Aurora Investment Outperforms Benchmark, Ups Dividend Payout

(Alliance News) - Aurora Investment Trust PLC on Thursday said it outperformed against its benchmark in 2019, as it highlighted the performance of its shares amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shares in the investment trust closed 8.7% lower at 136.06 pence each on Thursday in London.

For 2019, Aurora's net asset value return was 30% compared to the 19% return from FTSE All-Share index.

Net asset value per share as at December 31 was 232.07p, up from 182.24p the same date the year before, while the share price at the end of 2018 was 237.00p, reflecting a 2.1% premium to net asset value.

Aurora Investment declared an interim dividend of 4.5p per share, up from 4.0p the year before.

In 2019, Aurora, added Ryanair to its portfolio, and exited its holdings in supermarkets Tesco PLC and Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC. Sports equipment and clothing retailer Frasers Group ended the year as the best performing holding in the portfolio posting a rise of 93%.

Looking ahead, the trust said that while it expects budget airline easyJet PLC, Ryanair Holdings PLC, JD Wetherspoon PLC and Frasers to "suffer big losses" due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it will use the drop in share prices to invest the cash in the portfolio with the aim of adding future value.

Turning to its own share performance amid the pandemic, Chair Howard Flight said: "The board is pleased to note that, despite the extreme volatility in the stock markets, the company's ordinary shares have generally continued to trade at a premium to NAV and there remains market demand, allowing for further share issuance".

Aurora said it plans to issue a further 20% of shares. In 2019, 11.1 million shares were issued. The company currently has a market capitalisation of GBP99.6 million, down from GBP157.6 million at the end of 2019.

By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com

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