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(Alliance News) - Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust PLC on Friday said it had underperformed the benchmark index amid "another period of poor portfolio performance".
The London-based investment firm said its net asset value at October 31 was 169.0 pence per share, down from 195.6p on April 30.
Shares in Baillie Gifford UK were up 0.2% at 153.13p each in London on Friday afternoon.
The company, which seeks long-term capital growth primarily through backing UK listings, also delivered an NAV total return of negative 11.9% for the six months that ended on October 31.
Its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, by contrast delivered a negative 5.9% return.
Baillie Gifford UK as usual did not declare an interim dividend, since it prefers to distribute all dividends as a single final payout. In mid-June, it declared a final dividend of 3.60p per share for the year that ended on April 30, down from 3.91p for the year before.
"It is disappointing to report on another period of poor portfolio performance," Baillie Gifford UK commented. "As the economic clouds have darkened as higher interest rates start to bite...it has been a gloomy time for equity investors and the stock market alike.
"For growth investors it has been doubly difficult as the market is seemingly more interested in what is happening now rather than in a few years' time."
Baillie Gifford UK also noted "painful" mistakes such as its investments in Naked Wines PLC and Farfetch Ltd.
Looking ahead, however, Baillie Gifford UK claimed that "both of your portfolio managers, who are shareholders themselves, are actually feeling as upbeat about the portfolio as we can remember.
"This is not bravado. Be assured that our feet are firmly on the ground, and we continue to challenge ourselves on what we are doing.
"However, we see a pattern of short-term, cyclical concerns overshadow what we view as strengthening long-term prospects of the majority of the companies held...We view this as a real opportunity for patient investors."
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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