20th Jul 2018 11:10
LONDON (Alliance News) - Small companies-focused investor Athelney Trust PLC said on Friday it saw a drop in net asset value in the first half of 2018, due to its targeted sector suffering from disappointing company statements and profit warnings, as well as economic uncertainty.
The trust saw its net asset value per share at the end of June fell to 264.2 pence per share, from 284.8p at the end of December and 268.7p at the end of June 2017. The overall negative return for the first half was 4.1%.
Gross revenue however, rose by 13% to GBP141,907 from GBP126,098 the year before, due to higher income from investments. The revenue return per share at 5.8p, up from 5.1p for the same period the year before, but down from 9.6p at the end of 2017.
"The first quarter of 2018 was hit by worries over global trade, the likely pace of interest rate rises in America and threats to regulate technology companies. The London FTSE 100 index fell, for instance, by 8% during that period. So perhaps it would have been counter-intuitive to buy pretty well everything in sight but that, as it happens, was the right thing to do,"said Chairman Manny Pohl.
"Equities clawed their way back in the second quarter and the more technology-laden the index, the better it performed. Alas, there were a few exceptions: Athelney Trust has had a wonderful nine-year run but that was ended by results in the first half with a total return of minus 4.1 per cent," Pohl added.
"In the small cap value and income sector, there were far more adverse trading statements, profit warnings, disappointing company results and cut dividends than I would have liked and there is not yet a strong signal that the worst is over," Pohl said.
Shares in Athleney Trust were untraded on Friday, last quoted at 251.00 pence.
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Athelney Tst.