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Half-year Report

6th Aug 2025 07:00

RNS Number : 1122U
Smithson Investment Trust PLC
06 August 2025
 

SMITHSON INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

LEI: 52990070BDK2OKX5TH79  Date: 6 August 2025

 

INTERIM RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT

Results for the six months ended 30 June 2025

 

The full Interim Report for the six months ended 30 June 2025 (the "Interim Report") can be found on the Company's website at www.smithson.co.uk

 

Performance Highlights

At

At

At

30 June 2025

30 June 2024

31 December 2024

Net assets

£1,914,539,000

£2,274,421,000

£2,129,897,000

Net asset value ("NAV") per

ordinary share ("share")

1,670.0p

1,569.5p

1,631.8p

Share price

1,498.0p

1,378.0p

1,484.0p

Share price discount to NAV1

10.3%

12.2%

9.1%

 

For the period from

Company's listing on

Six months ended

Six months ended

19 October 2018 to

30 June 2025

30 June 2024

30 June 2025

% Change

% Change

% Change

NAV total return per share1

2.4%

-1.8%

67.1%

Share price total return1

1.0%

-2.6%

49.9%

Comparator index total return2

-0.3%

3.4%

63.6%

Ongoing charges ratio1

0.9%

0.9%

1.0%

Source: Bloomberg.

This report contains terminology that may be unfamiliar to some readers. The Glossary section gives definitions for frequently used terms.

1 These are Alternative Performance Measures ("APMs"). Definitions of these, together with how these measures have been calculated, are disclosed at the end of this report, where it is made clear how these APMs relate to figures disclosed and calculated under IFRS.

2 MSCI World SMID Cap Index, £Net Source: www.msci.com.

 

Chairman's Statement

Introduction

I am pleased to present this Interim Report of Smithson Investment Trust plc (the "Company") for the six months ended 30 June 2025.

Investment Performance

The Company's net asset value (NAV) per share total return for the period was +2.4% compared with the -0.3% return from the MSCI World SMID Index. Equity markets have been volatile this year and it is encouraging that during this period our investment manager has delivered a positive performance which is ahead of the comparator index.

The investment manager's review goes into more detail on the changes made to the Company's portfolio and the factors driving performance of the portfolio.

There is no doubt that good returns can be delivered by investing in an actively managed portfolio investing in global small and mid-cap stocks. The Company aims to deliver long-term value growth for shareholders. Since inception to the end of June 2025, the Company's NAV per share has grown at an annualised rate of +8.0%, outperforming the MSCI World SMID Index by 0.4 percentage points.

The Company's shares continue to trade at a discount to NAV, and despite the positive performance of the portfolio and the Board's efforts to try to reduce the discount through its buyback programme, the share price performance has lagged the NAV per share in the period, with the share price total return being +1.0% for the first half.

Discount and Share Buybacks

The share price discount to NAV was 10.3% at the end of the period. The Board believes that investors are best served when the Company's share price trades close to the Company's NAV per share. The Board has sought to mitigate the discount through a share buyback programme that commenced in April 2022. Up to the end of December 2024 the Company had bought back 46.6 million shares, representing 26% of the issued share capital. The buybacks have continued in 2025 and a further 15.9 million shares (12% of the number in issue at the start of the year) bought back in the first half of the year. The Company has therefore now bought back 35% of the total shares in issue before the buyback programme began.

While the buyback programme has not yet materially reduced the Company's discount to single digits - which is the Board's objective - the Board remains confident this can be achieved over the medium term. Although buybacks gradually reduce the size of the Company, with a market capitalisation of approximately £1.7 billion, this is not expected to impact share liquidity. The Company continues to be one of the largest and most liquid in its investment trust sector. The Board intends to maintain the buyback programme while the discount persists at current levels. Shareholders have expressed support for the approach, which also enhances NAV per share.

Results and Dividends

The Company's revenue earnings per share for the half year was 4.46p. The income the Company receives from its investments tends to be higher in the first half of the year than in the second half, whereas its expenses are more evenly split between the half years, and, as in previous years, it is expected that in the second half of the year revenue profit will be lower than in the first half. In line with prior interim periods, the Board is not proposing a dividend at this stage.

AGM and Shareholder Engagement

The Company held its Annual General Meeting on 23 April 2025. It was encouraging to see so many shareholders attend in person and to hear directly from Simon Barnard, our portfolio manager, and his team. Simon's presentation is available on the Company's website.

An ordinary resolution proposing the continuation of the Company was included in the AGM Notice, and the resolution was passed with 96% of the votes cast in favour. The Board has committed to put such a vote to shareholders at each AGM if the average discount in the preceding calendar year is over 10%.

A General Meeting was held on 15 May 2025 at which shareholders approved the resolution to give the Directors the ability to reduce the Company's share premium account by £500 million. This reduction increases the Company's distributable reserves and supports the continuation of the share buyback programme. The capital reduction was confirmed by the High Court on 10 June 2025 and registered by Companies House on 13 June 2025.

Governance and Board Composition

Diana Dyer Bartlett, who joined the Board as a non-executive director at the launch of the Company in October 2018, and who served as Chair of the Audit Committee until February 2022 and then as Chair of Board until January 2025, did not seek re-election at the AGM in April. The Board extends its sincere thanks to Diana for her considerable contribution and dedicated service to the Company and its shareholders.

On 3 July 2025, the Board announced the appointment of Sarika Patel as a non-executive director and Chair of the Audit Committee. Sarika is an experienced business leader, and she brings extensive experience in investment trusts and the wider financial services sector, having served as Chair and Audit & Risk Committee Chair across several boards. Her expertise and insight will be a valuable addition to the Smithson Board. The Board intends to appoint a fifth director before the end of the year.

Outlook

The Company's investment manager remains focused on the matters within its control, continuing to apply a disciplined and systematic approach to identifying high-quality, long-term investment opportunities.

