24th Sep 2014 12:12
LONDON (Alliance News) - The Merchants Trust PLC said Wednesday that it under-performed its benchmark in the half year to the end of July.
The trust posted a total return on net asset value per share with debt at part of 3.4%, under-performing the FTSE 100 Index which saw a total return of 5.4%. The biggest causes of this under-performance where poor stock selection in pharmaceuticals, favouring GlaxoSmithKline PLC shares over Shire PLC or AstraZeneca PLC, and weaker performances in medium sized companies.
It's biggest shareholding was Royal Dutch Shell, which saw a return of 17%.
It maintained its total first-half dividend at 11.8 pence.
The company said it was pleased with increased demand for its shares, with 1.6 million shares issued during the half-year.
The trust said that the UK's economic recovery provides "a supportive backdrop for the corporate sector although the international environment is mixed and there remains concern about the debt overhang and the broader geopolitical environment.
"Whilst the valuation case for equities in aggregate is less compelling than a year ago, the portfolio managers are still able to identify attractive investment opportunities on sensible valuations," the company said in a statement.
Shares in Merchants Trust were trading up 0.6% at 493.00 pence per share Wednesday afternoon.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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