Schroder UK Mid - Half-year Report
28/06/2023 07:00
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RNS Number : 1118E Schroder UK Mid Cap Fund PLC 28 June 2023
Schroder UK Mid Cap plc
Half Year Report and Accounts
Schroder UK Mid Cap plc hereby submits its Half Year Report for the period
ended 31 March 2023 as required by the Financial Conduct Authority's
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 4.2.
The Half Year Report is also being published in hard copy format and an
electronic copy of that document will shortly be available at the link below:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1118E_1-2023-6-27.pdf
(http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1118E_1-2023-6-27.pdf)
This is also available to download from the Company's website
www.schroders.co.uk/ukmidcap (http://www.schroders.co.uk/ukmidcap)
The Company has submitted its Half Year Report to the National Storage
Mechanism and it will shortly be available in unedited full text at
https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
(https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism) .
Enquiries:
Paula Lockwood
Schroder Investment Management Limited
Tel: 020 7658 6000
Half Year Report and Accounts for the six months ended 31 March 2023
Chairman's Statement
Investment and share price performance
During the six-month period to 31 March 2023, the Company's net asset value
total return ("NAV") rose by 18.5%, comfortably outperforming the 15.0% return
of the Company's Benchmark (FTSE 250 ex Investment Trusts Index). The share
total return price rose by 18.7% over the period.
More detailed comment on the performance of your Company can be found in the
Portfolio Manager's review.
Dividend
As portfolio income continues to recover the Board is pleased to announce an
increased interim dividend of 5.5 pence per share for the financial year
ending 30 September 2023, an increase of 10%. This will be payable on 4
August 2023 to shareholders registered at the close of business on 14 July
2023.
Discount management
The discount started and ended the period around the 11% mark, which is
broadly in line with the Company's mid cap listed peers. The Board regularly
monitors the discount and will continue to consider share repurchases should
it widen to a level at which the Board believes buy-backs are in shareholders'
best interests. During the six-month period to 31 March 2023, the Company did
not buy back any shares.
Gearing
Net gearing as at 31 March 2023 was 8.8% versus 10.8% at the beginning of the
period with £25.0 million of the Company's Revolving Credit Facilities
deployed. It is expected that the Manager will continue to use this gearing to
take advantage of attractive new investment opportunities and to participate
in capital raisings by portfolio companies.
Outlook
After a challenging financial year for the Company in 2022 it is most pleasing
to report a period of strong performance during the first six months of the
current financial year. Despite the ongoing challenges of stubbornly high
inflation and increasing UK rates, investor sentiment has much improved in
2023 and there are some good reasons for optimism in the outlook. Energy
prices have decreased to more sustainable levels, relieving pressure on
businesses and households, and inflation, though still elevated, seems like it
may have peaked. Though the conflict in Ukraine continues and the associated
geopolitical risks remain, a more stable domestic political environment has
helped calm UK markets and improve sentiment.
Portfolio performance was strong during the period and more details can be
found in the Portfolio Manager's review regarding the drivers of this
performance. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the outlook for UK
mid caps and the Company's portfolio. The portfolio contains many companies
with strong balance sheets which have been resilient through a challenging
period, continuing to grow earnings and margins. Many of these companies'
unique offerings have allowed them to pass through costs to their customers
enabling them to thrive in an inflationary environment. The UK stock market
remains cheap relative to many other global markets on traditional valuation
measures. Given these clear valuation opportunities, it is unlikely that
elevated interest from foreign buyers, such as Private Equity funds, will
abate anytime soon, with domestically focused mid caps being particularly
attractive. While investors should never be complacent given the complex
international situation, still sticky levels of inflation and the risk of
higher interest rates in the UK, the overall outlook has improved from the
beginning of the financial year and the Board remains optimistic that the
Portfolio Managers can continue to find attractive investment opportunities
with the prospect of long-term returns for shareholders.
Robert Talbut
Chairman
27 June 2023
Portfolio Manager's Review
Market Background
UK equities rose over the period helped in part as the country emerged from
its self-inflicted crisis, when the former prime minister ("PM") and
chancellor announced huge fiscal stimulus, with little regard to how it would
be funded. Many of the policies announced with September's 2022
'mini-budget' were reversed and the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt used the Autumn
Statement to emphasise fiscal discipline. These developments supported a
strong recovery by domestically focussed areas which also bounced back as it
transpired the UK economy had performed resiliently during the energy crisis.
Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that the UK economy had
not contracted in Q4 2022, contrary to consensus expectations. As a result,
the economy dodged a technical recession by dint of avoiding two consecutive
quarters of decline following the contraction recorded for Q3 2022. More
broadly, economically sensitive areas of UK equities outperformed in line with
other markets. This occurred amid hopes that the US Federal Reserve might be
in a position to 'pivot' to cutting interest rates in late 2023.
