Foreign & Colonial Beats 2017 Benchmark, Boosted By Technology Stocks

7th Mar 2018 10:45

LONDON (Alliance News) - Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust PLC on Wednesday said it "significantly" beat its benchmark during 2017, with the company increasing its annual dividend.

Foreign & Colonial's net asset value total return with debt at market value for 2017, which it described as "a good year", rose by 17% and the total return increased 21%. This compares to the 13.8% return of its benchmark, the FTSE All-World Index.

Net asset value per share at the end of 2017 was 676.53 pence, compared to 587.92p in 2016.

The FTSE 250-listed closed-end investment trust proposed a 2.7p final dividend, bringing the year's total to 10.4p. This would be a 5.6% increase on the previous year, and it said it would be a 47th consecutive year of dividend growth.

The gain on investments and derivatives fell to GBP486.3 million in 2017 from GBP620.1 million, while the net return before tax fell to GBP542.7 million from GBP628.6 million.

Many investment portfolios beat their benchmarks, Foreign & Colonial said, and the company benefited from exposure to technology stocks and the outperformance of Europe, Japan, and emerging markets.

Going ahead, the company said it is confident in its investment approach as it faces another period of political and economic uncertainty in 2018.

Shares were down 0.3% on Wednesday at 643.79p each.