31st May 2018 11:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd said on Thursday it underperformed against its benchmark index in the first half of its financial year, due to headwinds from the healthcare and internet sector.
The fund, which invests in Asian equities, said it delivered a net asset value total return of 0.6% in the six months to the end of February, compared to a 2.6% total return for the MSCI AC Pacific ex Japan Index.
Net asset value per share as at February 28 was 255.05 pence, up from 242.21p on the same date the year before but down from 258.63p at August 31.
Schroder Oriental declared a second interim dividend of 1.70 pence per share for the half, added to the 1.70p paid for the first quarter, bringing the total payout so far to 3.40p, up from 3.30p the prior year.
The fund said that an outperformance by highly priced sectors such as healthcare and the internet remained a headwind, while telecoms continued to underperform with disappointing stock selection in materials. However there was a good performance from banks and the consumer discretionary sector.
Shares in Schroder Oriental Income Fund were up 1.7% at 258.40 pence on Thursday.
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