23rd Nov 2018 11:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - Baring Emerging Europe PLC on Friday raised its total payout by 6% despite a decline in net asset value per share in its recently ended financial year, hurt by investor concerns about Russian risk exposure.
In addition, the investment company said Non-Executive Director Ivo Coulson will resign on Friday next week. Christopher Granville, a former British diplomat in the Political Section of the British Embassy in Moscow, will succeed Coulson.
Granville is currently a managing director of investment research provider TS Lombard. Previously, he spent six years at Moscow-based investment bank United Financial Group.
In a separate statement, Baring Emerging Europe said NAV per share in the year to September 30 declined 6.1% to 824.76 pence from 877.99p reported a year ago.
NAV total return for the year was negative 2.6%, while the company's benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Europe 10/40 Index returned positive 1.6%.
"This [underperformance] was disappointing and reflects a huge gulf in performance between 'sanction proofed' energy stocks and other domestically oriented Russian companies over the period, which are perceived as more at risk," said Chairman Frances Daley.
The share price at the end of the financial year stood at 714.00p, representing a 13% discount to NAV. During the year, Baring Emerging Europe bought back and cancelled 893,935 shares at an average price of 745p.
The stock was trading 1.1% lower on Friday at 671.28p a share.
The company declared a final dividend of 20p per share, taking the total payout to 34p, up 6.3% from 32p paid the year before.
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