8th Feb 2019 09:39
LONDON (Alliance News) - Diverse Income Trust PLC on Friday reported a 9.9% decrease in its net asset value per share over the first half of its current financial year.
The investment firm reported a NAV total return of a negative 8.1% in the six months to the end of November 2018, while its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, returned a negative 7.7%.
The best contributors to returns over the half year were greeting cards company IG Design Group PLC and biotechnology company BioVentix PLC, Diverse Income Trust said.
The NAV per share fell from 105.09 pence to 94.64p over the period.
Diverse Income Trust's share price on November 320 stood at 93.40p, representing a 1.3% discount to NAV.
The stock was trading marginally higher on Friday at 94.84p a share.
The first interim dividend, declared in October, was up to 0.80p per share from 0.75p paid a year earlier. The company has also declared a second interim dividend of 0.85p per share, payable on May 31, compared to 0.80p per share last year.
"Overall, in spite of a potential slowdown in world growth and a rise in market volatility, we are upbeat about the prospects for the company over the coming years," said Portfolio Managers Gervais Williams and Martin Turner.
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