LONDON (Alliance News) - Witan Pacific Investment Trust PLC on Friday said it underperformed the benchmark in the first half of its current financial year following a decrease in net asset value per share.
Witan Pacific's NAV total return was negative 0.6% for the first half, while the company's benchmark, MSCI AC Asia Pacific Index, returned negative 0.1%.
NAV per share declined in the six months to the end of July to 380.82 pence from 386.58p reported at the end of January.
Share price at the end of period stood at 327.00p, representing a 14% discount to NAV.
The stock was trading 0.3% higher on Friday at 311.06p per share.
Witan Pacific upped its interim payout by 11% to 2.50p.
During the period, the company purchased 224,884 shares, which has added GBP120,000 of value, about 0.2p per share, for shareholders.
Witan Pacific noted that it saw mixed performance in its portfolio during the first half of its financial year.
The company's largest shareholding, fund manager Matthews Asia, outperformed the benchmark with a total return of 1.4%, while its second largest shareholding, Dutch asset management firm Robeco marginally underperformed.
Aberdeen Global Indian Equity Fund was a little further adrift with a negative total return of 1.5% and Dalton Investments registered a six-month negative return of 2.7%, the company said.