Portfolio Performance
The portfolio NAV achieved a return of 18.5% during the period, outperforming
the Benchmark by 3.5%. Similarly, the share price returned 18.7%, and so the
discount, which began the period at 11.4%, widened slightly to 11.5%. Gearing
was a positive factor.
Stock-picking in the Consumer Discretionary sector, alongside our underweight
in the Real Estate sector, contributed strongly to performance. Healthy
absolute returns in Consumer Discretionary were driven by a combination of
stock selection and more resilient consumer spending than the market
anticipated. Pressure on the Real Estate sector has been relentless in what we
must admit is a more normal interest rate environment.
At a stock specific level, homewares retailer, Dunelm, continued to bounce
back from its oversold position at the end of September 2022, when concern
around consumer-focused stocks was at peak levels. Dunelm has continued to
trade strongly, taking market share in both its core homewares sector and in
furniture. The company is continuing to benefit from people spending increased
time in their homes, partly driven by more home-working, and also, presumably,
because of a desire to save money, now that the excitement of being able to
eat in a restaurant again has receded. The announced 40p special dividend
emphasises both the momentum in the business and its cash generative nature.
Share buy-backs were a common factor amongst some of our top performing
holdings, including commercial vehicle fleet operator, Redde Northgate, and
UK specialist bank, Paragon Banking Group, which is exposed to the
residential buy-to-let market, and proving very resilient. Games Workshop,
the company behind the Warhammer franchise, performed very well on the back of
news it had struck an agreement in principle with Amazon to develop its
intellectual property into film and TV productions. We have long seen scope
for the company to selectively licence its intellectual property to grow the
fan base and create a truly global franchise. The Amazon deal has brought this
potential to the attention of the wider market.
4Imprint, the promotional products business with over 98% of revenues coming
from North America, continues to enjoy rapid post-pandemic growth. 2022
results revealed 45% revenue growth and record operating profit. With just 5%
market share of an industry that is transitioning online, 4Imprint's leading
digital marketing skills position it well for further market share gains.
The largest detractor to performance was cyber security business, NCC. In the
second half of its financial year 2023, NCC experienced softening demand for
its services, as large US West Coast technology customers deferred buying
decisions. Margins are also being squeezed from cheaper, overseas competition,
although the resilience of NCC's profitable escrow business is mitigating some
of the pressure.
Payments specialist, PayPoint, underperformed as the market digested its
acquisition of multi-retailer redemption product provider Appreciate Group.
However, the company has, in early June 2023, reported a positive year-end
trading update, stating that "profit before tax for the financial year ended
31 March 2023 will be at the top end of the range of market expectations,
driven by the strong momentum across the business." Mining royalties
business, Ecora Resources, delivered results that fell marginally short of
expectations. In the last two years, the business has begun to move away from
being a predominantly coal weighted business, using the supernormal profits
from this commodity to pivot towards commodities that will enable the energy
transition.
High performance polymer business Victrex underperformed on the back of full
year results which revealed gross margin weakness. The company saw substantial
inflation in raw material and energy costs, which it was only able to pass
through at a lag. We continue to think the business is well-placed, with a 50%
capacity share of the niche, high margin polyetheretherketone ("PEEK") market,
a very solid balance sheet and a low valuation relative to its history.
After a strong run in the previous six months, defence business QinetiQ gave
back some ground. However, post period end, the company reported strong
operating results together with a significant upgrade to its long-term profit
guidance, driven by increased opportunities in the Security and Intelligence
markets.
Portfolio activity
We established a new holding in Babcock International, where we see
growing demand for the company's defence and nuclear services combined with an
improved balance sheet as a result of several disposals. We also added
speciality chemicals company Elementis to the portfolio following the
disposal of its chromium business, which should improve the company's balance
sheet and sustainability profile. Following the disposals of its cigarette
filters and packaging businesses, Essentra has emerged as a focused business
concentrated on the attractive industrial components space. With a
strengthened balance sheet, the business should be able to make smart
acquisitions to consolidate a fragmented sector, while continuing to grow
organically.
We purchased a stake in Senior, the British engineering company, which, we
expect, will continue to benefit from the ongoing recovery in the commercial
aerospace sector. This company's balance sheet has also improved
significantly. The rationale for our WH Smith purchase is described above,
and it is our main exposure to the Travel sector, where we expect to see a
continuation of resilient consumer spend (as opposed to other types of
consumer spend which may now be reaching exhaustion, post the re-opening
bounce).
