Lowland’s performance was just ahead of its benchmark over the six months ended 31 March 2015. The interim report says the total return on net assets was 5.6% as compared to 5.3% for the FTSE All-Share Index. The share price return was hit by a shift from trading on a 0.7% premium to a 7.6% discount however. The dividend for the period was 20p – up 2p from last year. Barring unforeseen circumstances the Board anticipates that the total dividend for the year ended 30 September 2015 will be not less than 41p per ordinary share.
The top five contributors to performance were Senior, Hiscox, Provident Financial, Hill & Smith and Canfor Pulp which collectively added 2.1% to the asset value. Velocys, FBD Holdings, Providence Resources, Weir Group and Circle Oil collectively detracted from the net asset value by 3.1% however with Velocys accounting for 1.3% of this. Velocys turns natural gas (or biomass) into premium liquid products, such as diesel and jet fuel, adding value to shale gas and making stranded or flared gas economic. It has been severely impacted by the oil price fall.
LWI : Lowland hit by Velocys investment