Artemis Alpha Trust PLC

Earnings Release • Jan 16, 2018

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RNS Number : 0636C

Artemis Alpha Trust PLC

16 January 2018

ARTEMIS ALPHA TRUST PLC (the "Company")

Half-Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended 31 October 2017

This announcement contains regulated information

Chairman's Statement

Performance

In the six months to 31 October 2017 the Company's net asset value per share rose by 2.7% and its share price by 4.6%, compared with an increase in the FTSE All-Share Index of 5.9% (on a total return basis).

The UK market performed less strongly than some other major world markets over the period largely due to the continuing political uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the result of the General Election in June.

Our investments in financial services, and in particular fund management companies, performed well over the half year. Overall, the performance was held back by some individual stocks, most notably Hurricane Energy, an oil exploration company. I am pleased to report that some of our overseas holdings have performed well and that we have added to this part of the portfolio. More detailed information on performance is set out in the Investment Manager's Review which follows.

Unquoted investments

The unquoted portfolio was largely unchanged over the reporting period, representing an exposure of 25.0% at 31 October 2017. There were no significant transactions or valuation changes in the period. Our fund managers will continue to look for realisation opportunities and remain committed to reducing the overall exposure to unquoted investments.

Earnings & dividends

Revenue earnings per share for the six months to 31 October 2017 were 2.66p, an increase of 3.9% (2016: 2.56p). On 14 December 2017 we declared a first interim dividend of 1.75p per ordinary share (2016: 1.55p) which will be paid on 26 January 2018, to shareholders on the register at 29 December 2017. This is an increase of 12.9% over the equivalent dividend last year; the Board continues to target a 10% annual increase in the dividend.

Discount & share buy backs

The discount continued to narrow, albeit only slightly, and stood at 17.6% at the end of the reporting period.

As I have indicated previously, the Company will buy back shares tactically to address imbalances between supply and demand; on this basis 152,500 ordinary shares were bought back during the period.

Continuation vote

As shareholders are aware, the Company is due to have a continuation vote at its annual general meeting in 2018. This is an important matter for the Company and its shareholders and we will be consulting our larger shareholders over the next few months, as we did in the autumn of 2016.

Subscription shares

The final exercise date for the subscription shares was 29 December 2017. Following this, 2,707 subscription shares were exercised and the same number of ordinary shares were issued. The independent trustee determined that there was no value attributable to the unexercised subscription shares as the exercise price of 345p per share was higher than the prevailing ordinary share price. Therefore the subscription shares lapsed with no value. The London Stock Exchange listing of the unexercised subscription shares was suspended on 2 January 2018 and this listing, together with the subscription shares themselves, will be cancelled in due course.

Change of independent auditor

Following a competitive tender process, the Board has approved the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company's auditor for the year ending 30 April 2018, replacing KPMG LLP.

Shareholder approval of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditor will be sought at the Company's next annual general meeting.

KPMG LLP's appointment ended on 16 January 2018. As required by the Companies Act 2006, a copy of the auditor's resignation letter, including its statement regarding the reasons for its ceasing to hold office, has been circulated to shareholders with the half-yearly financial report.

Outlook

The uncertainty surrounding Brexit and unsettled political conditions are likely to continue for some time to come. However, as I explained in my statement in July 2017, our fund managers follow a stock-specific investment approach which, while having regard to markets, seeks to deliver returns by identifying promising companies at attractive valuations.

Duncan Budge

Chairman

16 January 2018

Investment Manager's Review

Performance

In the six months under review, the Company's net asset value rose by 2.7% versus a rise of 5.9% in the FTSE All-Share Index.

This performance is disappointing, after improved relative performance in the previous reporting period. It was, to a large extent, the result of particular stocks, together with a drag from the Company's unquoted investments against a rising equity market.

Review

Global stock markets performed strongly over the period, led in particular by the US as investors bet on a large 'reflation trade' following Donald Trump's election. This was seen particularly in financials and technology, with the Nasdaq hitting regular new highs.

In the UK there was continued nervousness around the shape of Brexit and indeed whether Brexit can be delivered at all. Theresa May has now struck a deal with the EU that enables her to move on to the all-important question of our future trading arrangement with Europe once we have formally left the EU.

This undoubtedly created uncertainty for the UK consumer; and certain domestically-focused stocks were notably weak over the period, as they were immediately following the vote for Brexit.

