RNS Number:3659X
Prospect Japan Fund Ld
05 April 2004
THE PROSPECT JAPAN FUND LIMITED
PRELIMINARY PROFIT ANNOUNCEMENT
For the year ended
31st December, 2003
Investment Objective
The Company is a closed-end Investment Company incorporated in Guernsey as a
Company limited by shares which has been established to invest substantially all
of its assets in securities issued by smaller Japanese companies. The objective
of the Company is to achieve long-term capital growth from an actively managed
portfolio of securities primarily of smaller Japanese companies listed or traded
on Japanese Stock Markets.
Performance (%), US$ NAV
CY2003 2004 Since Inception
(12/31/2003) (02/27/2004) (12/20/1994)
Prospect Japan Fund 48.93% 9.26% 33.27%
TOPIX 38.24% 1.69% -35.87%
TOPIX SMALL 49.60% 6.11% -52.56%
JASDAQ-BBG 50 60.17% 5.94% n/a
Above performance of the Prospect Japan Fund is net of fees and expenses and
includesreinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Topix is the capital
ization-weighted index of all companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo
Stock Exchange. Topix Small is capitalization-weighted index designed to measure
the stocks not included in the Topix 500 Index that are listed on the First
Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. JASDAQ-Bloomberg Market Value Top 50 Index
is a price-weighted index of the 50 top Japanese companies traded on JASDAQ
excluding the Bank of Japan.
*Prospect Japan Fund had an outstanding 2003 up 48.93% and has
significantly outperformed its benchmark indices since its inception.
Prospect Japan Fund Companies
The chart below highlights the Prospect Japan Fund's top ten holdings as of 31st
December, 2003 listing current year recurring profit growth forecasts, expected
price-to-earnings ratios, return on equity and price performance. Our top
holding, single-family home and condominium developer Touei Housing (8875) was
one of the Fund's best price performers, rising 144.1%. Touei expected strong
performance for the current year to January, 2004, forecasting recurring profit
to rise 73.7% YoY, while valuations remain low at 13.2x earnings. Prospect's
real estate holdings in general performed extremely well in 2003, including
Joint Corporation (8874) +108.8%, and Fuso Lexel (6386) +128.5%.
A number of Prospect's retailers also did well in 2003. Top ten holdings United
Arrows (7606) rose 51.0%, K's Denki (8282) climbed 56.0% and Nitori (9843)
appreciated 47.9%.
Prospect Japan Fund Top Ten Holdings RP Growth
FY to 03/04 PER FY to ROE FY to Price
YOY (Co 03/04 03/04 Performance
Code Exch Nam (Forecast) (expected) (expected) 2003
8875 TSE1 TOUEI HOUSING* 73.7% 13.2 23.6% 144.1%
8593 TSE1 DIAMOND LEASE 33.3% 13.6 15.9% 31.9%
7606 TSE1 UNITED ARROWS 8.7% 18.3 20.8% 51.0%
9942 Fukuoka JOYFULL***** 3.8% 14.6 20.6% 22.5%
7421 TSE1 KAPPA CREATE*** 24.8% 16.8 32.2% 50.8%
8282 TSE1 K'S DENKI 19.3% 13.0 10.4% 56.0%
7545 TSE1 NISHMATSUYA CHAIN** 27.3% 16.7 25.2% -1.1%
9997 TSE1 BELLUNA 6.6% 12.6 17.4% -5.1%
9842 TSE2 ARCLAND SAKAMOTO** 10.7% 13.7 8.6% 22.3%
9843 TSE1 NITORI** 40.4% 21.2 16.7% 47.9%
Source: Prospect Asset Management. Prices as of 31 December 2003. Consolidated
results when available. All are company forecasts. All are March year-end
companies unless marked. *January year-end. **February year-end, ***May
year-end. ****June year-end, *****December year-end (forecasts to 12/2003)
Conclusion
The strong performance of the Fund has continued into 2004 against a background
of more favorable economic news and an improved stock market environment. We
continue to focus on discovering undervalued quality growth companies which have
not yet been recognised by the market.
STATEMENT OF TOTAL RETURN
for the year ended 31st December, 2003
Revenue Capital Total Revenue Capital Total
2003 2003 2003 2002 2002 2002
In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars
Gains on investments - 47,400,866 47,400,866 - 7,811,744 7,811,744
Other gains - 405,264 405,264 - 379,785 379,785
Investment income 1,952,206 - 1,952,206 1,533,958 - 1,533,958
Management fee (1,690,831) - (1,690,831) (1,499,229) - (1,499,229)
Other expenses (615,851) - (615,851) (515,071) - (515,071)
(Deficit)/Return
on ordinary
activities before
tax (354,476) 47,806,130 47,451,654 (480,342) 8,191,529 7,711,187
Withholding tax (197,546) - (197,546) (305,344) - (305,344)
(Deficit)/Return on
ordinary activities
for the financialyear (552,022) 47,806,130 47,254,108 (785,686) 8,191,529 7,405,843
(Deficit)/Return per
Ordinary Share (0.050) 4.368 4.318 (0.071) 0.743 0.672
The above results relate to continuing operations of the Company.
BALANCE SHEET
as at 31st December, 2003
2003 2002
In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars
Investments 134,552,497 97,102,590
Current assets
Debtors 303,003 356,259
Bank and cash deposits 9,319,363 2,864,959
9,622,366 3,221,218
Liabilities falling due within one year
Creditors 444,892 3,133,545
Net current assets 9,177,474 87,673
143,729,971 97,190,263
Represented by:
SHARE CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Share capital 109,013 109,763
Redemption reserve 107,605,678 108,320,078
Capital redemption reserve306,496 305,746
Other reserves 35,708,784 (11,545,324)
Shareholders' funds attributable
to equity interests 143,729,971 97,190,263
Ordinary Shares in issue 10,901,302 10,976,302
Net asset value per Ordinary Share 13.18 8.85
CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for the year ended 31st December, 2003
2003 2002
In U.S. Dollars In U.S. Dollars
Operating activities
Investment income received
(net of withholding tax) 1,684,132 1,116,026
Management fee paid (1,471,445) (1,502,577)
Other cash payments (553,115) (524,059)
Net cash outflow from
operating activities (340,428) (910,610)
Investing activities
Purchase of investments (35,537,823)(35,543,951)
Sale of investments 42,936,791 31,715,125
Net cash inflow/(outflow)
from investing activities 7,398,968 (3,828,826)
Net cash inflow/(outflow)
before financing 7,058,540 (4,739,436)
Financing activities
Redemption of shares (1,009,400) -
Net cash outflow from
financing activities (1,009,400) -
Increase/(Decrease) in cash 6,049,140 (4,739,436)
Reconciliation of net cash
inflow/(outflow) to movement
in net funds
Net cash inflow/(outflow) 6,049,140 (4,739,436)
Effects of foreign exchange
rate changes 405,264 379,785
Net funds at beginning of year 2,864,959 7,224,610
Net funds at end of year 9,319,363 2,864,959
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
FR QKPKQPBKDDQK
Prospect Japan (LSE:PJF)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Prospect Japan (LSE:PJF)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024
