12th Jul 2016 08:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aberdeen Private Equity Fund Ltd on Tuesday reported growth in net asset value total return in its last financial year and said it remains optimistic on the future despite the "surprise result" for the UK to leave the EU.
The fund said its NAV total return grew by 6.6% in the year ended March 31, although this wasn't as strong as the 18% growth achieved in the prior financial year.
Aberdeen said performance was driven by both the underlying investment portfolio and favourable currency movements as the dollar strengthened against the pound. Within the portfolio, the Northzone VI European venture fund was the largest contributor to performance.
"The UK's June referendum on membership of the European Union, and the surprise result to 'leave' may introduce additional layers of uncertainty to nearer term investment outcomes. Much of this will be focused on currency, particularly sterling, and potential contagion issues for European economies. Your company's long-standing bias to US-denominated assets should position us well however to cope with any sustained UK or European weakness," Chairman Howard Myles said in a statement.
"Whilst we may see some shorter term downturn in PE investment activity, we believe there will inevitably be compelling investment opportunities for our recently committed to European funds as they commence their investing phases. Accordingly, we remain optimistic on the investment portfolio, and its ability to continue to deliver long-term investment performance for shareholders," he added.
Shares in Aberdeen Private Equity were trading up 1.1% at 96.72 pence on Tuesday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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