, while interest paid on CFDs is
recognised as a finance cost, in accordance with the allocation policy of the
Company. Gains and losses from CFDs are recognised in the capital column of
the Statement of Comprehensive Income.
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 September 2024.
3. (Loss)/return per share
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31st March 2025 31st March 2024 30th September 2024
£'000 £'000 £'000
(Loss)/return per share is based on the following:
Revenue return 895 849 3,857
Capital (loss)/return (6,480) 11,073 36,540
Total (loss)/return (5,585) 11,922 40,397
Weighted average number of shares in issue 74,785,978 88,580,256 85,475,668
Revenue return per share 1.20p 0.96p 4.51p
Capital (loss)/return per share (8.67)p 12.50p 42.75p
Total (loss)/return per share (7.47)p 13.46p 47.26p
4. Dividends paid
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31st March 2025 31st March 2024 30th September 2024
Pence £'000 Pence £'000 Pence £'000
Dividends paid
Fourth quarterly dividend in respect of prior year 4.2 3,284 3.8 3,450 3.8 3,450
First quarterly dividend 4.1 3,079 3.7 3,270 3.7 3,270
Second quarterly dividend - - - - 3.9 3,312
Third quarterly dividend - - - - 4.2 3,438
Total dividends paid in the period/year 8.3 6,363 7.5 6,720 15.6 13,470
Forfeiture of unclaimed dividends over 12 years old(1) (210) (210)
Net dividends 8.3 6,363 7.5 6,510 15.6 13,260
( )
(1) The unclaimed dividends were forfeited following an extensive
exercise which attempted to reunite the dividends with owners.
A second quarterly interim dividend of 6.1p has been declared for payment on
23rd May 2025 for the financial year ending 30th September 2025.
Dividend payments in excess of the revenue amount will be paid out of the
Company's distributable reserves.
5. Net asset value per share
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31st March 2025 31st March 2024 30th September 2024
Net assets (£'000) 289,171 331,727 329,627
Number of shares in issue (excluding shares held in Treasury) 71,345,205 85,416,628 78,868,615
Net asset value per share 405.3p 388.4p 417.9p
6. 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 March 2025 31st March 2024 30th September 2024
Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Level 1 285,332 - 329,501 - 332,252 -
Level 2 - (961)2 3101 - - -
Total value of instruments 285,332 (961) 329,811 - 332,252 -
( )
(1) The Level 2 disclosure represents the investment in Berlian Laju
Tanker.
(2) Includes the fair value of derivative financial instruments (long
CFDs).
7. Analysis of Changes in Net Cash
As at As at
30th September Exchange 31st March
2024 Cash flows movements 2025
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank 2,350 976 287 3,613
JPMorgan USD Liquidity Fund(1) 1,171 (471) - 700
Net cash 3,521 505 287 4,313
( )
(1) JPMorgan USD Liquidity Fund, a AAA rated money market fund which
seeks to achieve a return in line with prevailing money market rates whilst
aiming to preserve capital consistent with such rates and to maintain a high
degree of liquidity. This has been shown as a current asset investment in the
Statement of Financial Position to conform with the requirements of the
Companies Act 2006.
JPMORGAN FUNDS LIMITED
29th May 2025
For further information, please contact:
Anmol Dhillon
For and on behalf of
JPMorgan Funds Limited
Telephone: 0800 20 40 20 or or +44 1268 44 44 70
E-mail: jpmam.investment.trusts@jpmorgan.com
(mailto:jpmam.investment.trusts@jpmorgan.com)
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
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
(https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism)
The Half Year Report will also shortly be available on the Company's website
at www.jpmasiagrowthandincome.co.uk
(http://www.jpmasiagrowthandincome.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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