Edinburgh Investment Trust PLC Share News (EDIN)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The Edinburgh Investment Trust PLC Wednesday said it outperformed its benchmark index over the course of its last financial year.

In a statement, the trust said it produced a net asset value total return of 12.5% with debt at face value, and 14.4% with debt at market value, both of which exceeded the 8.8% total return of the FTSE All-Share Index in the year ended March 31. The share price total return for the year was 8.0%.

The trust said its portfolio continues to be concentrated in a relatively small number of sectors and its overweight or underweight positions in various sectors, such as tobacco and pharmaceuticals, are the main drivers of its relative investment performance.

The trust had been managed by renowned investor Neil Woodford since 2008, when Invesco Perpetual was appointed to the role. However, Woodford has left Invesco Perpetual to start his own fund, Woodford Equity Income, leaving Mark Barnett in charge of the trust's portfolio. The Edinburgh Investment Trust put some of the volatility of the discount and premium at which its share trade to net asset value per share down to Woodford's departure.

"Your board and manager remain vigilant in light of a mixed global macro-economic outlook and also as a result of higher share prices and higher valuations across the UK equity market. Taking this into account, we look to the current financial year with guarded optimism whilst not anticipating a repeat of the returns enjoyed last year," Chairman Jim Pettigrew said in a statement.

"That said, the company's strategy remains to continue to identify pockets of value. The recent bid approach by Pfizer for AstraZeneca, a long term core holding for your company, suggests that certain companies continue to be undervalued by the market and that, as is often the case in investing, patience can be rewarded," Pettigrew added.

The Edinburgh Investment Trust shares were Wednesday quoted at 602.00 pence, up 0.50 pence, or 0.1%.

By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini

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