TRADING UPDATES: FBD ups profit and proposes to reinstate dividend

(Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of updates by London-listed companies, issued on Friday and not separately reported by Alliance News:

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FBD Holdings PLC - Dublin-based insurance company - Reports pretax profit of EUR110.4 million in 2021, up significantly from EUR4.8 million the previous year. Revenue rises 1.5% to EUR386.7 million from EUR381.0 million. Swings to an underwriting profit of EUR95.2 million from a loss of EUR4.4 million due to claims frequency reductions, lower severity of injury claims, benign weather and positive prior year reserve development. Notes gross written premiums rise of 2.3% to EUR366.4 million from EUR358.2 million. Net asset value per share increases to 1,338 cents at December 31 from 1,095. Proposes to reinstate dividend of 100 cents per share.

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Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust PLC - India-focused investment trust - Increases net asset value per share increases to 198.9 pence at December 31 from 158.9p at June 30. Net assets rise 44% to GBP197.0 million from GBP136.6 million. Income for its second-half ended December 31 totals GBP41.8 million, up from GBP26.2 million the previous year. Reports net investment gains of GBP41.2 million, up from GBP25.8 million.

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Pacific Horizon Investment Trust PLC - Edinburgh-based investment trust - Swings to a loss on investments of GBP32.6 million in its first half which ended January 31 from a gain of GBP143.6 million. Net asset value per share at January 31 stands at 748.38 pence, down from 777.15p at July 31. Though this outperforms its comparative index, the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index by 158 percentage points over the past five years. Net assets at January 31 increase marginally to GBP687.8 million from GBP687.2 million at July 31. Company says the period was "challenging" as markets grappled with soaring inflation, interest rate rises and tapering in the West. By country the two largest overweight positions, India and Vietnam, were the biggest positive contributors, while Taiwan and China were the biggest detractors.

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Law Debenture Corp PLC - London-based investment trust - Increases its net asset value per share at fair value by 18% to 787.83 pence at December 31 from 666.15p. Net assets total GBP878.8 million, up 21% from GBP727.0 million. The FTSE Actuaries All-Share Index, delivered a 18.3% total return, the company's share price total return marginally outperformed this with a total return of 19.2% for 2021. Pretax profit for the year increases significantly to GBP150.0 million from GBP4.1 million. Company proposes a final dividend of 8.375p per share, increasing its total dividend by 5.5% to 29p.

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By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

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