16th Mar 2021 11:58
(Alliance News) - Smithson Investment Trust PLC on Tuesday reported a significant outperformance against its benchmark for 2020, driven by a surge in demand for healthcare products in the year during the pandemic.
For the year, the trust said its net asset value total return was 31.4%, compared to its benchmark - the MSCI World SMID index - which posted a return of 12.2%.
As at December 31, net asset value per share increased 31% year-on-year to 1,648.9 pence from 1,255.2p, Smithson's share price at the end of December was 1,710.0p, bringing the premium to NAV at 3.7%.
Shares in Smithson Investment Trust were up 1.2% at 1,660.00 pence on Tuesday in London.
Since the trust's main objective is to provide shareholder returns through long term capital appreciation rather than income, Smithson has not declared any dividend payout.
Portfolio-wise, the two strongest contributors to the fund's performance were Danish firm Ambu, which provides disposable medical equipment used for assessing Covid-19 patients, and Medical technology firm Masimo, driven by the surge in demand for healthcare products during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another strong performer was Domino's Pizza Enterprises, which owns the pizza chain's franchises in Australia, which prospered due to its home delivery services while restaurants remained closed.
"Despite the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy and continuing efforts to contain it, the board is very pleased with the company's performance to date and remains positive on the outlook for global small and mid-cap equities in the medium to long term," said Chair Mark Pacitti.
"The board intends to continue to issue new shares so as to generate additional value for shareholders net of all issue costs and to enable the investment manager to continue to seek attractive investment opportunities for any further capital raised. The increase in scale of the company since the IPO has allowed the board to negotiate some lower percentage charges for services provided and these cost reductions will benefit the company in the next financial year and beyond," Pacitti added.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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