LONDON (Alliance News) - JPMorgan European Investment Trust PLC said on Monday that it had outperformed against its benchmark in its most recent financial year as a result of stock selection.
In its financial year ended March 31, the investor recorded a full-year return on net assets of 6.4%. This is more than double the 3.0% return of its benchmark, the MSCI Europe Index (excluding the UK).
Stock selection, particularly in technology companies, played the largest role in this result, JPMorgan European said. The company's holdings in two semiconductor companies - BE Semiconductor and Siltronic - more than doubled during the year.
In 2017, earnings per share in Siltronic grew to EUR6.2 from EUR0.40 in 2016. Earnings per share in BE Semiconductor increased to EUR2.1 in 2017 from EUR0.85 the prior year. Both are expected to rise further in 2018.
The trust has two portfolios: a growth portfolio and an income portfolio.
As at March 31, net asset value per income share stood at 175.8 pence, up from 169.9p the year before. NAV per growth share was 338.5p, up from 321.9p.
In terms of dividend, JPMorgan European paid the same 6.85p per growth share in its most recent financial year as it did the prior year. Per income share it paid 5.80p, up from 5.00p.
The company has declared a second interim growth dividend of 2.00p, unchanged from the previous year, and a fourth quarterly income dividend of 2.50p, up from 1.70p.
"Whilst the board and managers are aware of the many uncertainties facing stock markets, we believe that satisfactory returns are achievable given the proven stock selection skills demonstrated consistently over the medium and longer term," Chairman Andrew Adcock said in his statement.
Shares in JPMorgan European Investment Trust were up 1.4% at 159.00p on Monday.