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LONDON (Alliance News) - International Biotechnology Trust PLC Monday said it had outperformed the FTSE All-Share Index in the year to end-August, as "investor enthusiasm for the biotechnology sector continued".
The trust posted a total return on net asset value of 26.4% to 395.7 pence per share in the year, compared to a 10.7% total return from the FTSE All-Share Index, although falling short of the 33.2% total return from the underlying NASDAQ Biotechnology Index denominated in sterling.
International Biotechnology Trust said its performance was helped by its unquoted portfolio, which contributed 2.6% to net asset value. The trust said that its has opted to halt investments in new unquoted companies and focus on its quoted portfolio, as the quoted biotechnology sector has matured.
It will continue to make follow-on investments into its existing unquoted portfolio in line those companies' development plans, and where there is a strong investment case, it said.
In International Biotechnology Trust's quoted investments, the largest contributors were Gilead Sciences Inc, InterMune Inc, Biogen Idec Inc and Illumina Inc. The weakest performer was Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc, which was hit by lowered sales expectations for its cholesterol lowering drug and competition concerns.
The discount of share price on net asset value widened to 20.5% from 14.1%, International Biotechnology Trust said, which it attributed to profit taking across the biotechnology sector after a long period of "very high returns".
Shares in the International Biotechnology Trust are trading up 0.4% at 388.00 pence Monday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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