23rd Jul 2021 10:47
(Alliance News) - Alliance Trust PLC issued a second interim payout on Friday after outperforming its benchmark in the first half.
The investor in global equities reported a 15% net asset value total return for the six months ended June 30, compared to 8.5% at the end of 2020 and negative 3.5% a year ago.
The firm said it "comfortably outperformed" its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index, which returned 11%.
Chair Gregor Stewart noted that: "With the increasing spread of returns between companies, it is now becoming much more of a stock pickers' market, which plays to the strengths of our diversified yet high conviction approach to investing."
Shares in Alliance Trust were trading up 0.5% at 1,011.39 pence each in London on Friday morning.
NAV per share hit 1,064.6 pence on June 30, rising 14% from 933.9p on December 31 and up 27% year-on-year from 837.2p.
The company declared a 3.702 pence second quarterly dividend due in September. This brings Alliance Trust's total half-year interim dividend to 7.404p, up 3.0% from 7.190p the year prior.
After 54 years of consecutive payout increases, Stewart said the firm's board has begun a review to "deliver a more attractive and sustainable level of dividend to shareholders, without changing the investment strategy."
Stewart noted that the board began the review in light of "increased dividends expected as a result of the global economy re-opening, and the further flexibility that the conversion of the company's GBP645.3 million merger reserve provides."
The investor added that - although it "will not result in significant divestments" - it planned to begin excluding stocks with significant exposure to thermal coal and tar sands, in pursuit of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
By Scarlett Butler; [email protected]
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