TIDMSDU
RNS Number : 8998S
Schroder UK Growth Fund PLC
29 December 2016
Half Year Report
Schroder UK Growth Fund plc (the "Company") hereby submits its
Half Year Report for the period ended 31 October 2016 as required
by the UK Listing 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
to download from the Company's website
www.schroderukgrowthfund.com. Please click on the following link to
view the document:
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/8998S_-2016-12-28.pdf
The Company has submitted a pdf of the hard copy format of its
Half Year Report to the National Storage Mechanism and it will
shortly be available for inspection at
www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM.
Enquiries:
Louise Richard
Schroder Investment Management Limited Tel: 020 7658 6501
29 December 2016
Interim Management Report
Chairman's Statement
Performance
The last six months have been a very unusual time for the UK
stock market as the Referendum caused initial falls in the market,
which were then reversed. Individual stock prices swung sharply
through this period with companies that earn a large amount of
revenue overseas performing well as profits in sterling terms
benefit from the considerable fall in the value of sterling.
Such sharp swings in individual companies' share prices make it
difficult for a portfolio that utilises a measured approach to
buying the shares of good companies with visible prospects to
generate earnings growth, to keep up with the performance of the
market in the short term. Whilst the Company's net asset value
total return was 10.0%, the FTSE All-Share Index produced a total
return of 12.2% during the period.
Discounts in the equity investment trust sector widened over
this period. Despite buying back over 1.6 million shares the
discount on our share price also widened which resulted in a share
price total return of 7.3%.
Further comment on performance and investment policy may be
found in the Manager's Review.
Earnings and dividends
The Directors have declared a first interim dividend of 2.70
pence per share for the year ending 30 April 2017 (2016: 2.60
pence). The first interim dividend will be payable on 31 January
2017 to shareholders on the register on 6 January 2017.
Gearing policy
The Company has access to gearing through a combination of a
revolving credit facility and an overdraft.
Throughout the period the credit facility remained undrawn. The
Manager will utilise the Company's credit facility when suitable
opportunities are judged to exist at appropriate valuations. The
Board has set pre-agreed limits so that net effective gearing does
not represent more than 20% of shareholders' funds.
Discount management policy
On 14 September 2016, the Board announced a new share buy-back
policy. This seeks to operate in the best interests of shareholders
by taking into account the relative level of the Company's share
price discount when compared with peer group trusts, the absolute
level of discount on an income-inclusive basis, volatility in the
level of discount and the impact from share buy-back activity on
the long-term liquidity of the Company's issued shares.
These factors remain under constant review by the Board and
shares purchased accordingly.
Board composition and succession planning
As part of the Board's long-term succession planning, Alan
Clifton retired as Chairman of the Company at the Annual General
Meeting held on 4 August 2016 and I became Chairman on that
date.
Outlook
These are unusually uncertain times for the UK economy as the
outcome of negotiations regarding the UK leaving the European Union
remains very unclear. However more than two thirds of FTSE
All-Share Index companies' revenue is earned outside the UK and as
economic growth in the US remains robust, this international
earnings stream continues to benefit the UK stock market.
This is the time for good fundamental stock picking as there are
large valuation variations between shares in the market, offering
better opportunities for stock picking skills to be rewarded than
has been seen for some time, and this plays to the strengths of our
Manager.
Carolan Dobson
Chairman
28 December 2016
Manager's Review
Over the six months to 31 October 2016 the total return of the
Company's net assets was 10.0%, compared to the total return from
the FTSE All-Share Index of 12.2%.
Market backdrop
Whilst the election of Donald Trump in the US occurred after the
period under review, it reflected a number of pre-existing issues
that impacted markets in the period. Political populism underpinned
by anti-globalisation sentiment has been on the rise as the feeling
that loose monetary policy after the 2008/09 financial crisis has
not benefited all equally. Rising inequality and a protracted
squeeze of real wages have found a political outlet both in the EU
Referendum and the US presidential election. The impact of the
Referendum was most keenly felt by markets in the period, but the
prospect of rising inflation is an issue as it is likely to impact
the direction of the market into 2017.