Portfolio

The fund management companies in the portfolio continued to perform strongly, in particular Liontrust following its acquisition and smooth integration of Alliance Trust's unit trust business; and Polar Capital, which benefited from strong investment performance across its product range and very strong fund flows.

Elsewhere, and also within the financials sector, strong performances were seen from both Ramsdens and Plus500. Ramsdens, a pawnbroker and foreign currency business, floated successfully early in 2017 and has substantially exceeded its own expectations, as the sale of foreign currency through its stores has grown substantially. The company currently has 127 stores, predominately in the north-west and Scotland, but there is a strong pipeline of potential new openings.

Plus500, an online trading platform for retail clients, was our top contributor in the period as the shares more than doubled. The company's half-year results significantly exceeded expectations. The company has consistently demonstrated an ability to deploy its marketing spend efficiently to attract new customers across a number of geographic markets; and has benefited from the appetite for trading in crypto-currencies.

Two overseas holdings that performed strongly were Rocket Internet, a conglomerate of internet businesses, and Nintendo, a video games company. Rocket benefited from the successful IPO of one of its largest holdings, Delivery Hero, an online food delivery business. The listing allowed Rocket to realise some of its holding at a significant profit and has also increased the transparency of Rocket's value. Despite a strong year for its portfolio companies, Rocket continues to trade at a material discount to the sum of its parts with more than half of its market value represented by cash.

Nintendo rose by nearly 50% in the period, as demand for its new Switch console surpassed expectations. The company has also continued to demonstrate a renewed vigour for monetising its intellectual property and it announced its first expansion into China and plans for more mobile games.

Sports Direct was also a strong performer in the period as its full year results showed evidence that its strategy to improve its stores was gaining traction with both consumers and suppliers, and generating robust financial returns.

Five largest stock contributors

	Market	Contribution %
Plus500	AIM	1.2
Ramsdens Holdings	AIM	0.8
Liontrust Asset Management	LSE	0.8
Rocket Internet	FWB	0.8
Gresham Technologies	LSE	0.7

Five largest stock detractors

	Market	Contribution %
Hurricane Energy	AIM	(2.3)
Vectura Group	LSE	(0.8)
Mporium Group	AIM	(0.5)
Gaming Realms	AIM	(0.5)
LumX Group	SSX	(0.4)

On the negative side Hurricane Energy was the weakest performer following a significant issuance of both equity and convertible debt which should see the company through to first oil production at the beginning of 2019. In spite of its weak share price performance, the prospects for the company are looking positive. For example, there has been the recent publication of an independent "competent person's report" showing a large increase in the company's resource base to well over 2 billion barrels of oil. We have taken advantage of the weak share price to add to our position, having taken profits earlier in the year.

Another weak performer was Vectura Group, the inhaled airways disease business, which suffered from delays among some of its customers - as well as from a delay in its plans to launch a generic copy of GlaxoSmithKline's popular lung drug, Advair, in the US. We expect this approval to be granted in early 2018 and have been increasing our holding accordingly.

Another disappointment over the period was Augean, which was hit by a large tax claim relating to the classification of the waste it had been disposing of over several years. The company strongly disputes this assessment and we await further developments.

Transactions

The three largest purchases in the period were all oil-related stocks chosen mainly for stock specific reasons, but also because we felt the oil price had fallen too far. The largest of these was BP, where we bought a holding because the company appeared to be at an inflection point above which it would be generating free cash, even at $50 per barrel.

The second largest purchase (as noted above) was Hurricane Energy, where we participated in the equity fund-raising, and the company should now be funded through to first oil production. The other oil related investment was Igas Energy, the owner of a number of onshore oil and gas projects as well as a number of shale licences whose development is funded by the chemical giant Ineos. We made an investment in this business at the time of its financial restructuring which left the company with considerably reduced debt and a valuation that is underpinned by the onshore oil and gas projects - leaving a free option on its shale assets. Igas Energy is the only listed company operating in the UK shale industry. All of the other companies in this space are privately owned.

Other purchases included Mountview Estates, a family-controlled business that owns a large portfolio of assured tenancies which will unwind over time, crystallising value well in excess of the company's stated net asset value; and Revolution Bars, a bar operator whose share price had fallen sharply following a profit warning and which was subsequently the subject of two rejected bid approaches.

