City of London Investment Trust shares up on annual results

20th Sep 2016 08:49

(ShareCast News) - City of London Investment Trust posted its annual report for the year to 30 June on Tuesday, with net asset value total return performance of 3.1%, less than half the 6.1% rate seen in 2015, and share price performance of 0.4%, down from 7.2%.The FTSE 250 firm reported total net asset value return per share of 382.2p, down from 386.3p, with share price total return of 378.1p down from 392.5p.Its gearing at year-end was 8%, up from 6%, and revenue earnings per share grew to 17.4p from 16.8p.City of London IT paid dividends of 15.9p per share, up from 15.3p a year earlier, and reported revenue reserve per share of 13.5p, an increase from 12.5p.Its share price discount for the period was 1.1%, compared to a premium of 1.6% in 2015."In a flat year for equity returns our NAV total return was 3.1%, ahead of our sector and market benchmarks," said chairman Philip Remnant."We passed a major milestone in becoming the first investment trust to increase its dividend for the 50th consecutive year."At 0900 BST, shares in the City of London Investment Trust were up 0.4% to 404.2p.