20th Sep 2013 09:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon PLC Friday said its net asset value per share rose significantly in the recent half-year, buoyed by stronger gains on investments,
Shin Nippon, which has holdings in Japanese retailers and some financial services companies, said its net asset value per share was 287.3 pence on July 31, up 48% compared with 193.6 pence on July 31, 2012.
"Despite the strong performance of the majority of our holdings, we remain encouraged by the number of emerging Japanese businesses that we are identifying with strong growth prospects. Shin Nippon continues to focus on the most innovative, entrepreneurial businesses within the broader Japanese small cap universe," the company said in a statement.
Shin Nippon's investment holdings returned GBP25.2 million for the six months to July 31, compared with just GBP5.3 million for the corresponding period the year prior. The return on investment for the half-year is over two-and-a-half times more than the return on investment over the entirety of last financial year.
"Many of Shin Nippon's best performing stocks over the period were online businesses. Start Today, the operator of the most popular apparel website in Japan, returned to favour with investors as new users signed up. Some fashion brands that had been experimenting with a rival website returned and are now exclusively using Start Today as their online sales channel," the company said in a statement.
Shin Nippon reported net assets of GBP100.3 million on July 31, compared with GBP60.3 million on July 31 2012. It reduced net debt to GBP6.9 million, down from GBP8.1 million on July 31, 2012.
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon shares were Friday quoted at 319.27 pence, up 2.9 pence, or 0.9%.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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