The Board retains strong confidence in the investment manager's ability to execute this strategy successfully. The Board believes the Company offers investors a compelling opportunity to access a carefully curated portfolio of some of the world's most dynamic and innovative small and mid-cap growth companies, with the potential to deliver attractive returns over the long term.

Mike Balfour

Chairman

5 August 2025

 

Investment Manager's Review

Dear Fellow Shareholder,

The performance of Smithson Investment Trust ('Smithson', 'Trust', or 'Fund'), along with comparators, is laid out below. For the first half of 2025 the Net Asset Value per share (NAV) of the Company increased by 2.4% and the share price increased by 1.0%. Over the same period, the MSCI World Small and Mid Cap Index ('SMID'), our reference index, decreased by 0.3%. We also provide the performance of UK bonds and cash for comparison.

The first half of this year has generated satisfactory relative performance, especially given that the MSCI World SMID index was down slightly during the period.

 

Inception to 30.06.25

Total Return 01.01.25 to30.06.25%

Cumulative%

Annualised%

Smithson NAV1

+2.4

+67.1

+8.0

Smithson Share Price

+1.0

+49.9

+6.2

SMID Equities2

-0.3

+63.6

+7.6

UK Bonds3

+3.8

-3.5

-0.5

Cash4

+2.2

+15.4

+2.2

1 Source: Bloomberg, starting NAV 1000, net of fees.

2 MSCI World SMID Index, £ Net, source: www.msci.com.

3 Bloomberg Series-E UK Govt 5-10 yr Bond Index, source: Bloomberg.

4 £ Interest Rate, source: Bloomberg.

While there have been some recent improvements in the macroeconomic environment for our strategy, our performance so far this year has been boosted by some exciting developments in the portfolio - more on which later.

One benefit to performance has been the headwind of increasing interest rates abating during the last six months, with the United States 10 year bond yield down 34 basis points over the period to 4.23%.

It is also worth noting that the significant underperformance of small and mid cap equities relative to large cap equities since the Trust's inception in 2018 appears to have stabilised over the last year.

It is perhaps worth commenting on what our companies are telling us about the current tariff regime which has been preoccupying investors since President Trump's so called 'Liberation Day' announcement. As it stands at the time of writing - which is a large caveat - the import tariffs levied on other countries by the US have been easily accommodated by our portfolio companies. Most tell us that they have already passed through the associated cost to their customers by applying a one-off "surcharge" to their prices. The good news, of course, is that everyone in the world already knows that tariffs are being applied, so charging for them has met with little resistance. This is also helped by our companies, with desirable products and strong, defensible competitive positions, having the power to enact such price increases on customers while losing little business. One indicator of this is their gross margins, or the difference between the selling price of their products and what it cost to make them, which is 62% on average for our portfolio companies compared to 30% for the average company in the MSCI SMID index. This gives us the confidence that whatever happens next in terms of tariff policy, our companies will be able to handle it far better than the average company in the index.

What would be more concerning to our companies would be a recession in the US brought about by reduced consumer spending due to the higher prices caused by tariffs, or lower investment spending from businesses due to the uncertain policy environment. At this point, while there are some signs of stress and reduced spending from the lowest income consumers in the US, it appears overall that current tariff rates are not high enough to push the whole US economy into recession. Of course, if tariffs increased substantially from this point, then the probability of a US recession will rise with them.

Portfolio turnover adjusted for share buybacks was 25% in the six months ending 30 June 2025, a little higher than the 20% for the same period last year. Annualised costs were similar to last year, however, with an Ongoing Charges Figure of 0.88% of NAV (including the annualised Management Fee). Costs of dealing, including taxes, amounted to just 0.03% of NAV in the period, similar to that incurred over the same period last year, which meant that the annualised Total Cost of Investment was 0.91%.

The first six months of the year provided a number of buying opportunities due to the continued price weakness for high quality small and mid cap companies. We added five new companies to the portfolio and funded these by selling out of five existing positions, all of which I describe below. To provide context, it is perhaps worth making the point that in a closed end vehicle such as an investment trust, capital has to be generated first by selling part or all of an existing position to enable a new position to be acquired. In this way, a new holding of say 2% of the portfolio actually creates 4% portfolio turnover, as 2% of another position has to be sold before it can be redeployed.

The first acquisition was Doximity, a US based online professional network for medical practitioners, (essentially a "LinkedIn for doctors"). It is the largest of its kind, with over 80% of US medical practitioners enrolled. Doctors provide their medical accreditation to sign up, which gives Doximity all of their professional data including areas of specialty and published research. This data allows Doximity to sell targeted advertising campaigns to pharmaceutical companies and is the main source of Doximity's revenue. As only one advert per advertiser is shown to each doctor per month, there is still an enormous amount of advertising 'inventory' for Doximity to use, which we expect will drive strong growth for at least the next few years. The outlook for this company has recently been further improved as politicians in the US are becoming increasingly hostile towards direct to consumer prescription drug advertisements on TV (the US is one of only two countries in the world - the other being New Zealand - where this is permitted). Should this advertising channel be constrained or banned, it would make Doximity's ability to advertise prescription drugs directly to doctors even more attractive to its pharmaceutical clients.

This position was funded by selling Addtech, a Swedish industrial company that makes frequent small acquisitions, continually bolstering its organic growth with acquired revenue. The company had performed extremely well during our ownership, up over 110% in three years, recently reaching a valuation that we could no longer justify.

The second acquisition was Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, a US producer of prescription drugs for rare diseases including autoimmune neuromuscular disorders. While the existing business is demonstrating strong growth and profitability, the greater potential for the company comes from management acquiring and commercialising new compounds. With $1 billion of balance sheet capacity to invest into new deals, we are optimistic regarding this avenue of future growth.

This position was funded by selling IDEX, the US industrial company that also relies on acquisitions to supplement its organic growth, but over the last couple of years the organic growth of the group became increasingly lacklustre, which was not offset by further deals.

