(Alliance News) - Impax Environmental Markets PLC said on Tuesday it underperformed its comparators in the first half of 2020 but expressed confidence in its outlook.
Impax is a trust which invests in small to mid cap companies deriving at least 50% of their revenue from environmentally friendly goods and services.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed trust were trading 1.0% higher at 342.38 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
Net asset value total return for the six months ended June 2020 was negative 1.6% compared to a positive return of 0.5% by the MSCI AC World Index and a 19% return from the FTSE Environmental Technologies 100 Index.
Net asset value per share fell 3.4% to 310.9p from 321.8p as at December 31.
"The Covid-19 crisis resulted in extreme market volatility during the first six months of 2020 including sharp market falls in February and especially in March. IEM lagged its global comparator index, largely reflecting significant weakness in small and mid-cap companies, segments which account for a significant part of the company's holdings. Performance was also well behind the environmental comparator index largely due to the absence of Tesla which performed extraordinarily well," said Chair John Scott.
In July, Impax declared a first interim dividend of 1.3p, with the second interim dividend expected to be announced near the end of the first quarter of 2021. The company said it expects the full year payout to be lower than the 3p paid the year prior.
Looking ahead the company expressed confidence in its long-term outlook as it said it has identified "a number of relevant opportunities for existing and future investments. "
"Market conditions may well be volatile over the coming months. We are, nonetheless, confident that the long-term outlook for the company remains positive. The contours of the post-Covid landscape are yet to come into focus, but there are clear signs that, unlike in the wake of the global financial crisis, concerns about environmental issues have been elevated by what we have all experienced," Scott added
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com
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Impax Asset Management (IEM)