22nd Sep 2023 11:29
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon PLC - investment company focused on investing in small Japanese companies - Net asset value per share on July 31 falls to 156.9 pence from 173.7p on January 31. In the six months to July 31, NAV fell by 9.7% compared to a 1.1% rise for its benchmark MSCI Japan Small Cap Index. Pretax net loss widens to GBP51.7 million from GBP25.6 million. Net losses on investments widens to GBP65.6 million from GBP32.2 million. Says: "There was a bifurcation in performance within the Japanese market in the first half of this year. Mature large cap stocks in capital intensive and cyclical sectors did very well in share price terms while high growth small cap stocks continued to languish." Despite the "challenging backdrop for high-growth small caps in Japan", says the majority of the portfolio's holdings continue to grow strongly while their overall valuation multiples are "well below their own long-term average". Looking ahead, says the board and managers remain "firmly of the view that exceptional long-term returns are likely to be generated by young, disruptive, fast-growing and entrepreneurial smaller businesses in Japan". Read More