Manhattan Associates was the third new acquisition in the period. This US provider of logistics and supply chain software is a company that we have followed and admired for over seven years but never had the chance to buy at a reasonable valuation. However, during the six months leading up to our acquisition the share price halved, primarily due to lower short term growth guidance provided by management. We felt this was likely to be a short lived blip as new trade tariffs around the world should prompt companies to acquire more sophisticated supply chain software to help manage the shift of their supply chains to new locations.

This acquisition was funded by selling Geberit, the Swiss toilet systems manufacturer, which had achieved very little revenue growth over the last five years, yet had recently attained a high rating from the boost in share price it received from the recent German government's intention to set up a €500 billion fund to spend on public infrastructure over the next few years.

Vertiv Holdings was the fourth acquisition. This US company is the clear leader in liquid cooling technology for data centre servers, which is becoming increasingly important as high powered, and more heat producing, GPU semiconductor chips used for AI are deployed. The company has an exciting opportunity ahead as the pipeline of data centres in the US continues to expand rapidly, while other regions such as Europe and the Middle East are starting to contribute to this growth. It is quite possible that as AI demand develops, governments around the world will start to consider the sovereignty of the data within their countries and come to realise the risks associated with relying on data centres located in the US and China, leading to further international expansion opportunities. We were able to buy the shares at an attractive rating because they had declined by 60% in the three months following the revelation of the powerful, yet low cost AI reasoning model from Deepseek in China.

The capital for this position was generated by selling Equifax, the US credit bureau. Another successful investment for us over the last few years, it was finally sold because of its high rating, as well as indications that growth had slowed, particularly in its mortgage credit checking business, which we believe is unlikely to pick up again until US interest rates are materially lower than they are now.

Finally, we bought Napco Security Technologies, a producer of access control products including panels, locks and alarms. Napco is the smallest company we have ever acquired and while access control products are typically not the most dynamic market, this business has two aspects that are allowing it to grow much faster than the industry, and one of these has nothing to do with locks.

Back in 2019, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reached a decision to allow telecom companies to stop maintaining the copper phone lines running to all buildings in the US. While this didn't have an immediate effect, over time these lines have degraded and become unreliable. One unintended consequence is that the fire alarms in commercial buildings which rely on copper lines to get the alarm signal out to fire departments are starting to fail, requiring them to be replaced with radio alarms which instead use mobile network signals. Napco has one of the best commercial radio fire alarms on the market, and selling them comes with a new added benefit for the business in the form of a monthly fee to maintain the wireless communication service. Thus, Napco's revenue base has been transformed over the last few years, from 100% product revenue at a 25% gross margin, to now 50% recurring subscription revenue at a 90% gross margin. The effect on group profitability has been dramatic, with group operating margin improving from 9% in 2018 to 28% in 2024, and it is set to continue given the low penetration of radio alarms. Second, while we are all aware of violent events in American schools, few realise the true number of occurrences each year, which has been steadily increasing and hit a high of 83 in 2024. For this reason, schools in the US have been given a federal budget for improving security which is benefitting Napco's advanced remote locking and control products, and which hopefully means you will hear less about teachers having to barricade classroom doors with desks and chairs in the future.

We also sold out of Fevertree Drinks in January. The company had been underperforming for some time due to logistics issues in the US, its largest and fastest growing market. Getting bottling plants in the US up to productive capacity had been a struggle for them during and after the pandemic, and so much of the product required to serve this market was coming from Europe, which was clearly inefficient and meant profit margins in this large market were non-existent. We continued to hold the position through this period with the expectation that once the logistical issues were resolved, the US market would generate strong profits and vastly improve the margin profile of the group from the current low levels. However, in January 2025 Fevertree entered an exclusive licensing deal with Molson Coors whereby Molson Coors takes over the running of the Fevertree US business, including production and distribution, and pays a royalty fee equal to 50% of the US profits to Fevertree, some of which is guaranteed to 2030. While this clearly removes a lot of operational risk in the US market for Fevertree management, it also gives away 50% of the future profits. Any improvement in profitability has also been delayed for another two years as the companies jointly agreed to increase investment into the US business.

The top five contributors to first half performance are shown below.

Security

Country

Contribution %

Oddity

US

1.8%

Verisign

US

1.2%

Diploma

UK

1.0%

Nemetschek

Germany

0.9%

Halma

UK

0.6%

Source: Northern Trust

Oddity was our best performing stock in the first half of the year, up 76%. This holding had been somewhat of a conundrum up to now, as despite profits in the last 12 months being twice as much as the 12 months before its IPO in 2023, the share price had been resolutely flat. It then increased dramatically in April and May 2025 after another strong earnings report. This provides yet another example of stock market performance arriving like ketchup out of a glass bottle: first not very much, and then, all at once.

Verisign was also a strong performer, but for very different reasons. This is a company we have held since inception due to its very consistent growth and extremely high margins. As the registry operator for the .com internet domain, its business is reliant on a management contract from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit organisation that coordinates internet domains and addresses. This contract is typically 6 years in length and has a presumptive right of renewal, which means it will automatically renew unless Verisign materially breaches the agreement by allowing an internet outage or becoming insolvent. The first situation hasn't happened in all 30 years of its operation and, I will go out on a limb here, and say with the level of cash kept in the business, the second situation is virtually impossible. I provide this detail only to explain that the contract was practically guaranteed to be ratified when it came up for renewal in November 2024, but when it was duly extended for another 6 years the shares went on a +60% run. While I am tempted to say this is another blow to the efficient market hypothesis, I could be more generous and suggest that other contributing factors to this positive reaction could include the price increases allowable by the prior contract being maintained and also that a significant number of shares in the company were recently acquired by none other than Berkshire Hathaway.

Diploma has been a consistently strong performer for us over the last seven years and has now become our largest holding, having compounded at 24% per annum over that time. Its performance was improved further when the company released results in May that showed organic revenue growth accelerating to 9%, with total revenue growth of 14% including acquisitions, sending the share price up 15% in one day.