We made two new purchases of overseas companies during the period: Dick's Sporting Goods and Fitbit. Dick's Sporting Goods is the dominant sporting goods retailer in the US. The shares were weak as the broader industry suffered from excess inventory leading to a number of bankruptcies. Yet the company has a strong balance sheet, a management team with a large shareholding in the company, and operates in a fragmented market. Our view is that supplier relationships provide an unusual barrier to entry in this industry as supply and product innovation is dominated by Nike and Adidas. Dick's seems well positioned to emerge stronger than before and in a position to consolidate its market share.

Fitbit is the leading provider of wearable fitness devices globally. We purchased a holding following persistent share price weakness, which resulted in almost half of the company's market value being represented by cash and trading on 0.5x sales, less than a quarter of the valuation of peer Garmin. Fitbit has a strong brand and installed base of over 50 million devices which, in our view, should command strategic value. The company has been working on applications of its devices in areas such as diabetes and mental health treatment with very encouraging results. This should drive the long term adoption of wearable devices that currently stands at less than 20% in the US and significantly less internationally. If this were to occur, Fitbit would be well placed to succeed and generate significant profits.

On the sell side, we sold St Modwen Properties and Telford Homes in their entirety, following strong performances. Amongst the financials we took profits across the board by executing partial sales in Liontrust, Polar Capital, City of London, Brewin Dolphin and Charles Stanley.

In addition, two companies were taken over in the period: Market Tech, a Camden property company, which was taken private by its majority shareholder, Teddy Sagi; and Quantum Pharma, a personalised medicine business, which was taken over by Clinigen.

Unquoted investments

There was limited activity in the unquoted portfolio in the period. RateSetter had positive news as it was granted FCA authorisation; and Reaction Engines won a significant contract with the US government. Elsewhere, detracting from performance were two smaller holdings, Lamp Group and Houseology Design Group, where funds were raised at lower prices resulting in a write-down. The impact of these changes was -0.5%.

Although it has been a relatively quiet period in terms of reducing our unquoted holdings, we are continuing to pursue our strategy of reducing exposure and will continue to work with investee companies to achieve this at valuations which we consider fair and in shareholders' best interests.

Outlook

We have continued to make progress over the period in reducing the overall number of stocks in the portfolio and increasing the overall level of liquidity in the portfolio. This has been achieved by recycling the cash from selling some of the more illiquid positions into larger companies, including some listed overseas.

At the time of writing, the UK government has now reached agreement to move to phase two of the talks on Brexit. So the risk of a 'no deal' Brexit looks to have diminished substantially. That a number of concessions on previous 'red lines' were made during the negotiations increases our belief that an agreement on a new trade deal can be reached.

Sterling has rallied in response to the talks' progress, taking it to a six-month high versus the euro and a 12-month high versus the dollar. The pound's strength should start to feed through into lower inflation over the next few months, reducing the squeeze on real wages. We will be watching economic data from the UK closely for any signs of an improvement in corporate and consumer confidence. At a stock level, current foreign exchange rates should see the relative earnings momentum between the UK market's overseas and domestic earners reversing at the next reporting season.

The portfolio retains its focus on domestic stocks with a strong franchise, that face a limited threat of disruption and that often pay us a growing yield while we wait for sentiment to improve. Going into 2018, we remain confident about the Company's positioning. In an environment where economic growth globally is strong - and where central banks are starting to withdraw liquidity - we believe that our holdings in financials, and our clear bias towards value, will aid relative performance.

