(Alliance News) - Caledonia Investments PLC on Thursday reported growth in annual net assets, leading to dividend growth, but was slightly behind its benchmark.
At the end of March 31, the self-managed trust reported net asset value per share 4,000 pence, up 25% from 3,236p at the same point a year before.
Caledonia declared an annual dividend of 62.9p, up 2.9% from 61.1p the year before.
"Through what has been a challenging and uncertain period, our diversified holdings have continued to perform, supporting our strategy of growing net assets and dividends over the long term," Chief Executive Will Wyatt said.
The trust's annual NAV total return was 25.9%. Caledonia aims to grow NAV total return by 3% to 6% ahead of inflation over the short-term, hoping to exceed the FTSE All-Share Index, which grew 26.7% in the year to March 31.
"The NAV total return for the year was strong and included positive returns from each part of our portfolio. The Quoted Equity pool delivered an annual return of 30.3%, aided by the rebound in global equity markets. Investee companies within the Private Capital portfolio, with the exception of Buzz Bingo, adapted well to the challenges presented by Covid-19 to produce a total return of 23.2%," Caledonia explained.
Caledonia's quoted portfolio growth reflected the significant rebound in global public equity markets, with both Capital and Income portfolios surging.
"The performance of the US public equities in both portfolios was particularly notable and was responsible for the majority of the returns," Caledonia continued.
The trust's US quoted portfolio includes Texas Instruments Inc, Microsoft Corp, Oracle Corp and Charter Communications Inc.
It added: "The Funds portfolio delivered an annual return of 34.8%, buoyed by good underlying fund performance. We have retained a strong, largely ungeared balance sheet with total liquidity of GBP249 million available at March 31."
Looking ahead, Caledonia said its performance will depend on the management of the Covid pandemic.
Wyatt added: "We remain confident that the strength of our portfolio, invested in high-quality businesses across a range of geographies and sectors, combined with our strong balance sheet and long-term approach, will ensure that we can continue to deliver for our shareholders."
Shares in Caledonia Investments were 1.2% higher in London on Thursday at 3,050.00 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com;
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Caledonia (CLDN)