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Shires Income PLC on Thursday said its net asset value declined, and its return fell short of a benchmark, amid a ‘volatile’ period for financial markets.
The London-based investor reported an NAV per share of 238.20 pence for the six months ended September 30, down 14% from 278.29p on March 31.
Shires Income said NAV total return for the first half was negative 12.3%, compared with the FTSE All-Share benchmark which returned minus 8.3%.
Chair Robert Talbut said the return was ‘disappointing’ but that ‘the underperformance is as would be expected given the macroeconomic backdrop’.
The company declared a second interim dividend of 3.2p per share, unchanged for the same period a year ago. Shires Income aims to deliver a final dividend of 4.2p per share, resulting in a total dividend for financial 2023 of 13.8p per share, in line with financial 2022.
‘Recent months have been challenging for financial markets and there are a number of economic dark clouds impacting the investment outlook, with the Bank of England now predicting a prolonged recession,’ Talbut said.
Despite turbulence in the short term, the company said that there are strong supportive arguments that UK equity valuations look attractive in the long term.
Shires Income shares were flat at 261.99p each on Thursday afternoon in London.
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