We disposed of oil services company Petrofac following news of the CEO's
departure. We exited our residual position in PZ Cussons and reinvested the
proceeds into drinks manufacturer and Irn Bru owner AG Barr, which made an
interesting entry into the growing energy drinks market via its acquisition of
energy, sports and protein drinks manufacturer Boost Drinks. This following
the successful acquisition, several years ago, of 100% natural fruit cocktail
mix manufacturer Funkin Brands. We sold engineer Weir following its
promotion to the FTSE 100, in line with our stated policy.
We established a new position in oil and gas exploration business Harbour
Energy which has a balance sheet about to swing to net cash and is delivering
high levels of shareholder returns through buy-backs and dividends. In the
short term, the shares have been weak, due to higher-than-expected levels of
windfall tax on North Sea oil profits.
Outlook
Since the ill-fated mini budget in September 2022, we have experienced a
period of relative calm, in addition to a welcome period of improved
performance. However, there remains plenty to ponder, as ten-year UK interest
rates have resumed their gentle curve upwards. We first wrote about "eye
catching levels of inflation" in the 2021 Annual Report, and the fact is that
although the UK economy has been more resilient than the vast majority of
market commentators and forecasters expected, inflation remains stubbornly
high. In the six-month period reviewed here, the 12-month rate of Consumer
Price Inflation ("CPI") remained above 10%, a level unseen since the early
1980s.
Against this inflationary backdrop, a majority of the companies in the
portfolio have fared remarkably well, demonstrating the pricing power we seek.
Economic consensus suggests inflation will continue to fall as the year
progresses, given lower energy and petrol prices, and it could even be that
the suggestions in the media of price limits on certain commodity foods are
enough to rein in this particularly sticky element of the inflation cocktail.
Our response, in this environment, is to stick to our strategy of choosing
resilient businesses which can deliver high risk-adjusted returns with rising
cash flows and earnings. We have maintained our focus on two categories of
investment. First, those unique assets with scarcity value and franchise power
that allow management teams to raise prices without noticeably impacting
demand. The other category is more cyclical businesses or in industries that
are undergoing some sort of change, or that might be at some form of a
strategic crossroads. This could be industry consolidation, management change
or supply retreating out of the market. As a result of this change, we believe
these companies will deliver better returns on capital in the future,
rewarding shareholders. Additionally, portfolio companies tend to be net cash,
or to have low levels of debt. This is important as refinancing costs have
increased sharply, hurting profitability, and increasing risks for equity
holders.
Despite the consistently negative view presented in the media, there are a
myriad reasons to be optimistic about UK mid caps. Consumer confidence is
rebounding, with the highest reading for 15 months recorded in May 2023. In
April 2023, 20 million adults saw a 10% increase in their incomes. This
included over 12 million pensioners receiving the state pension, nearly 6
million receiving universal credit and over 2 million receiving housing
benefit. The labour market is strong, and the housing market appears to have
recovered from its near-death experience in September 2022.
Furthermore, the lowly valuation of the UK market continues to attract
attention from Private Equity and trade buyers. Recent bids for UK mid caps
Wood Group, Dechra Pharmaceuticals and Network International attest to this,
and, if these valuation levels persist, the trend seems likely to accelerate.
We would also like to remind readers that we are fishing in an attractive
pond. In terms of the long-term potential of UK equities, we suggest that
investors willing to look beyond the ongoing negative headlines will find the
UK punches above its weight. This can be seen in terms of multi-baggers
relative to the US. (See "30-baggers": why the UK has more than its fair
share), and this is why the Benchmark has beaten the S&P 500 return over
the 25 years to 31 March 2023, when measured in local currency. In US dollar
terms, it has very nearly matched the popular US index. This is despite the UK
mid cap index suffering a substantial derating in the past 24 months. The Mid
250 is populated by multiple "unique" companies, with strong growth prospects,
generating cash and delivering attractive returns on capital.
As stock pickers, we are confident that the collective strength of our
holdings' balance sheets will continue to provide resilience in a challenging
economic environment. We are sticking to our sell discipline, avoiding
companies whose business models are in danger of being disrupted while seeking
out companies which have the ability to reinvent themselves, or which might be
the next mid cap disruptor.
Schroder Investment Management Limited
27 June 2023
Half Year Report
Principal risks and uncertainties
The Directors consider that the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the
Company for the remaining six months of the financial year, which could have a
material impact on performance, remain consistent with those on pages 18 to 20
in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2022.
