(Alliance News) - Jupiter UK Growth Investment Trust PLC on Monday reported a rise in net asset value per share in the first half, outperforming its benchmark.
At December 31, the trust's NAV per share stood at 307.32 pence each, 4.8% higher than the 292.90p seen at June 30.
Net assets slipped slightly to GBP48.5 million from GBP49.4 million six months prior. Jupiter UK Growth repurchased 3.0 million shares in the period, ending the first half with 16.2 million compared to 18.7 million at June 30.
Jupiter UK Growth declared an interim dividend of 8.5p
As a result, the trust's total return in the six-month period was 7.8%, outperforming the FTSE All-Share, which added 5.5% in the same period.
Fund Manager Steve Davies said: "The FTSE 250 Index, which tends to be more domestically-focused, outperformed the more multinational FTSE 100 Index by a substantial margin (14.1% vs 3.7%) as UK domestic stocks bounced after the revamped deal with the EU was announced in October, and again, after the general election result.
"Sterling also strengthened against the US dollar during the period, boosting domestic and importing companies in relation to international/exporters. These factors were a significant boost for the company's relative performance as the company has a significant overweighting towards domestic names."
Looking ahead, Chair Tom Bartlam commented: "In these turbulent times, when the outlook remains so uncertain, there is only limited comfort to be taken from statements about future prospects. The board believes that Richard Buxton, whom we decided to appoint as our new investment manager, and who has managed money through both the two worst bear markets of the last 30 years, has the necessary experience and judgement to achieve significant improvement in the trust's performance, consistent with his long-term performance record."
In little over three weeks, the FTSE All-Share index has fallen by 16% and the pound has lost 6.3% of its value against the US dollar, the trust noted, while bond yields have fallen to near record lows once more. As at March 24, the trust's share price had fallen 42% since the beginning of the year.
Shares in Jupiter UK Growth IT closed down 3.6% in London on Monday at 159.50 pence each.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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