25th May 2018 12:21
LONDON (Alliance News) - Unicorn AIM VCT PLC said Friday its half-year performance was mixed against its benchmarks amid an "unremarkable" period as it remains cautious ahead of continued strains to growth in the UK economy.
For the six months ended March, the venture capital trust reported a net asset value total return lower 2.0% outperforming a 2.3% fall FTSE All-Share Index benchmark. Unicorn AIM VCT did, however, underperform the FTSE AIM All-Share Index which rose 1.6% in the period.
On a reported basis, net asset value per share fell 3.7% to 156.44 pence from 162.44p the year before.
"In performance terms, the period under review has been unremarkable," Chairman Peter Dicks said.
Unicorn AIM VCT proposed a 3.0p per share interim dividend, unchanged from the same period a year ago.
"The UK economy continues to expand, albeit modestly," Chairman Peter Dicks said. "Unemployment remains at multi-year lows and, as a result of a growing working-age population there are more people in employment than ever before. Despite this, the UK remains a consumer-based economy with around 80% of GDP growth historically coming from increases in consumer spending. In recent times, however, there have been clear signs of strain on household budgets."
Dicks added that "reassuringly" Unicorn AIM had "limited exposure" to sectors focused on household spending growth. "However, " Dicks added, "it remains to be seen how the current strain on a key part of the UK economy will affect equity market valuations over time."
Unicorn AIM VCT shares were untraded at 144.00p.
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