Edinburgh Worldwide underperforms in 2016

(ShareCast News) - Edinburgh Worldwide posted its unaudited preliminary statement for the year to 31 October on Friday, with net asset value per share increasing by 18.0% and the share price by 10.3% over the period.The London-listed firm said the comparative index, the S&P Global Small Cap Index, increased by 29.0% in sterling terms.Revenue losses per share were 0.12p, compared to deficit of 0.18p last year, so no final dividend was announced."The company's objective remains that of generating capital growth," the board said in a statement."Should the level of underlying income increase in future years, the board will seek to distribute the minimum permissible to maintain investment trust status."It said the portfolio's exposure to healthcare companies, UK listed companies and younger less proven businesses hindered performance.Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a gene silencing company, was the notable detractor to performance according to the board, while MarketAxess, an electronic bond trading platform, was the notable positive contributor to performance.As at the year end, the company held four unlisted equity investments accounting for 2.8% of total assets, up from 1.7% a year earlier.They were Souq Group, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Skyscanner Holdings and Unity Biotechnology."Although the near direction of markets is influenced by both macro and geopolitical concerns, the managers have long believed that the success, or failure, of smaller companies is most heavily influenced by their own actions," the board explained.The trust had total assets of £306m, before deduction of loans of £37m, as at 31 October. Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust