(Alliance News) - Gabelli Merger Plus+ Trust PLC on Thursday said its profit jumped in the first half of its current financial year amid higher gains on investments.
The investment company said net asset value per share as at the end of 2020 stood at USD9.67 compared to USD9.83 a year earlier.
The company said pretax profit grew to USD5.7 million in the six months to the end of 2020 compared to USD3.7 million posted a year prior, despite total investment income falling to USD124,000 from USD516,000.
In contrast, net gains on investments surged to USD8.1 million from USD5.6 million year-on-year.
From a portfolio perspective, Gabelli said it finished 2020 on a "high note", with "strong" performance from deals in its pipeline. The company's diversified approach to portfolio construction, as well as its focus on fully financed acquisitions, positioned it to withstand spread widening in March amid the nascent Covid-19 pandemic.
Going forward, Gabelli said it is finding attractive new investment opportunities and continues to add to existing positions in its portfolio.
"We remain focused on investing in highly strategic, well-financed deals with an added focus on near-term catalysts. The top holdings in our fund remain deals we expect to close in the near term and those with the highest certainty of value. We are optimistic about our prospects to continue to generate absolute returns in 2021," Gabelli said in its statement Thursday.
Gabelli Merger Plus+ Trust shares were untraded in London on Thursday, last closing at USD7.50 each.
By Evelina Grecenko; evelinagrecenko@alliancenews.com
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Gabelli Merger (GMP)