27th Apr 2018 12:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - British & American Investment Trust PLC on Friday upped its final dividend despite a sharp decline in its net asset value.
The company reported a negative total return of 20.7% for 2017. This compares to a 12% positive total return from the FTSE All-Share Index over the same period.
The trust said the "significant underperformance" was due to a fall in the value of its largest investment, US biotechnology firm Geron Corp, of 13% in dollar terms and almost 21% in sterling terms.
British & American said its net asset value per ordinary share decreased to 44 pence from 65p year-on-year on a diluted basis. Total net assets fell by nearly 32% to GBP15.5 million from GBP22.7 million.
Shares in British & American were trading 7.5% higher at 69.90 pence each on Friday.
The trust recommended a final dividend of 5.9p per share, bringing its total dividend per share for 2017 to 8.6p, compared to 8.4p a year earlier.
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