Going concern
Having assessed the Company's principal risks and uncertainties, the
continuing impact of the war in Ukraine, climate change risk, inflation risk
and increasing interest rates, its current financial position, its cash flows,
its liquidity position and Financial Reporting Council guidance, the Directors
consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the
accounts.
Related party transactions
There have been no transactions with related parties that have materially
affected the financial position or the performance of the Company during the
six months ended 31 March 2023.
Directors' responsibility statement
The Directors confirm that, to the best of their knowledge, this set of
condensed financial statements has been prepared in accordance with United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, in particular with Financial
Reporting Standard 104 "Interim Financial Reporting" and with the Statement of
Recommended Practice, "Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and
Venture Capital Trusts" issued in July 2022 and that this Interim Management
Report includes a fair review of the information required by 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R
of the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency
Rules.
Income Statement
For the six months ended 31 March 2023 (unaudited)
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
For the six months For the six months For the year
ended 31 March 2023 ended 31 March 2022 ended 30 September 2022
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Gains/(losses) on investments held at fair value through profit or loss - 32,305 32,305 - (33,736) (33,736) - (88,419) (88,419)
Income from investments 3,553 298 3,851 3,733 88 3,821 8,958 88 9,046
Other interest receivable and similar income - - - - - - 10 - 10
Gross return/(loss) 3,553 32,603 36,156 3,733 (33,648) (29,915) 8,968 (88,331) (79,363)
Investment management fee (230) (536) (766) (271) (633) (904) (487) (1,136) (1,623)
Administrative expenses (310) - (310) (255) - (255) (542) - (542)
Net return/(loss) before finance costs and taxation 3,013 32,067 35,080 3,207 (34,281) (31,074) 7,939 (89,467) (81,528)
Finance costs (81) (190) (271) (58) (135) (193) (116) (271) (387)
Net return/(loss) before taxation 2,932 31,877 34,809 3,149 (34,416) (31,267) 7,823 (89,738) (81,915)
Taxation (note 3) - - - - - - - - -
Net return/(loss) after taxation 2,932 31,877 34,809 3,149 (34,416) (31,267) 7,823 (89,738) (81,915)
Return/(loss) per share (note 4) 8.48p 92.18p 100.66p 8.98p (98.15)p (89.17)p 22.43p (257.32)p (234.89)p
The "Total" column of this statement is the profit and loss account of
the Company. The "Revenue" and "Capital" columns represent supplementary
information prepared under guidance issued by The Association of Investment
Companies. The Company has no other items of other comprehensive income, and
therefore the net return/(loss) after taxation is also the total comprehensive
income/(loss) for the period.
All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the period.
Statement of Changes in Equity
For the six months ended 31 March 2023 (unaudited)
Called-up Capital Share
share Share redemption Merger purchase Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
At 30 September 2022 9,036 13,971 220 2,184 7,233 145,629 9,120 187,393
Net return after taxation - - - - - 31,877 2,932 34,809
Dividend paid in the period (note 5) - - - - - - (4,841) (4,841)
At 31 March 2023 9,036 13,971 220 2,184 7,233 177,506 7,211 217,361
For the six months ended 31 March 2022 (unaudited)
Called-up Capital Share
share Share redemption Merger purchase Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
At 30 September 2021 9,036 13,971 220 2,184 9,908 235,367 6,883 277,569
Net (loss)/return after taxation - - - - - (34,416) 3,149 (31,267)
Dividend paid in the period (note 5) - - - - - - (3,857) (3,857)
At 31 March 2022 9,036 13,971 220 2,184 9,908 200,951 6,175 242,445
For the year ended 30 September 2022 (audited)
Called-up Capital Share
share Share redemption Merger purchase Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
At 30 September 2021 9,036 13,971 220 2,184 9,908 235,367 6,883 277,569
Repurchase of the Company's own shares into treasury - - - - (2,675) - - (2,675)
Net (loss)/return after taxation - - - - - (89,738) 7,823 (81,915)
Dividends paid in the year (note 5) - - - - - - (5,586) (5,586)
At 30 September 2022 9,036 13,971 220 2,184 7,233 145,629 9,120 187,393
Statement of Financial Position at 31 March 2023
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
31 March 31 March 30 September
2023 2022 2022
£'000 £'000 £'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss 235,373 261,960 207,289
Current assets
Debtors 1,666 2,434 853
Cash at bank and in hand 5,854 3,603 4,786
7,520 6,037 5,639
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (note 6) (25,532) (25,552) (25,535)
Net current liabilities (18,012) (19,515) (19,896)
Total assets less current liabilities 217,361 242,445 187,393
Net assets 217,361 242,445 187,393
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital (note 7) 9,036 9,036 9,036
Share premium 13,971 13,971 13,971
Capital redemption reserve 220 220 220
Merger reserve 2,184 2,184 2,184
Share purchase reserve 7,233 9,908 7,233
Capital reserves 177,506 200,951 145,629
Revenue reserve 7,211 6,175 9,120
Total equity shareholders' funds 217,361 242,445 187,393
Net asset value per share (note 8) 628.55p 691.39p 541.89p
Notes to the Accounts
1. Financial Statements
The information contained within the accounts in this half year report
has not been audited or reviewed by the Company's independent auditor.
