Hermes Pacific narrows loss as it seeks investing policy change

19th Dec 2016 08:43

(ShareCast News) - Hermes Pacific Investments posted its half year report for the six months to 30 September on Monday - another period in which it made nil revenue.The AIM-traded company did, however, managed to reduce operating costs, and thus narrow its operating loss to £0.04m from £0.05m.It reported a total loss for the period of £0.03m, reducing from £0.04m at the same time last year, with a basic and diluted loss per share in line with 2015 at 1.9p."The company has made some investments in line with its investing policy in companies involved in trade finance for emerging countries and other financial activities operating from the Far East region," commented chairman Haresh Kanabar."These investments have performed as expected [and] no further investments were made in the period."Kanabar said the financial markets began the third quarter in the shadow of Brexit, although markets largely recovered very quickly and volatility had fallen to levels seen last year."The shift in mood was largely driven by evidence that the initial impact of Brexit was shallower than many feared."Economic growth indicators were slightly better than expected, and investors were heartened by the belief that central banks would be forced by Brexit to keep monetary policies loose."Because of their higher economic growth and potentially higher returns, Kanabar said emerging markets received increasing attention from investors in the developed world."Despite the attractiveness of emerging markets, investing in them has many issues and associated risks that are not present in the developed world."In the past several years, a great deal of research has been conducted on emerging market issues."The prominent areas are those concerning returns, corporate governance, and currency issues."In light of those factors, Kanabar said the company could now look at investment opportunities in developed countries such as those in mainland Europe as well as in emerging countries in the Far East, although no such investments would be made unless shareholders' approval to a change of investing policy is obtained.