Artemis Alpha Trust has released results for the period ended 30 April 2014. It generated a net asset value total return of 13.3% for the period, ahead of the 10.5% return generated by the FTSE All-Share Index. The dividend increased from 3.05p to 3.2p. The fund’s discount widened however so the return to shareholders was 3.1%.
The statement says the portfolio has been diversified somewhat, away from its heavy exposure to the oil & gas sector (from 40% two years ago to 15% today). The largest positive contributor to performance was the fund’s holding in unquoted company, Metapack (home delivery for online retailers) but the fund would have done appreciably better if it were not for holdings in Providence Resources and Hurricane Energy.