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North American Income Trust PLC on Friday said stock allocation hampered the performance of its portfolio over the last year. The Edinburgh-based investment trust reported that for the financial year ended January 31, net asset value total return fell by 1.6%, underperforming its benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index which increased by 2.6%. Over the same period, NAV per share decreased by 5.8% to 317.8 pence from 337.2p the year before. No final dividend was declared, contrasting with 3.5p last year. However, total dividends per share grew by 6% to 11.7p from 11.0p. The company attributed its exposure to company’s in the materials and industrial sectors as the primary cause of underperformance in comparison to its benchmark. Looking ahead, the company believes the prospects of the US economy are improving as inflation subsides and productivity grows. However, the portfolio remains modestly defensive, with the trust opting for resilient companies which are less dependent on favourable macroeconomic conditions. Investment Manager Fran Radano said: ‘We believe the underlying companies in the portfolio are well positioned to manage through potential election year volatility and, equally important, we feel comfortable with the current valuations of these companies. The underlying cash flows and balance sheets remain strong and thus we expect continued dividend growth prospects for 2024.’ North American IT shares were down marginally to 289.86 pence each in London on Friday afternoon. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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