LONDON (Alliance News) - Aberdeen Smaller Cos Income Trust PLC on Thursday reported a decline in its net asset value per share in the first half of 2016, missing its benchmark, in what it described as a "challenging" period.
The trust said its NAV per share in the six months ended June 30 declined by 6.3%, underperforming its benchmark the FTSE SmallCap Index, which was down 4.6%.
Aberdeen Smaller Cos said the first half of 2016 was challenging, particularly in January and February, due to a low-risk appetite and general sense of unease among investors resulting from a "deteriorating global growth picture" and weak commodity prices.
"At this stage, it is not possible to accurately assess what the mid to long-term impacts of Brexit might be. As a board we are encouraged that the manager continues to follow a strategy of building a diversified portfolio of companies with strong balance sheets and who also generate a significant proportion of revenues from overseas markets," Aberdeen Smaller Cos said in statement.
"We also know that more testing times can open the door to new opportunities and we have been encouraged by the performance of some of our recent introductions. Managing the revenue account and protecting the capital downside whilst keeping a focus on the types of companies that can deliver long-term capital growth are, as ever, our main priorities," the company added.
Shares in Aberdeen Smaller Cos were trading up 2.0% at 204.55 pence on Thursday morning.
By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews
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