Nemetschek also delivered strong results, with revenue growing by 26% in Q1, including acquisitions. As the company is a German provider of software for construction companies, sentiment has been further boosted by the aforementioned intention for government infrastructure spending.

Halma also continued its run of good results, the latest report showing organic growth remaining at over 9%. Halma shares thus achieved a new all time high in June 2025.

The largest detractors of first half performance are shown below.

Security

Country

Contribution %

Clorox

US

-1.2%

Choice Hotels

US

-0.8%

Sabre

US

-0.7%

Exponent

US

-0.7%

Spirax Group

UK

-0.5%

Source: Northern Trust

It may be surprising that Clorox is the leading detractor, as the steady nature of demand for its household staple products typically lends it a more stable share price. However, the company confirmed it has suffered from a weakening in US consumer sentiment over the last six months due to the macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties mentioned earlier, which led to a 2% decline in revenue, as well as a potential $100 million (or 9.6% of operating profit) increase in costs due to tariffs. I suspect the weakness in consumer spending has been exacerbated by the excess personal savings created in the US during the pandemic starting to deplete. Since 2022, the US personal savings rate has been running at around half the long term average, suggesting consumers have been more stretched, or at least dipping into these savings, for some time.

In contrast, Sabre has the most volatile share price in the portfolio on account of it being the only company with any meaningful financial leverage. For instance, the shares were up 22% on the day the full year results were released in February. However, the share price for the travel technology company is down year to date due to weakness in demand for airline tickets as well as the uncertainty regarding international travel to the US since 'Liberation Day'. It is also the case that new wars, such as those in the Middle East, while not good news for anyone, are typically bad for the travel sector.

Choice Hotels, having been a strong performer for us last year, has been caught between the intersection of both of the prior issues, namely a less certain US consumer and a weaker travel sector. Choice has a range of branded hotels from Rodeway Inn for its most basic accommodation up to the more luxurious Radisson brand. However, we have seen both ends of the spectrum suffer recently, with RevPAR (revenue per available room) expectations from management declining, clearly not a positive sign, and something we are worried about.

Exponent and Spirax Group, while very different businesses with one being a consultancy and the other an industrial products manufacturer, both suffered from weaker than expected results in the period due to a lack of spending by their corporate clients owing to the macroeconomic uncertainty. We believe both businesses have a strong competitive position in their respective markets and should stand to gain from improved demand once customer confidence returns.

The positioning of the Fund is described below, with a breakdown of the portfolio in terms of sector and geography at the end of the period. The median year of foundation of the companies in the portfolio was 1969.

As at 30 Jun 2025 by NAV - GICS® Categories

%

 

As at 28 Jun 2024 by NAV - GICS® Categories

%

Industrials

33.7

Industrials

40.8

Information Technology

25.1

Information Technology

25.7

Health Care

17.5

Health Care

10.7

Consumer Discretionary

10.6

Consumer Discretionary

9.4

Consumer Staples

6.9

Consumer Staples

8.3

Financials

3.7

Financials

2.8

Materials

1.8

Materials

2.1

Cash

0.7

Cash+

0.1

Source: Northern Trust

Our largest sector weight, Industrials, declined significantly with the sales of Addtech, IDEX, Geberit and Equifax, while Health Care increased with the acquisitions of Doximity and Catalyst Pharmaceuticals. The other sectors remained relatively stable.

As at 30 Jun 2025 by Listing

%

 

As at 28 Jun 2024 by Listing

%

USA

51.3

USA

47.7

UK

14.5

UK

16.3

Italy

11.5

Italy

8.7

Germany

7.6

Germany

6.3

Denmark

3.2

Switzerland

5.0

New Zealand

3.1

Sweden

4.9

Sweden

2.5

New Zealand

3.9

Japan

2.4

Denmark

3.6

Switzerland

1.8

Australia

2.6

Belgium

1.6

Belgium

1.0

Cash

0.7

Cash

0.1

Source: Northern Trust

Regarding geographic exposure, I have been asked often in the last few weeks whether I will be allocating capital away from the US in response to the unpredictable policy making in the country, potential economic weakness and recent declines in the value of the US dollar. The simple fact is that the US is still the largest single market in the world and one of the most attractive places to do business and has the largest number of small, fast growing, high quality companies to invest in. This is because small and mid size companies tend to be more domestically focused than large international conglomerates, and so the home market is more important. There are currently many questions surrounding the US, its leadership status in the world and the potential end of so-called "US exceptionalism". Is erratic policymaking reducing US credibility? Will the new US tariffs cause declining trade and geopolitical conflict? Will the dollar lose its reserve currency status to the Euro, Yuan or even a digital currency?

We don't have a crystal ball with which to answer these, and despite increasingly popular opinions, no one can be sure that any of this will actually occur. Instead, we simply try to take advantage of such uncertainty by acquiring high quality growing businesses that are likely to weather most storms at the lower valuations now offered to us. For this reason, our allocation to the US actually went up and not down over the last 12 months.

Source of Revenue

30 Jun 2025

(%)

30 Jun 2024

(%)

North America

54

44

Europe

24

32

Asia Pacific

16

19

Eurasia, Middle East, Africa

4

3

Latin America

2

2

Source: Fundsmith

In terms of the location where our companies generate their sales, the changes to the portfolio outlined above mean that North America has increased as a source of revenue, while Europe has declined. This is because several of the new acquisitions have almost all their revenue coming from the US.

In closing, we can assure you that despite the current macroeconomic and geopolitical issues we continue to remain steadfast in our focus on the fundamentals of our high quality companies and are confident that this will ultimately drive our performance. We greatly appreciate your continued support of Smithson and, as always, hope you will be well rewarded for it over time.