The immediate response to the Referendum was stronger equity
markets as central banks maintained accommodative policy and
sharply weaker sterling translated into profits upgrades for the
bulk of listed UK companies. The FTSE All-Share Index generated a
total return of 12.2%. There was a significant divergence in
performance, however, between weak domestically-exposed stocks and
strong performance from those with international operations.
Investors have been assessing the short-term impact the
Referendum result has had on the economy as well as determining
what form Brexit might take. Q3 real GDP growth was stronger than
expected at 0.5% compared to expectations of 0.3%, with consumer
spending resilient despite the increasing uncertainty. Markets
welcomed monetary easing measures from the Bank of England. The
prospect of a more uncertain outlook for employment as well as the
inflationary impact of falling sterling has yet to translate into
slower consumption. The continued slide in sterling reflected
increased expectations that giving up full access to the single
market and the customs union - a 'hard' Brexit - was on the
agenda.
Elsewhere, improving sentiment towards emerging markets, and
China in particular, drove a strong performance from resource
shares. Supply-side discipline has driven commodity prices higher
and low levels of capital expenditure has resulted in much better
free cash generation than expected at the start of the year. In
addition, OPEC agreed to reduce oil production for the first time
since 2008, with Saudi Arabia significantly changing the position
held since 2014 to drive market share at the expense of the oil
price.
Rising commodity prices coupled with debate over the role of
fiscal policy has seen a significant change in expectations for
global inflation. The extent to which market sentiment has shifted
can be seen in bond markets. At their low point in the period, 10
year gilt yields were below 0.6% whilst US Treasuries were yielding
less than 1.6%: more recently they were 1.4% and 2.4% respectively.
Loose monetary policy in response to the Referendum and subdued
growth has given way to rising global inflation expectations.
Shifts in the outlook for monetary policy over the summer have been
given added fuel by the more fiscally expansionary political
policies that both Brexit and a Trump-led administration herald. At
the same time markets have questioned the effectiveness of loose
monetary policy in driving growth.
This change in direction has seen a rotation within the stock
market, which had been conditioned to expect a deflationary rather
than inflationary outlook. It has also led to a wide divergence in
valuations between sectors. Domestic banks, for example, have been
suffering from the twin headwinds of an uncertain outlook for GDP
growth and the negative impact of low interest rates and flat yield
curves. Domestic retailers have been under pressure as weak
sterling will put profit margins under pressure at a time the
consumer is ill-prepared for price rises. At the other extreme,
many 'steady-growth' international companies now trade on
historically-high ratings.
Performance
The portfolio's performance relative to the Index suffered from
some of these factors, in particular on stock selection in banks
and on not owning resource stocks.
Holdings in domestic banks such as RBS and Lloyds were hit as
the Referendum led to concerns over the outlook for loan growth,
impairments, and interest margins. The missed opportunity was in
the internationally-oriented HSBC and Standard Chartered, which
were not held and which benefited from the fall in sterling. This
offset stocks such as AstraZeneca, Sage and RELX which benefited
from sterling's fall, while the largest holding, Royal Dutch Shell,
performed well after positive market commentary on its capital
expenditure discipline, increased cost-savings and stronger oil
prices.
The sector stance in the portfolio was generally positive - for
example being underweight in life insurance and real estate
investment trusts, both affected in the post-Referendum world -
except for not owning mining stocks when they rose.
Performance attribution
Impact
(%)
---------------------- -------
FTSE All-Share Index +12.2
Stock selection -1.9
Sector allocation +0.7
Cash contribution -0.5
Costs -0.3
Residual -0.2
NAV total return +10.0
Source: Schroders estimates, Factset, six months to 31 October
2016.
On more company-specific movements, Indivior, which develops
drugs to combat drug and alcohol misuse, performed strongly on the
back of encouraging results for a treatment for opiate addiction as
well as the enforceability of patent protection for Suboxone film.
Tesco responded positively to robust first-half results, which
revealed like-for-like sales and volume growth across all regions.
