14th Jun 2016 16:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - Worldwide Healthcare Trust PLC Tuesday significantly increased its annual dividend, even as it said its recent financial year was a challenging period that saw the trust underperform against its benchmark index.
Worldwide Healthcare said its net asset value per share declined 9.2% during the financial year to the end of March to 1,850.9 pence from 2,039.3p, whilst the diluted NAV declined 9.3% to 1,850.5 pence from 2,039.3p.
Net asset value total return in the year declined 9.0%, and share price total return declined 10.5%. The trust's benchmark index, the MSCI World Health Care Index, declined 5.4% over the same period.
Worldwide Healthcare said its dividend for the full year will be 16.5 pence, a 32% increase from the 12.5p payout in the previous year.
"The year...has seen periods of extreme volatility in healthcare stocks, in particular the biotechnology sector, as a result of investor concerns over the stability of the world's economy and the potential for regulatory policy changes that could affect drug prices in the US market," said Chairman Martin Smith.
"Despite a challenging year, our portfolio manager remains positive with respect to the fundamentals for the healthcare sector. Innovation, merger and acquisition activity and an efficient regulatory environment will continue to be key drivers," Smith added.
Worldwide Healthcare shares closed down 0.4% to 1,797.0 pence per share on Tuesday.
By Joshua Warner; [email protected]; @JoshAlliance
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