(Alliance News) - Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC on Wednesday said it substantially outperformed its benchmark in its most recent financial year, with SoftBank Group Corp the largest positive contributor.
The medium to smaller sized Japanese companies investor said its net asset value total return, deducting borrowings at fair value, increased by 6.8% in its financial year ended August 31. In comparison benchmark, the TOPIX index total return in sterling terms, saw a 0.1% negative return for the period.
"SoftBank Group was the largest positive contributor to performance this year as the shares substantially outpaced the wider market, delivering a total return of 26% in sterling terms," said manager Baillie Gifford.
It added: "We also had good contributions from a variety of our internet holdings, including long-standing investments such as GMO Internet and M3, as well as more recent purchases such as Bengo4.com and Demae-Can."
Net asset value per share as at August 31 was 840.8 pence, up from 792.1p the year before.
Baillie Gifford Japan increased its final dividend to 4.50p per share from 3.50p the year before.
Baillie Gifford said: "Your company has been resilient to the coronavirus pandemic to date and the underlying progress made by a number of the holdings has been very satisfactory. The outlook for the global and Japanese economies remains, as ever, uncertain. The good news for shareholders is that it seems highly unlikely that the current coronavirus pandemic will be the main concern in five years' time. We believe that a selected portfolio of growing businesses is capable of increasing shareholders' wealth over time. When we consider the quality of the companies in your portfolio we look to the future with optimism and confidence."
Shares in Baillie Gifford Japan were up 0.7% at 904.45 pence in London on Wednesday.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC (BGFD)