The results underline how the changes that management has made over
the past couple of years are resonating with the consumer. In
particular, the company's "Farm Brands" have delivered strong
volume growth to offset the negative pricing impact of this new
value range. The recovery in UK margins was much better than
expected (despite the further investment in lower prices for the
customer) and provides a strong platform for future growth.
Top 5 positive and negative contributors
Weight Weight
relative Total relative Total
Portfolio to Index return Impact Portfolio to Index return Impact
Positive (%) (%) (%) (%) Negative (%) (%) (%) (%)
----------------- ---------- --------- ------- ------- --------------- ---------- --------- ------- -------
Indivior 1.5 +1.4 +101.5 +0.5 HSBC 0.3 -4.5 +42.2 -1.2
Royal Dutch Royal Bank of
Shell B 7.6 +0.3 +22.9 +0.4 Scotland 2.1 +1.8 -17.8 -0.6
Sage 2.9 +2.6 +22.9 +0.4 JRP Group 2.1 +2.1 -10.5 -0.5
Tesco 3.1 +2.5 +22.5 +0.3 Computacenter 1.9 +1.9 -12.2 -0.5
AstraZeneca 4.0 +1.3 +18.4 +0.2 Lloyds Banking 4.0 +2.2 -13.3 -0.5
Source: Factset, six months to 31 October 2016. Weights are
average for the period. Impact is the contribution made by the
stock to the difference between the portfolio return and the Index
return.
Portfolio activity
We took advantage of higher prices in some of the resilient
international businesses which performed well after the Referendum
and reinvested into shares which offer better cyclically adjusted
value. We have increased exposure to financial stocks,
domestically-focused stocks or stocks with an element of
recovery/self-help.
We initiated a new position in education business Pearson whose
shares have lagged as it grapples with structural and cyclical
headwinds. Their US textbook sales have suffered due to declining
higher-education enrolments, as employment levels recover. At the
same time, Pearson has had to deal with an industry in transition
from analogue to digital. In our opinion, the company has cyclical
recovery potential, and should also benefit from management-induced
self-help measures. In the short term, we believe headwinds in the
textbook market will abate. We anticipate continued progress with
the analogue-to-digital transition, where digital revenues are
growing in double digits. The company is making good progress with
cost-saving, the balance sheet is strong, while depressed sentiment
towards the stock has created a compelling valuation opportunity.
Pearson is a global leader in its field and has a long track record
of strong cash conversion which is testament to the high quality
nature of its earnings streams.
We also initiated a new position in Marks & Spencer whose
shares have performed very poorly due to concerns about the
clothing and home division. Both have underperformed for a number
of years and in the short-term have been further impacted by
unseasonable weather. In our opinion there is an opportunity to
turn around this division as the new management team drives through
self-help initiatives. These are focused on improving price
competitiveness and enhancing the customer experience more widely
through changes such as simplifying ranges. The company will also
focus on supply-chain efficiencies, including better buying, to
improve gross margins relative to peers. In addition, there is a
renewed company-wide cost discipline and we expect to see some
strategic decisions on the international division. This could lead
to a significant improvement in the group's free cashflow
generation over the next three years.
We also initiated a new holding in ITV to capitalise on the
opportunities within domestic cyclical sectors since the Referendum
vote. In our opinion the share price fall has begun to reflect the
deterioration in the advertising outlook, while the company's
balance sheet is significantly stronger than it was ahead of the
2008/09 downturn.
We increased exposure to Indivior following the defence of their
Suboxone film patent. Growth in the existing Suboxone franchise was
not in market forecasts and any future franchise extension from a
successful delivery of its once-monthly drug appeared to have been
ignored in the market valuation. Elsewhere in Pharmaceuticals we
reduced exposure to AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline following
strong performance post-Referendum, whilst initiating a holding in
specialty pharmaceuticals company Shire, which has de-rated due to
worries about its acquisition of US peer Baxalta. This de-rating
more than accounted for the risks facing Baxalta's portfolio as
well as any potentially negative tax implications of the deal. The
market also appears to be underestimating the potential revenue and
cost synergies from combining the companies.