John Dodd & Adrian Paterson

Fund managers

Artemis Fund Managers Limited

16 January 2018

Condensed income statement

For the six months ended 31 October 2017

	Six months ended 31 October 2017 (unaudited)			Six months ended 31 October 2016 (unaudited)			Year ended 30 April 2017 (audited)
	Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000	Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000	Revenue £'000	Capital £'000	Total £'000
Investment income	1,387	-	1,387	1,317	-	1,317	3,184	-	3,184
Other income	1	-	1	4	-	4	-	-	-
Total revenue	1,388	-	1,388	1,321	-	1,321	3,184	-	3,184
Gains on investments	-	3,624	3,624	-	1,887	1,887	-	24,515	24,515
Currency gain	-	11	11	-	-	-	-	7	7
Total income	1,388	3,635	5,023	1,321	1,887	3,208	3,184	24,522	27,706
Expenses
Investment management fee	(46)	(410)	(456)	(37)	(332)	(369)	(76)	(688)	(764)
Other expenses	(218)	(16)	(234)	(210)	(8)	(218)	(420)	(13)	(433)
Profit before finance costs and tax	1,124	3,209	4,333	1,074	1,547	2,621	2,688	23,821	26,509
Finance costs	(20)	(179)	(199)	(18)	(159)	(177)	(36)	(323)	(359)
Profit before tax	1,104	3,030	4,134	1,056	1,388	2,444	2,652	23,498	26,150
Tax	(13)	-	(13)	14	-	14	(37)	-	(37)
Profit for the period per ordinary share	1,091	3,030	4,121	1,070	1,388	2,458	2,615	23,498	26,113
Earnings for the period	2.66p	7.39p	10.05p	2.56p	3.33p	5.89p	6.31p	56.70p	63.01p

The total column of this statement represents the Statement of Comprehensive Income, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. The supplementary revenue and capital columns are both prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies. All items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.

Condensed statement of financial position

As at 31 October 2017

	31 October 2017 (unaudited) £'000	31 October 2016 (unaudited) £'000	30 April 2017 (audited) £'000
Non-current assets
Investments	158,864	134,117	156,756
Investment in subsidiary undertaking	3,094	2,528	2,719
	161,958	136,645	159,475
Current assets
Other receivables	206	244	645
Cash and cash equivalents	1,401	719	4,012
	1,607	963	4,657
Total assets	163,565	137,608	164,132
Current liabilities
Other payables	(1,822)	(2,132)	(1,129)
Bank loan	(10,000)	(8,500)	(13,000)
	(11,822)	(10,632)	(14,129)
Net assets	151,743	126,976	150,003
Equity attributable to equity holders
Share capital	481	498	492
Share premium	667	647	657
Special reserve	50,202	50,647	50,646
Capital redemption reserve	109	92	98
Retained earnings - revenue	2,072	2,020	2,928
Retained earnings - capital	98,212	73,072	95,182
Total equity	151,743	126,976	150,003
Net asset value per ordinary share (undiluted)	370.30p	308.76p	364.72p
Net asset value per ordinary share (diluted)	366.67p	-	361.90p

Condensed statement of changes in equity

For the six months ended 31 October 2017

	Six months ended 31 October 2017 (unaudited)
	Share capital £'000	Share premium £'000	Special reserve £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Retained earnings		Total £'000
Revenue £'000	Capital £'000
At 1 May 2017	492	657	50,646	98	2,928	95,182	150,003
Total comprehensive income:
Profit for the period	-	-	-	-	1,091	3,030	4,121
Transactions with owners recorded directly to equity:
Repurchase of ordinary shares into treasury	-	-	(444)	-	-	-	(444)
Cancellation of ordinary shares from treasury	(11)	-	-	11	-	-	-
Conversion of subscription shares	-	10	-	-	-	-	10
Dividends paid	-	-	-	-	(1,947)	-	(1,947)
At 31 October 2017	481	667	50,202	109	2,072	98,212	151,743

	Six months ended 31 October 2016 (unaudited)
	Share capital £'000	Share premium £'000	Special reserve £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Retained earnings		Total £'000
Revenue £'000	Capital £'000
At 1 May 2016	498	645	53,022	92	2,000	71,684	127,941
Total comprehensive income:
Profit for the period	-	-	-	-	1,070	1,388	2,458
Transactions with owners recorded directly to equity:
Repurchase of ordinary shares into treasury	-	-	(2,375)	-	-	-	(2,375)
Conversion of subscription shares	-	2	-	-	-	-	2
Dividends paid	-	-	-	-	(1,050)	-	(1,050)
At 31 October 2016	498	647	50,647	92	2,020	73,072	126,976

	Year ended 30 April 2017 (audited)
	Share capital £'000	Share premium £'000	Special reserve £'000	Capital redemption reserve £'000	Retained earnings		Total £'000
Revenue £'000	Capital £'000
At 1 May 2016	498	645	53,022	92	2,000	71,684	127,941
Total comprehensive income:
Profit for the year	-	-	-	-	2,615	23,498	26,113
Transactions with owners recorded directly to equity:
Repurchase of ordinary shares into treasury	-	-	(2,376)	-	-	-	(2,376)
Cancellation of ordinary shares from treasury	(6)	-	-	6	-	-	-
Conversion of subscription shares	-	12	-	-	-	-	12
Dividends paid	-	-	-	-	(1,687)	-	(1,687)
At 30 April 2017	492	657	50,646	98	2,928	95,182	150,003

