3rd Apr 2020 11:22
(Alliance News) - Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust PLC on Friday reported a fall in net assets over the first half, underperforming its benchmarks.
At February 29, the trust's NAV per share stood at 1,055.40 pence, down 8.9% from 1,158.42p at August 31.
Scottish Oriental's net assets also fell 8.9% over the six-month period, slipping to GBP315.3 million from GBP346.1 million.
The trust declared an interim dividend of 11.5p, unchanged on the year before, but said it is "too early" to give guidance on a full year dividend.
Scottish Oriental's NAV total return was negative 6.9% in the period, underperforming its benchmarks. The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index recorded a sterling adjusted increase of 0.6% and the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Small Cap index lost 4.3% over the same period.
The biggest detractor from investment performance was Scottish Oriental's large exposure to Indonesian and Philippine companies. The company's comparatively low weightings in China and Taiwan also impacted relative performance.
Over the period, Scottish Oriental's exposure to India, Indonesia and the Philippines rose, whereas exposure to South Korea, Sri Lanka and Taiwan fell. At a sector level, exposure to Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Financials and Materials rose, with Communication Services, Healthcare, Technology and Utilities falling.
The trust noted: "The changes made to the company's portfolio were not significant overall as we are happy with its focus on companies which, we believe, have the potential to deliver multi-year growth and emerge as winners in their respective industries."
Looking ahead, Scottish Oriental said its investment process and philosophy remains unchanged despite the Covid-19 outbreak.
"Therefore, we have recently been taking advantage of weak stock markets to deploy some of Scottish Oriental's cash balance into our favoured companies. Should markets fall further we will continue to do so and achieve our aim of the company being fully invested. Although the short-term outlook is uncertain, the long-term prospects for Scottish Oriental's portfolio holdings remain strong," the trust added.
Shares in Scottish Oriental Smaller were 2.2% higher in London on Friday at 686.65 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; [email protected]
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Scot.orntl.smll