In the year to 31 March 2016, the NAV of Montanaro UK Smaller Companies (excluding current period revenue) rose by 0.7% to 558.4p in comparison with a gain of 1.4% by the Numis Smaller Companies Index. During the same period, the company’s share price fell by 0.4% to 461.0p reflecting the widening of the discount which was 17.4% on 31 March 2016. The Board is proposing a final dividend of 10.0p, which represents an increase of 12.4% compared to last year.
Unfortunately there is hardly any information in the announcement about what contributed to the fund’s performance, beyond a statement that the portfolio is light in “low quality energy and materials stocks”.
MTU : Montanaro UK Smaller reports narrow underperformance