The figures and financial information for the year ended 30 September 2022 are
extracted from the latest published accounts of the Company and do not
constitute statutory accounts for that year. Those accounts have been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the report of the auditor
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
Basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with United Kingdom
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, in particular with Financial Reporting
Standard 104 "Interim Financial Reporting" and with the Statement of
Recommended Practice "Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and
Venture Capital Trusts" issued by the Association of Investment Companies in
July 2022.
All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.
The accounting policies applied to these accounts are consistent with those
applied in the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2022.
3. Taxation
The Company's effective corporation tax rate is nil, as deductible
expenses exceed taxable income.
4. Return/(loss) per share
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
For the For the For the
six months six months year ended
ended ended 30 September
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 2022
£'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue return 2,932 3,149 7,823
Capital return/(loss) 31,877 (34,416) (89,738)
Total return/(loss) 34,809 (31,267) (81,915)
Weighted average number of shares in issue during the period 34,581,190 35,066,190 34,874,738
Revenue return per share 8.48p 8.98p 22.43p
Capital return/(loss) per share 92.18p (98.15)p (257.32)p
Total return/(loss) per share 100.66p (89.17)p (234.89)p
5. Dividends
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
For the For the For the
six months six months year ended
ended ended 30 September
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 2022
£'000 £'000 £'000
2022 final dividend paid of 14.0p (2021: 11.0p) 4,841 3,857 3,857
Interim dividend of 5.0p - - 1,729
4,841 3,857 5,586
An interim dividend of 5.5p (2022: 5.0p) per share, amounting to
£1,902,000 (2022: £1,729,000), has been declared payable in respect of the
six months ended 31 March 2023.
6. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
(Audited)
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) 30 September
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 20221
£'000 £'000 £'000
Bank loan 25,000 25,000 25,000
Other creditors and accruals 532 552 535
25,532 25,552 25,535
The bank loan is one-year term loan from Scotiabank Europe plc, expiring
in February 2024 and carrying an interest rate based on the Sterling Overnight
Interest Average plus a margin. This loan replaced the three-year term loan
from Scotiabank Europe plc, which expired in February 2023.
7. Called-up share capital
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months Six months Year ended
ended ended 30 September
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 2022
£'000 £'000 £'000
Changes in called-up share capital during the period were as follows:
Opening balance of ordinary shares of 25p each, excluding shares held in 8,645 8,766 8,766
treasury
Repurchase of shares into treasury - - (121)
Subtotal of ordinary shares of 25p each, excluding shares held in treasury 8,645 8,766 8,645
Shares held in treasury 391 270 391
Closing balance of ordinary shares of 25p each, including shares held in 9,036 9,036 9,036
treasury
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Six months Six months Year ended
ended ended 30 September
31 March 2023 31 March 2022 2022
£'000 £'000 £'000
Changes in the number of shares in issue during the period were as
follows:
Ordinary shares of 25p each, allotted, called-up and fully paid
Opening balance of shares in issue, excluding shares held in treasury 34,581,190 35,066,190 35,066,190
Repurchase of shares into treasury - - (485,000)
Closing balance of shares in issue, excluding shares held in treasury 34,581,190 35,066,190 34,581,190
Closing balance of shares held in treasury 1,562,500 1,077,500 1,562,500
Closing balance of shares in issue, including shares held in treasury 36,143,690 36,143,690 36,143,690
8. Net asset value per share
Net asset value per share is calculated by dividing shareholders' funds by
the 34,581,190 (31 March 2022: 35,066,190 and 30 September 2022: 34,581,190)
shares in issue, excluding shares held in treasury.
9. Financial instruments measured at fair value
The Company's financial instruments that are held at fair value comprise
its investment portfolio. At 31 March 2023, all investments in the Company's
portfolio were categorised as Level 1 in accordance with the criteria set out
in paragraph 34.22 (amended) of FRS 102. That is, they are all valued using
unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (31 March 2022
and 30 September 2022: same).
10. Events after the interim period that have not been reflected
in the financial statements for the interim period
The Directors have evaluated the period since the interim date and have
not noted any events which have not been reflected in the financial
statements.
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