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Edinburgh Investment Trust PLC on Wednesday said it underperformed its benchmark, despite reporting a rise in its net asset value as it hailed an ‘encouraging’ UK stock market. The firm, which invests primarily in large-cap UK securities, said its NAV total return for the six months to September 30 was 7.9%. This underperformed its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, which had a return just under 12%. Edinburgh Investment attributed the underperformance to Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and Haleon PLC. The firm said Rolls-Royce was not a position in its portfolio during the first-half, causing a ‘relative headwind’ when the company’s share price appreciated. Comprising 5.0% of its portfolio, Edinburgh Investment attributed Haleon’s share price weakness to growth challenges in its US business. Underexposure to the banking sector also hurt performance, Edinburgh Investment said. NAV per share with debt at fair value rose 6.0% to 866.23 pence compared to 817.16p on March 31. The share price discount to NAV narrowed to 7.6% from 9.4% over the period. Pretax return on ordinary activities fell 5.0% to £89.0 million from £93.6 million a year ago. Revenue rose 1.8% to £21.9 million from £21.5 million. Edinburgh Investment declared an interim dividend of 7.6p per share, up 10% from 6.9p a year ago. It said it expects the total dividend for the financial year to be 32.0p per share, which would be an 11% increase on last year’s total dividend of 28.80p. The company said its investment objective is to exceed the total return on the FTSE All-Share Index and grow its dividend faster than UK inflation. Looking ahead, Chair Elisabeth Stheeman noted: ‘It is encouraging to see that the UK’s longer-term equity market returns are increasingly comparable with those of other major markets. Stock markets around the world continue to perform well and your company is well placed to capitalise on this, being fully invested across a range of high quality businesses.’ Imran Sattar, the trust’s portfolio manager, said ‘the portfolio’s exposure to non-UK stocks is now 5.5%, the lowest for some years, in the main reflecting the strong supply of attractively priced stocks in the UK.’ He added that the company will continue to invest in high quality businesses in the UK. Shares in Edinburgh Investment fell 0.1% to 800.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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