Caledonia Investments saw its momentum checked somewhat in December, as it posted its lowest monthly net asset value (NAV) total return since the start of its financial year on 1 April 2022.
NAV total return was 4.4% for the eight months to 30 November, but December’s -1.5% return dragged it down to 2.9% for the first three quarters of its financial year.
Caledonia’s Quoted Equity pool delivered the worst performance so far this year, with its Capital and Income portfolios returning -5.6% and -5.9%, respectively, across the nine-month period.
Assets in the pool fell to £782m at the end of December from £830m at the start of April, as £15m of net inflows failed to make up for investment losses.
However, Caledonia’s Private Capital and Funds portfolios fared far better, returning 6.2% and 13.8% respectively. The latter saw a £106.3m gain on investments, reaching a closing balance of £881m.
The 9% drop in the value of sterling against the dollar contributed to these results, given that the majority of the firm’s fund investments are US dollar denominated.
Just over £120m of final and special dividend payments were made in August 2022.
In all, Caledonia has net assets of £2.7bn, down 2% from 31 March 2022.
The trust’s share price remained steady at £36.10 across the nine months, while NAV per share sits at £49.43 as of 31 December, leaving the firm trading at a discount of 27%, wider than the 24.1% discount on which it traded in November.
Caledonia still holds a stake in Seven Investment Management worth £173m in its Private Capital portfolio, despite an attempt to sell the holding for around £400m in June last year.
See Also: Caledonia exits AG Barr after 45 years