Simon Barnard

Fundsmith LLP

Investment Manager

 

5 August 2025

 

Investment Portfolio

Investments held as at 30 June 2025

Security

Country of incorporation

Fair value£'000

%of investments

Diploma

UK

113,186

5.9

Moncler

Italy

86,010

4.5

Rational

Germany

85,333

4.5

Recordati

Italy

82,694

4.3

Oddity

Israel

77,975

4.1

Qualys

USA

74,873

3.9

MSCI

USA

70,040

3.7

Paycom Software

USA

69,802

3.7

Choice Hotels

USA

67,929

3.6

Vertiv

USA

67,887

3.6

Top 10 Investments

 

795,729

41.8

Spirax-Sarco Engineering

UK

65,965

3.5

Halma

UK

62,931

3.3

Rollins

USA

60,867

3.2

Doximity

USA

60,665

3.2

Ambu

Denmark

60,664

3.2

Nemetschek

Germany

59,294

3.1

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

New Zealand

59,067

3.1

Verisign

USA

57,036

3.0

Graco

USA

56,464

3.0

Clorox

USA

53,750

2.8

Top 20 Investments

 

1,392,432

73.2

Reply Spa

Italy

51,340

2.7

Sabre

USA

49,420

2.6

HMS Networks AB

Sweden

47,793

2.5

Monotaro

Japan

45,700

2.4

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals

USA

42,880

2.3

Manhattan Associates

USA

41,539

2.2

Exponent

USA

40,699

2.1

Verisk Analytics

USA

40,034

2.1

Croda

UK

35,184

1.9

Inficon

Switzerland

34,149

1.8

Melexis

Belgium

30,451

1.6

Medpace

USA

29,170

1.5

Napco Security Technologies

USA

20,661

1.1

Total Investments

 

1,901,452

100.0

 

Investment Objective and Policy

Investment Objective

The Company's investment objective is to provide shareholders with long term growth in value through exposure to a diversified portfolio of shares issued by listed or traded companies.

Investment Policy

The Company's investment policy is to invest in shares issued by small and mid-sized listed companies globally that (at the time of initial investment) have a market capitalisation within the range of the constituents of the MSCI World SMID Index. The Company's approach is to be a long-term investor in its chosen shares. It will not adopt short-term trading strategies. Accordingly, it will pursue its investment policy by investing in approximately 25 to 40 companies as follows:

(a) the Company can invest up to 10 per cent. in value of its gross assets (as at the time of investment) in shares issued by any single body;

(b) not more than 20 per cent. in value of its gross assets (as at the time of investment) can be in deposits held with a single body. This limit will apply to all uninvested cash (except cash representing distributable income or credited to a distribution account that the depositary holds);

(c) not more than 20 per cent. in value of its gross assets (as at the time of investment) can consist of shares issued by the same group. When applying the limit set out in (a) this provision would allow the Company to invest up to 10 per cent. in the shares of two group member companies (as at the time of investment);

(d) the Company's holdings in any combination of shares or deposits issued by a single body must not exceed 20 per cent. in value of its gross assets (as at the time of investment);

(e) the Company must not acquire shares issued by a body corporate and carrying rights to vote at a general meeting of that body corporate if the Company has the power to influence significantly the conduct of business of that body corporate (or would be able to do so after the acquisition of the shares).

The Company is to be taken to have power to influence significantly if it exercises or controls the exercise of 20 per cent. or more of the voting rights of that body corporate; and

(f) the Company must not acquire shares which do not carry a right to vote on any matter at a general meeting of the body corporate that issued them and represent more than 10 per cent. of the shares issued by that body corporate.

The Company may also invest cash held for working capital purposes and awaiting investment in cash deposits and money market funds.

For the purposes of the investment policy, certificates representing certain shares (for example, depositary interests) will be deemed to be shares.

Hedging Policy

The Company will not use portfolio management techniques such as interest rate hedging and credit default swaps.

The Company will not use derivatives for purposes of currency hedging or for any other purpose.

Borrowing Policy

The Company has the power to borrow using short-term banking facilities to raise funds for short-term liquidity purposes or for discount management purposes including the purchase of its own shares, provided that the maximum gearing represented by such borrowings shall be limited to 15 per cent. of the net asset value at the time of drawdown of such borrowings. The Company may not otherwise employ leverage.

 

Interim Management Report

The Directors are required to provide an Interim Management Report in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. The Directors consider that the Chairman's Statement and the Investment Manager's Review of the Interim Report respectively, provide details of the important events which have occurred during the period and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements. The following statements on principal risks and uncertainties, related party transactions and the Directors' responsibility statement below, together constitute the Interim Management Report for the Company for the period from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The Board considers that the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company can be summarised as (i) investment objective and policy risk, (ii) market risks, (iii) outsourcing risks, (iv) key individuals' risk and (v) regulatory risks. A detailed explanation of risks and uncertainties can be found on pages 19 to 22 of the Company's most recent Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024. The Board also considers the risks associated with the macroeconomic backdrop such as uncertainty over inflation, higher interest rates, possibility of a recession, the continuing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The Board monitors the potential risks to the Company and its portfolio and receives regular updates and assurance from the Investment Manager and other key service providers on operational resilience and portfolio exposure and impact.

Related Party Transactions

The Company's Investment Manager, Fundsmith LLP, is considered a related party in accordance with the Listing Rules. There have been no changes to the nature of the Company's related party transactions since the Company's most recent Report and Accounts for the period ended 31 December 2024 were released. Details of the amounts paid to the Company's Investment Manager and the Directors during the period are detailed in the notes to the financial statements.

Directors' Responsibility Statement

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

· the Interim Management Report includes a fair review of the information required by Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.2.7R (indication of important events during the first six months, their impact on the condensed set of Financial Statements and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year); and

· the Interim Financial Statements includes a fair review of the information required by Disclosure and Transparency Rule 4.2.8R (disclosure of related party transactions and changes therein).

