23rd Sep 2015 17:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - The Mercantile Investment Trust PLC said Wednesday that it outperformed its benchmark in the half year to end-July.
The trust reported a total return on net asset value of 15%, outperforming the 11.1% from its benchmark index, the FTSE All-Share.
It proposed a second interim dividend of 10.0 pence, which takes its total dividend for the year to date to 20.0 pence, up from 16.0 pence a year before. The trust expects to propose a third interim dividend of 10.0 pence in early February.
"In contrast to many of the global equity indices the market for UK medium and small sized companies has proved resilient to recent external headwinds. The domestic economy has been a net beneficiary of lower oil prices which, coupled with a return to modest wage inflation, is resulting in improving consumer confidence. Looking forward, the UK economy is expected to continue to perform well over the medium term and this is likely to lead to further relative outperformance by UK medium and small sized companies," the trust said in a statement.
Shares in the Mercantile Investment Trust closed up 0.4% at 1,672.00 pence Wednesday.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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