We sold out of Imperial Brands, on concerns over the lack of
organic growth and where we felt the benefits of their US
acquisition were fully reflected in the shares. We used the
proceeds to increase the position in British American Tobacco
following news of their proposed merger with Reynolds American, as
we believe the deal offers cost and revenue synergies. Taking full
control would increase its exposure to fast-growing US markets, and
give it access to a strong pipeline of next-generation products,
such as e-cigarettes.
Within financials, we increased the holdings in Aviva, JRP and
Lloyds as the shares reacted negatively to the Referendum despite a
positive outlook over capital, new business margin and net interest
margins. They look well-set to deliver growing dividends
notwithstanding a more challenging economic backdrop.
We took profits in Sage, RELX, Carnival, Smith & Nephew and
Rentokil where current valuations discount the strength of their
business models and have re-rated in advance of currency-driven
upgrades.
Investment outlook
The immediate impact of the Brexit vote was a significant
divergence in performance between companies with international
earnings or more resilient earnings streams, and those dependent on
more cyclical, domestic drivers of growth. However, the market has
begun to question the historically high valuations of the former as
inflation expectations rise and markets consider the prospect of
greater fiscal expansion. This rotation has gathered pace following
the US election of Donald Trump, whose policies of personal tax
cuts and increased government spending are likely to drive
inflation higher and bring forward the tightening of monetary
policy. This reverses a significant trend for markets.
In our view, there is clear value in large cap oil companies (eg
Royal Dutch Shell, BP) and financials (eg Aviva, JRP, Fidessa and
Lloyds) where earnings growth is well placed to be very strong on a
relative basis next year. There are also new opportunities in
domestic cyclical names (eg Marks & Spencer, Halfords) and
select recovery stocks (eg Balfour Beatty, Tesco and Morrison).
Ten most overweight positions
Portfolio Index Difference
Security (%) (%) (%)
---------------------------- ---------- ------ -----------
Balfour Beatty 3.6 0.1 +3.5
Aviva 4.1 0.8 +3.3
Tesco 3.9 0.8 +3.1
JRP Group 2.6 0.0 +2.6
Fidessa 2.7 0.0 +2.7
Lloyds Banking 4.3 1.7 +2.6
GlaxoSmithKline 6.1 3.6 +2.5
Daily Mail & General Trust 2.3 0.0 +2.3
BAE Systems 2.8 0.8 +2.0
Computacenter 2.0 0.0 +2.0
Source: Schroders, as at 31 October 2016.
Schroder Investment Management Limited
28 December 2016
Securities shown above are for illustrative purposes only and
should not be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell.
Principal risks and uncertainties
The principal risks and uncertainties with the Company's
business fall into the following categories: strategy and
competitiveness risk; investment management risk; financial risks;
accounting, legal and regulatory risk; custodian and depositary
risk; and service provider risk. A detailed explanation of the
risks and uncertainties in each of these categories can be found on
pages 15 and 16 of the Company's published Annual Report and
Accounts for the year ended 30 April 2016. These risks and
uncertainties have not materially changed during the six months
ended 31 October 2016.
Going concern
Having assessed the principal risks and uncertainties, and the
other matters discussed in connection with the viability statement
as set out on page 17 of the published Annual Report and Accounts
for the year ended 30 April 2016, 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 October 2016.