Condensed statement of cash flows

For the six months ended 31 October 2017

	Six months ended 31 October 2017 (unaudited) £'000	Six months ended 31 October 2016 (unaudited) £'000	Year ended 30 April 2017 (audited) £'000
Operating activities
Profit before tax	4,134	2,444	26,150
Interest paid	199	177	359
Gains on investments	(3,624)	(1,887)	(24,515)
Currency gains	(11)	-	(7)
Decrease/(increase) in other receivables	211	61	(150)
Increase/(decrease) in other payables	211	3	(144)
Net cash inflow from operating activities before interest and tax	1,120	798	1,693
Interest paid	(199)	(177)	(359)
Irrecoverable overseas tax	(13)	14	(37)
Net cash inflow from operating activities	908	635	1,297
Investing activities
Purchase of investments	(24,051)	(18,917)	(45,795)
Sales of investments	25,904	20,891	46,574
Net cash inflow from investing activities	1,853	1,974	779
Financing activities
Repurchase of ordinary shares into treasury	(444)	(2,447)	(2,593)
Conversion of subscription shares	10	2	12
Dividends paid	(1,947)	(1,050)	(1,687)
(Decrease)/increase in inter-company loan	(2)	18	110
Net cash outflow from financing activities	(2,383)	(3,477)	(4,158)
Net decrease/(increase) in net debt	378	(868)	(2,082)
Net debt at the start of the period	(8,988)	(6,913)	(6,913)
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes	11	-	7
Net debt at the end of the period	(8,599)	(7,781)	(8,988)
Bank loan	(10,000)	(8,500)	(13,000)
Cash and cash equivalents	1,401	719	4,012
	(8,599)	(7,781)	(8,988)

Notes to the half-yearly financial report

1.       Accounting policies

The Half-Yearly Financial Report has been prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting', the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and with the guidance set out in the Statement of Recommended Practice for Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts ("SORP") issued by the Association of Investment Companies in November 2014.

The Half-Yearly Financial Report has been prepared under the same accounting policies as the Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 30 April 2017.

2.       Earnings per ordinary share

	Six months ended 31 October 2017	Six months ended 31 October 2016	Year ended 30 April 2017
Earnings per ordinary share is based on:
Revenue earnings (£'000)	1,091	1,070	2,615
Capital earnings (£'000)	3,030	1,388	23,498
Total earnings (£'000)	4,121	2,458	26,113
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period (basic and diluted)	41,006,257	41,750,646	41,443,082

3.       Net asset value per ordinary share

	As at 31 October 2017	As at 31 October 20161	As at 30 April 2017
Net asset value per ordinary share is based on:
Net assets (£'000)	151,743	126,976	150,003
Number of shares in issue at the end of the period (basic)	40,978,267	41,125,090	41,127,975
Number of shares in issue at the end  of the period (diluted)	47,834,613	41,125,090	47,987,113

1 There was no dilution to the Net Asset Value for the period ended 31 October 2016 relating to the Company's issued subscription shares.

During the period the Company bought back 152,500 shares into treasury (six months ended 31 October 2016: 1,040,706; year ended 30 April 2017: 1,040,706). 2,792 subscription shares were exercised during the period and the same number of ordinary shares were issued in respect of these (six months ended 31 October 2016: 645; year ended 30 April 2017: 3,539).

4.       Dividends

	Six months ended 31 October 2017 £'000	Six months ended 31 October 2016 £'000	Year ended 30 April 2017 £'000
Second interim dividend for the year ended 30 April 2016 - 2.50p	-	1,050	1,050
First interim dividend for the year ended 30 April 2017 - 1.55p	-	-	637
Second interim dividend for the year ended 30 April 2017 - 2.75p	1,127	-	-
Special dividend for the year ended 30 April 2017 - 2.00p	820	-	-
	1,947	1,050	1,687

A first interim dividend for the year ending 30 April 2018 of £717,000 (1.75p per ordinary share) has been declared. This will be paid on 26 January 2018 to those shareholders on the register at close of business on 29 December 2017.

