12th Mar 2019 09:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - Witan Investment Trust PLC on Tuesday said it underperformed its benchmark during its latest year, after posting a negative total return and a slump in net asset value per share.
Shares in the FTSE 250 investment trust were trading down 0.2% at 1,012.00 pence each.
For 2018, the trust posted a net asset value total return of negative 8.4%, versus negative 6.5% for the company's benchmark, which was unspecified.
Over a 5-year period, Witan's total return was positive 52.1% compared to 44.6% for the benchmark.
Annual net asset value per share dropped 10% to 995.1 pence from 1109.8p a year ago.
"After several years of strong performance, our net asset value fell in 2018, and we underperformed, in what proved to be a challenging year," the company said.
It added: "For much of the year, Witan's returns were positive and ahead of our benchmark but the weakness towards the end of the year delivered a setback in both absolute and relative terms."
Witan upped its dividend by 12% to 23.50p per share from 21.00p, after declaring a fourth interim dividend of 7.75p.
Furthermore, the company's board is proposing a share split, whereby shareholders will receive five shares with a par value of 5p in place of every share of 25p par value currently held.
"This will make no fundamental difference to the value of shareholdings. Assuming the proposal is approved by shareholders, the share price, net asset value per share and dividend per share can be expected to be one fifth of the level prevailing the day before the split, exactly reflecting the increase in the number of shares," Witan explained.
Looking ahead, Witan said its managers will continue to take account of the implications of Brexit when selecting stocks for the portfolio.