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 (UK GAAP) and with the Statement of Recommended Practice,
"Financial Statements of Investment Companies and Venture Capital
Trusts" issued in November 2014 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 October 2016 (unaudited)
(Unaudited) for the six months (Unaudited) for the six months (Audited) for the year ended
ended 31 October 2016 ended 31 October 2015 30 April 2016
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/(losses)
on investments
held
at fair
value
through
profit
or loss - 23,095 23,095 - (19,968) (19,968) - (22,277) (22,277)
Income
from
investments 4,734 - 4,734 4,585 - 4,585 9,836 88 9,924
Other
interest
receivable
and similar
income 1 - 1 1 - 1 3 - 3
---------------- -------- -------- ------------ -------- --------- ------------ -------- --------- ----------
Gross
return/(loss) 4,735 23,095 27,830 4,586 (19,968) (15,382) 9,839 (22,189) (12,350)
Investment
management
fee (219) (512) (731) - - - (151) (352) (503)
Administrative
expenses (185) - (185) (222) - (222) (430) - (430)
---------------- -------- -------- ------------ -------- --------- ------------ -------- --------- ----------
Net
return/(loss)
before
finance
costs
and taxation 4,331 22,583 26,914 4,364 (19,968) (15,604) 9,258 (22,541) (13,283)
Finance
costs - - - - - - - - -
---------------- -------- -------- ------------ -------- --------- ------------ -------- --------- ----------
Net
return/(loss)
on ordinary
activities
before
taxation 4,331 22,583 26,914 4,364 (19,968) (15,604) 9,258 (22,541) (13,283)
Taxation
on ordinary
activities - - - 4 - 4 4 - 4
---------------- -------- -------- ------------ -------- --------- ------------ -------- --------- ----------
Net
return/(loss)
on ordinary
activities
after
taxation 4,331 22,583 26,914 4,368 (19,968) (15,600) 9,262 (22,541) (13,279)
---------------- -------- -------- ------------ -------- --------- ------------ -------- --------- ----------
Return/(loss)
per share 2.72p 14.18p 16.90p 2.72p (12.44)p (9.72)p 5.77p (14.04)p (8.27)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
items of other comprehensive income, and therefore the net return
on ordinary activities after taxation is also the total
comprehensive income 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 October 2016 (unaudited)
Called-up Capital Warrant Share
share Share redemption exercise purchase Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
---------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- --------
At 30
April
2016 40,229 9,875 19,759 417 77,191 119,471 7,938 274,880
Net return
on ordinary
activities
after
taxation - - - - - 22,583 4,331 26,914
Repurchase
of the
Company's
own shares
into Treasury - - - - (2,617) - - (2,617)
Dividends
paid in
the period - - - - - - (4,166) (4,166)
---------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- --------
At 31
October
2016 40,229 9,875 19,759 417 74,574 142,054 8,103 295,011
---------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- --------
for the six months ended 31 October 2015 (unaudited)
Called-up Capital Warrant Share
share Share redemption exercise purchase Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
------------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------
At 30
April
2015 40,229 9,875 19,759 417 78,071 142,012 8,474 298,837
Net (loss)/return
on ordinary
activities
after
taxation - - - - - (19,968) 4,368 (15,600)
Repurchase
of the
Company's
own shares
into Treasury - - - - (646) - - (646)
Dividends
paid in
the period - - - - - - (5,624) (5,624)
------------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------
At 31
October
2015 40,229 9,875 19,759 417 77,425 122,044 7,218 276,967
------------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------
for the year ended 30 April 2016 (audited)
Called-up Capital Warrant Share
share Share redemption exercise purchase Capital Revenue
capital premium reserve reserve reserve reserves reserve Total
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
------------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------
At 30 April
2015 40,229 9,875 19,759 417 78,071 142,012 8,474 298,837
Net (loss)/return
on ordinary
activities
after taxation - - - - - (22,541) 9,262 (13,279)
Repurchase
of the Company's
own shares
into Treasury - - - - (880) - - (880)
Dividends
paid in the
year - - - - - - (9,798) (9,798)
------------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------
At 30 April
2016 40,229 9,875 19,759 417 77,191 119,471 7,938 274,880
------------------- ---------- -------- ----------- --------- --------- --------- -------- ---------
Statement of Financial Position
at 31 October 2016 (unaudited)
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
31 October 31 October 30 April
2016 2015 2016
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value
through profit or loss 289,427 266,145 267,828
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Current assets
Debtors 640 1,688 3,503
Cash at bank and in hand 5,597 9,235 5,553
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
6,237 10,923 9,056
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Current liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due within one year (653) (101) (2,004)
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Net current assets 5,584 10,822 7,052
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Total assets less current liabilities 295,011 276,967 274,880
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Net assets 295,011 276,967 274,880
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital 40,229 40,229 40,229
Share premium 9,875 9,875 9,875
Capital redemption reserve 19,759 19,759 19,759
Warrant exercise reserve 417 417 417
Share purchase reserve 74,574 77,425 77,191
Capital reserves 142,054 122,044 119,471
Revenue reserve 8,103 7,218 7,938
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Total equity shareholders'
funds 295,011 276,967 274,880
--------------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Net asset value per share 185.85p 172.53p 171.40p
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
auditors.