5.       Analysis of retained earnings - capital

	As at 31 October 2017 £'000	As at 31 October 2016 £'000	As at 30 April 2017 £'000
Retained earnings - capital (realised)	90,297	85,339	87,314
Retained earnings - capital (unrealised)	7,915	(12,267)	7,868
	98,212	73,072	95,182

6.       Comparative information

The financial information for the six months ended 31 October 2017 and 31 October 2016 has not been audited and does not constitute statutory financial statements as defined in Section 234 of the Companies Act 2006.

The information for the year ended 30 April 2017 has been extracted from the Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 30 April 2017. These financial statements contained an unqualified auditor's report and have been lodged with the Registrar of Companies and did not contain a statement required under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006.

7.       Principal risks and uncertainties

Pursuant to DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure Guidelines and Transparency Rules, the principal risks faced by the Company include general market price risk, liquidity risk, regulatory, and financial risks.

These risks, which have not materially changed since the Annual Financial Report for the year ended 30 April 2017, and the way in which they are managed, are described in more detail in the Annual Financial Report for the year ended 30 April 2017 which is available on the website artemisalphatrust.co.uk.

8.       Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions during the period. The existence of an independent Board of Directors demonstrates that the Company is free to pursue its own financial and operating policies and therefore, under IAS 24: Related Party Disclosures, the Investment Manager is not considered to be a related party.

9.       Valuation of investments

IFRS 7 'Financial Instruments: Disclosures' requires an entity to provide an analysis of investments held at fair value through profit and loss using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in making the measurements of fair value. The hierarchy used to analyse the fair values of financial assets is set out below.

Level 1 - investments with quoted prices in an active market;

Level 2 - investments whose fair value is based directly on observable current market prices or is indirectly derived from market prices; and

Level 3 - investments whose fair value is determined using a valuation technique based on assumptions that are not supported by observable current market prices, or are not based on observable market data.

The investments held at the balance sheet date fell in to the categories, Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. The values in these categories are summarised as part of this note. Any investments that are delisted or suspended from a listed stock exchange are transferred from Level 1 to Level 3.

	As at 31 October 2017 £'000	As at 31 October 2016 £'000	As at 30 April 2017 £'000
UK quoted investments (Level 1)
- UK listed	54,083	46,233	52,370
- AIM quoted	46,580	43,428	53,732
- Preference shares	-	235	-
Overseas quoted investments (Level 1)	14,920	5,766	7,802
Mutual funds (Level 2)	5,318	4,416	4,364
Forward currency contracts (Level 2)	100	-	147
Unquoted investments (Level 3)
- Equities and warrants	33,609	29,677	34,200
- Fixed interest	700	3,043	587
- Preference shares	3,554	655	3,554
- Other	-	664	-
	158,864	134,117	156,756

The valuation of the Level 3 investments would not be significantly different had reasonably possible alternative valuation bases been applied.

Details of the movements in Level 3 assets during the six months ended 31 October 2017 are set out in the table below.

	£'000
Level 3 investments
Opening book cost	41,065
Opening fair value adjustment	(2,724)
Opening valuation	38,341
Movements in the period:
Purchases at cost	552
Sales - proceeds	(217)
Sales - realised gains on sales	(857)
Increase in fair value adjustment	44
Closing valuation	37,863
Closing book cost	40,780
Closing fair value adjustment	(2,917)
	37,863

Responsibility Statement of the Directors in respect of the Half-Yearly Financial Report

The Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge, in respect of the Half-Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended 31 October 2017:

-        the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' issued by the International Accounting Standards Board as adopted by the EU;

-        having considered the expected cash flows and operational costs of the Company for the 18 months from the period end, the Directors are satisfied that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, the going concern basis of accounting continues to be used in the preparation of the Half-Yearly Financial Report;

-        the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by:

(a)      Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 4.2.7R (indication of important events during the first six months; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year); and

(b)      Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 4.2.8R (related party transactions).

The Half-Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended 31 October 2017 was approved by the Board and the above responsibility statement was signed on its behalf by:

Duncan Budge

Chairman

16 January 2018

Copies of the Half-Yearly Financial Report for the six months ended 31 October 2017 will be sent to shareholders shortly and will be available from the registered office at Cassini House, 57 St James's Street, London SW1A 1LD as well as on the website, artemisalphatrust.co.uk.

Artemis Fund Managers Limited

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Artemis Fund Managers Limited

Telephone: 0131 225 7300

16 January 2018

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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