28th Sep 2018 12:43
LONDON (Alliance News) - VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC on Friday reported its net asset value per share continued to drop, as the investment company hiked its payout.
At the end of June, VPC's NAV per share was 90.74 pence, down from 91.68p at the end of 2017 and from 93.04p at the end of the first half in 2017.
The investment company's total net assets decreased 5.6% to GBP331.7 million from GBP351.2 million the previous year.
VPC's total net asset value return was 4.3%, increased from 0.8% in the same period in 2017 and from 3.1% in the previous half.
The investment company said the period was marking by "diverging economic statistics" in its two primary investment markets, the US and UK.
VPC said its US investments benefited from strong economic growth and continued reductions in unemployment figures.
The company said: "We experienced a strong first half of the year on the back of steady credit performance across its portfolio of balance sheet loans combined with strong equity returns from both private and public holdings."
VPC has declared an interim dividend of 4.0p per share, a 25% increase over last year's payout of 3.2p.
The increase in payout is attributed to the company producing consistent and recurring income returns during the period.
VPC's pretax net return in the period was GBP13.9 million, up from GBP1.2 million the year before.
VPC remains optimistic about its ability to deliver "strong" income returns from its low leverage and short duration senior secured balance sheet loans.
Shares in VPC Specialty Lending were up 1.8% Friday at 81.40 pence each.
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