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Mike Balfour

Chairman

 

5 August 2025

 

Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income (Unaudited)

Notes

UnauditedSix months ended30 June 2025

UnauditedSix months ended30 June 2024

Audited Year ended31 December 2024

Revenue

£'000

Capital

£'000

Total

£'000

Revenue

£'000

Capital

£'000

Total

£'000

Revenue

£'000

Capital

£'000

Total

£'000

Income from investments held at fair value through profit or loss

4

17,026

-

17,026

19,422

-

19,422

28,699

-

28,699

Gains/(losses) on investments held at fair value through profit or loss

3

-

15,341

15,341

-

(76,434)

(76,434)

-

(11,179)

(11,179)

Foreign exchange losses

(32)

(128)

(160)

-

(546)

(546)

(72)

(668)

(740)

Investment management fees

(8,190)

-

(8,190)

(9,472)

-

(9,472)

(18,505)

-

(18,505)

Other expenses and transaction costs

(758)

(254)

(1,012)

(733)

(309)

(1,042)

(1,546)

(636)

(2,182)

Profit/(loss) before tax

 

8,046

14,959

23,005

9,217

(77,289)

(68,072)

8,576

(12,483)

(3,907)

Irrecoverable Overseas Tax

(2,534)

-

(2,534)

(3,059)

-

(3,059)

(4,205)

-

(4,205)

Profit/(loss) for the period/year

5

5,512

14,959

20,471

6,158

(77,289)

(71,131)

4,371

(12,483)

(8,112)

Return/(loss) per share (basic and diluted) (p)

5

4.46

12.10

16.56

4.00

(50.20)

(46.20)

3.00

(8.57)

(5.57)

The "Total" column of this statement represents the Company's Income Statement, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). The "Revenue" and "Capital" columns are supplementary to this and are prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC").

All items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

Condensed Statement of Financial Position (Unaudited)

Notes

Unaudited

As at

30 June

2025

£'000

Unaudited

As at

30 June

2024

£'000

Audited

As at

31 December

2024

£'000

Non-current assets

 

 

 

 

Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

3

1,901,452

2,271,338

2,127,041

Current assets

 

 

 

 

Trade and other receivables

12,144

12,303

5,080

Cash and cash equivalents

4,428

3,814

3,036

16,572

16,117

8,116

Total assets

 

1,918,024

2,287,455

2,135,157

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

Trade and other payables

(3,485)

(13,034)

(5,260)

Total assets less current liabilities

 

1,914,539

2,274,421

2,129,897

Equity attributable to equity shareholders

 

 

 

 

Share capital

7

1,771

1,771

1,771

Share premium

1,219,487

1,719,487

1,719,487

Capital reserve

687,739

550,630

407,893

Revenue reserve

5,542

2,533

746

Total equity

 

1,914,539

2,274,421

2,129,897

Net asset value per share (p)

6

1,670.0

1,569.5

1,631.8

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

Condensed Statement of Changes in Equity (Unaudited)

For the six months ended 30 June 2025 (Unaudited)

Share

Capital

£'000

Share

Premium

£'000

Capital

Reserve

£'000

Revenue

Reserve

£'000

Total

£'000

Balance at 1 January 2025

1,771

1,719,487

407,893

746

2,129,897

Ordinary shares bought back and held in treasury

-

-

(233,978)

-

(233,978)

Costs on buybacks

-

-

(1,087)

-

(1,087)

Transfer of share premium#

-

(500,000)

500,000

-

-

Expenses in relation to share premium transfer

-

-

(48)

-

(48)

Equity dividends paid

-

-

-

(716)

(716)

Profit for the period

-

-

14,959

5,512

20,471

Balance at 30 June 2025

1,771

1,219,487

687,739

5,542

1,914,539

# On 13 June 2025, High Court approval was obtained to reduce the Company's share premium by £500 million. The capital reduction, resulted in a corresponding increase in the Company's distributable reserves.

For the six months ended 30 June 2024 (Unaudited)

 

Share

Capital

£'000

Share

Premium

£'000

Capital

Reserve

£'000

Revenue

Reserve

£'000

Total

£'000

Balance at 1 January 2024

1,771

1,719,487

834,305

(3,625)

2,551,938

Ordinary shares bought back and held in treasury

-

-

(205,333)

-

(205,333)

Costs on buybacks

-

-

(1,053)

-

(1,053)

(Loss)/profit for the period

-

-

(77,289)

6,158

(71,131)

Balance at 30 June 2024

1,771

1,719,487

550,630

2,533

2,274,421

For the year ended 31 December 2024 (Audited)

Share

Capital

£'000

Share

Premium

£'000

Capital

Reserve

£'000

Revenue

Reserve

£'000

Total

£'000

Balance at 1 January 2024

1,771

1,719,487

834,305

(3,625)

2,551,938

Ordinary shares bought back and held in treasury

-

-

(411,747)

-

(411,747)

Costs on buybacks

-

-

(2,182)

-

(2,182)

(Loss)/profit for the year

-

-

(12,483)

4,371

(8,112)

Balance at 31 December 2024

1,771

1,719,487

407,893

746

2,129,897

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

Condensed Statement of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

 

Notes

Unaudited

Six months

ended

30 June

2025

£'000

Unaudited

Six months

ended

30 June

2024

£'000

Audited

Year ended

31 December

2024

£'000

Operating activities

 

 

 

 

Profit/(loss) before tax

23,005

(68,072)

(3,907)

Adjustments for:

 

 

 

 

(Gains)/losses on investments held at fair value through profit or loss

3

(15,341)

76,434

11,179

Increase in receivables

(223)

(669)

(242)

Decrease in payables

(139)

(270)

(230)

Irrecoverable overseas taxation

(2,534)

(3,059)

(4,205)

Net cash generated from operating activities

 

4,768

4,364

2,595

Investing activities

 

 

 

 

Purchase of investments

3

(255,285)

(244,667)

(423,193)

Sale of investments

3

489,374

430,545

819,465

Net cash generated from investing activities

 

234,089

185,878

396,272

Financing activities

 

 

 

 

Purchase of shares held in treasury

(235,614)

(199,837)

(410,228)

Costs relating to buy backs

(1,087)

(3,170)

(2,182)

Expenses in relation to share premium transfer

(48)

-

-

Equity dividends paid

(716)

-

-

Net cash used in financing activities

 

(237,465)

(203,007)

(412,410)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

 

1,392

(12,765)

(13,543)

Cash and cash equivalents at start of the period/year

3,036

16,579

16,579

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period/year

 

4,428

3,814

3,036

Comprised of:

 

 

 

 

Cash at bank

 

4,428

3,814

3,036

The accompanying notes below are an integral part of these financial statements.