The figures and financial information for the year ended 30
April 2016 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 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
Basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with United
Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and with the
Statement of Recommend Practice "Financial Statements of Investment
Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts" issued by the
Association of Investment Companies in November 2014.
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 April
2016.
3. Taxation on ordinary activities
The Company's effective corporation tax rate is nil, as
deductible expenses exceed taxable income. Taxation on ordinary
activities comprises overseas tax deducted at source, net of any
rebates.
4. Return/(loss) per share
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Six months Six months (Audited)
ended ended Year ended
31 October 31 October 30 April
2016 2015 2016
------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
Revenue return (GBP'000) 4,331 4,368 9,262
Capital return/(loss)
(GBP'000) 22,583 (19,968) (22,541)
------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
Total return/(loss) (GBP'000) 26,914 (15,600) (13,279)
------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
Weighted average number
of shares in issue during
the period 159,278,376 160,530,184 160,591,922
Revenue return per share 2.72p 2.72p 5.77p
Capital return/(loss)
per share 14.18p (12.44)p (14.04)p
------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
Total return/(loss) per
share 16.90p (9.72)p (8.27)p
------------------------------- ------------ ------------ ------------
5. Dividends paid
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Six months Six months (Audited)
ended ended Year
ended
31 October 31 October 30 April
2016 2015 2016
------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
Second interim dividend
of 2.60p (2015: 2.50p) 4,166 4,017 4,017
2015 special dividend
of 1.00p - 1,607 1,607
First interim dividend
of 2.60p - - 4,174
------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
4,166 5,624 9,798
------------------------- ------------ ------------ ----------
A first interim dividend of 2.70p (2015: 2.60p) per share,
amounting to GBP4,286,000 (2015: GBP4,174,000) has been declared
payable in respect of the year ending 30 April 2017.
6. Called-up share capital
Changes in issued shares are as follows:
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Six months Six months (Audited)
ended ended Year ended
31 October 31 October 30 April
2016 2015 2016
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
---------------------------------- ------------ ------------ -----------
Opening balance of 160,375,184
(30 April 2015: 160,917,184)
shares of 25p each 40,094 40,229 40,229
Repurchase of 1,637,000 (six
months ended 31 October 2015:
387,000 and year ended 30
April 2016: 542,000) shares
into Treasury (410) (97) (135)
---------------------------------- ------------ ------------ -----------
Subtotal of 158,738,184 (31
October 2015: 160,530,184
and 30 April 2016: 160,375,184)
shares 39,684 40,132 40,094
2,179,000 shares (31 October
2015: 387,000 and 30 April
2016: 542,000) shares held
in Treasury 545 97 135
---------------------------------- ------------ ------------ -----------
Closing balance of 160,917,184
(31 October 2015 and 30 April
2016: same) shares of 25p
each, including shares held
in Treasury. 40,229 40,229 40,229
---------------------------------- ------------ ------------ -----------
7. Net asset value per share
Net asset value per share is calculated by dividing
shareholders' funds by the number of shares in issue, excluding
shares held in Treasury, at 31 October 2016 of 158,738,184 (31
October 2015: 160,530,184 and 30 April 2016: 160,375,184).
8. Financial instruments measured at fair value
The Company's financial instruments that are held at fair value
comprise its investment portfolio. At 31 October 2016, 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 October
2015 and 30 April 2016: same).
9. 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 significant events which have not been
reflected in the financial statements.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
IR DVLFLQLFLFBB
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 29, 2016 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
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