 

Notes to the Condensed Financial Statements (Unaudited)

1. General information

Smithson Investment Trust plc is a company incorporated on 14 August 2018 in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006.

The condensed interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ("DTRs") of the UK's Listing Authority.

Principal activity

The principal activity of the Company is that of an investment company within the meaning of Section 833 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Company commenced activities on admission to the London Stock Exchange on 19 October 2018.

Going concern

The Directors have adopted the going concern basis in preparing the Condensed Interim Financial Statements (unaudited) for the period ended 30 June 2025. The following is a summary of the Directors' assessment of the going concern status of the Company, which included consideration of macroeconomic conditions such as uncertainty over inflation, higher interest rates, a possible recession and the continuing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least twelve months from the date of this report. In reaching this conclusion, the Directors have considered the liquidity of the Company's portfolio of investments as well as its cash position, income and expense flows. At the date of approval of this report, the Company has substantial operating expenses cover and a suitably liquid portfolio with which to continue share buybacks.

2. Significant accounting policies

The Company's accounting policies are set out below:

Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention (modified to include investments at fair value through profit or loss) on a going concern basis and in accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and IFRSs as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") and with the Statement of Recommended Practice ("SORP") 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' issued by the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC") in November 2014 (and updated in July 2022). They have also been prepared on the assumption that approval as an investment trust will continue to be granted.

The Directors believe that it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis for preparing the financial statements for the reasons stated above. The Company is a UK listed company with a predominantly UK shareholder base. The results and the financial position of the Company are expressed in sterling, which is the functional and presentational currency of the Company. The accounting policies in this Interim Report are consistent with those applied in the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2024 and have been disclosed consistently and in line with Companies Act 2006.

Critical accounting judgements and sources of estimation uncertainty

The Board confirms that no significant accounting judgements or estimates have been applied to the financial statements and therefore there is not a significant risk of a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities.

 

3. Investments held at fair value through profit or loss

Unaudited

Six months

ended

30 June

2025

£'000

Unaudited

Six months

ended

30 June

2024

£'000

Audited

Year ended

31 December

2024

£'000

Opening book cost

1,941,263

2,232,394

2,232,394

Opening investment holding gains

185,778

306,559

306,559

Opening fair value at start of the period/year

2,127,041

2,538,953

2,538,953

Purchases at cost

255,285

249,147

421,719

Sales - proceeds

(496,215)

(440,328)

(822,452)

Gains/(losses) on investments

15,341

(76,434)

(11,179)

Closing fair value at end of the period/year

1,901,452

2,271,338

2,127,041

Closing book cost at end of the period/year

1,790,413

1,999,024

1,941,263

Closing unrealised gain at end of the period/year

111,039

272,314

185,778

Valuation at end of the period/year

1,901,452

2,271,338

2,127,041

The Company received £496,215,000 excluding transaction costs from investments sold in the period (30 June 2024: £440,328,000, 31 December 2024: £822,452,000). The book cost of the investments when they were purchased was £406,389,000 (30 June 2024: £482,687,000, 31 December 2024: £713,486,000). These investments have been revalued over time until they were sold and unrealised gains/losses were included in the fair value of the investments.

All investments are listed.

4. Dividend income

Unaudited

Unaudited

Six months

Six months

Audited

ended

ended

Year ended

30 June

30 June

31 December

2025

2024

2024

£'000

£'000

£'000

UK dividends

3,645

3,880

5,865

Overseas dividends

13,225

15,245

22,165

Overseas dividends - special

70

-

75

Bank interest

76

297

594

Total

17,026

19,422

28,699

5. Return/(loss) per share

Return/(loss) per ordinary share is as follows:

Unaudited

Six months ended

30 June 2025

Unaudited

Six months ended

30 June 2024

Audited

Year ended

31 December 2024

Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

Revenue

Capital

Total

Profit/(loss) for the period/year (£'000)

5,512

14,959

20,471

6,158

(77,289)

(71,131)

4,371

(12,483)

(8,112)

Return/(loss) per ordinary share (p)

4.46

12.10

16.56

4.00

(50.20)

(46.20)

3.00

(8.57)

(5.57)

Return per share is calculated based on returns for the period and the weighted average number of 123,610,243 shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) in the six months ended 30 June 2025 (30 June 2024: 153,957,461; 31 December 2024: 145,572,236).

 

6. Net asset value per share

Unaudited

Unaudited

Audited

30 June

30 June

31 December

2025

2024

2024

Net asset value

£1,914,539,000

£2,274,421,000

£2,129,897,000

Shares in issue

114,645,417

144,917,958

130,527,069

Net asset value per share

1,670.0p

1,569.5p

1,631.8p

7. Share capital

Unaudited30 June 2025

Ordinary

Treasury

Total

Nominal

Shares

Shares

Shares

Value

Issued, allotted and fully paid (ordinary)

Number

Number

Number

£'000

Ordinary shares in issue at 1 January

130,527,069

46,580,889

177,107,958

1,771

Ordinary shares bought back and held in treasury

(15,881,652)

15,881,652

-

-

114,645,417

62,462,541

177,107,958

1,771

 

Unaudited

30 June 2024

Ordinary

Treasury

Total

Nominal

Shares

Shares

Shares

Value

Issued, allotted and fully paid (ordinary)

Number

Number

Number

£'000

Ordinary shares in issue at 1 January

159,692,958

17,415,000

177,107,958

1,771

Ordinary shares bought back and held in treasury

(14,775,000)

14,775,000

-

-

144,917,958

32,190,000

177,107,958

1,771

 

Audited

31 December 2024

Ordinary

Treasury

Total

Nominal

Shares

Shares

Shares

Value

Issued, allotted and fully paid (ordinary)

Number

Number

Number

£'000

Ordinary shares in issue at 1 January

159,692,958

17,415,000

177,107,958

1,771

Ordinary shares bought back and held in treasury

(29,165,889)

29,165,889

-

-

130,527,069

46,580,889

177,107,958

1,771

During the six months ended 30 June 2025, the Company issued no ordinary shares (30 June 2024: nil, 31 December 2024: nil).

During the six months ended 30 June 2025, the Company bought back to hold in treasury 15,881,652 shares (30 June 2024: 14,775,000, 31 December 2024: 29,165,889) at a total cost of £235,065,000 (30 June 2024: £206,386,000, 31 December 2024: £413,929,000). At the period end, the Company held 62,462,541 (30 June 2024: 32,190,000, 31 December 2024: 46,580,889) shares in treasury.

Since 30 June 2025 and up to 18 July 2025, a further 1,122,192 ordinary shares have been bought back to hold in treasury at a total cost of £17,176,649.

8. Related party transactions

Fees payable to the Investment Manager are shown in the Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income. As at 30 June 2025, the fee outstanding to the Investment Manager was £1,286,000 (30 June 2024: £1,331,000, 31 December 2024: £1,430,000).

Fees are payable at an annual rate of £60,000 to the Chair of the Board, £46,000 to the Chair of the Audit Committee, £40,000 to the Chair of the Management Engagement Committee and £36,000 to directors. Diana Dyer Bartlett resigned on 23 April 2025 and Sarika Patel was appointed as a non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit Committee with effect from 3 July 2025. The remuneration for the Chair of the Audit Committee has been set at £50,000 with effect from that date.

The Directors had the following shareholdings in the Company.

As at

As at

As at

30 June

30 June

31 December

Director

2025

2024

2024

Mike Balfour

7,000

-

-

Jeremy Attard-Manche

2,500

2,500

2,500

Denise Hadgill

2,578

2,578

2,578

As at 30 June 2025, Terry Smith and other founder partners and key employees of the Investment Manager directly or indirectly and in aggregate, held 2.18% of the issued share capital of the Company (30 June 2024: 1.91%, 31 December 2024: 2.30%).

9. Events after the reporting period

There were no post-period events requiring disclosure other than those included in these interim financial statements.

10. Status of this report

These interim financial statements are not the Company's statutory accounts for the purposes of section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. They are unaudited. The Interim Report will be made available to the public at the registered office of the Company. The report will also be available in electronic format on the Company's website, http://www.smithson.co.uk.

The financial information for the year ended 31 December 2024 has been extracted from the statutory accounts which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors' report on those accounts was not qualified and did not contain statements under sections 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Interim Report was approved by the Board of Directors on 5 August 2025.

 

Alternative Performance Measures ("APMs")

APMs are often used to describe the performance of investment companies although they are not specifically defined under IFRS. APM calculations for the Company are shown below. The Board believes that each of the APMs, which are typically used within the investment trust sector, provide additional useful information to shareholders in order to assess the Company's performance between reporting periods and against its peer group.

Discount

The amount, expressed as a percentage, by which the share price is less than the NAV per ordinary share.

As at

As at

As at

30 June

30 June

31 December

2025

2024

2024

NAV per ordinary share

a

1,670.0p

1,569.5p

1,631.8p

Share price

b

1,498.0p

1,378.0p

1,484.0p

Discount

(b-a)÷a

10.3%

12.2%

9.1%

Total return

A measure of performance that includes both income and capital returns. In the case of share price total return, this takes into account share price appreciation and dividends paid by the Company. In the case of NAV total return, this takes into account NAV appreciation (net of expenses) and dividends paid by the Company.

Six months ended 30 June 2025

Share price

NAV

Opening at 1 January 2025

a

1,484.0p

1,631.8p

Closing at 30 June 2025

b

1,498.0p

1,670.0p

Increase

0.9%

2.3%

Impact of reinvested dividends

0.1%

0.1%

Total return

(b÷a)-1

1.0%

2.4%

Six months ended 30 June 2024

Share price

NAV

Opening at 1 January 2024

a

1,415.0p

1,598.0p

Closing at 30 June 2024

b

1,378.0p

1,569.5p

Total return

(b÷a)-1

(2.6)%

(1.8)%

 

 

 

Period from Company's listing on 19 October 2018 to 30 June 2025

Share price

NAV

Opening at 19 October 2018

a

1,000.0p

1,000.0p

Closing at 30 June 2025

b

1,498.0p

1,670.0p

Total return

(b÷a)-1

49.9%

67.1%

Annualised total return

6.2%

8.0%

Annualised total return

The annualised total return for a period is the average return earned on an investment in the Company's shares for each year in that period, expressed by reference to either share price or NAV.

 

Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive Disclosures

Ongoing charges ratio and total cost of investment

A measure, expressed as a percentage of average NAV, of the regular, recurring annual costs of running an investment company. The Total Cost of Investment measures cost to investors incurred through the Company's portfolio transaction costs and the recurring annual costs of running the Company.

Period from

Company's

listing on

Six months

Six months

19 October

ended

ended

2018 to

30 June 2025

30 June 2024

30 June 2025

Average NAV (£'000)

a

2,044,677

2,420,069

2,146,228

Annualised expenses (£'000)

b

18,047

20,750

19,874

Ongoing charges ratio

(b÷a)

0.88%

0.86%

0.93%

Annualised investment transaction costs (£'000)

c

511

628

693

Annualised investment transaction costs ratio

(c÷a)

0.03%

0.03%

0.03%

Total Cost of Investment ratio

0.91%

0.89%

0.96%

 

Company Secretary & Registered Office

Apex Listed Companies Services (UK) Limited

4th Floor

140 Aldersgate Street

London

EC1A 4HY

For further information please contact the company secretary at:-

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 20 3994 7161

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