In QuotedData’s morning briefing 18 February 2022:
- City of London (CTY) has released its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2021, during which it provided NAV and Share price total returns of 6.9% and 3.5% respectively. In comparison, its says that its All-Share benchmark returned 6.5%. CTY has declared two interim dividends of 4.80p each so far during this financial year. The board says that the trust’s diverse portfolio, strong cash flow and revenue reserve give it confidence that it will be able to increase the dividend for the fifty-sixth consecutive year. The quarterly dividend rate will be reviewed by the Board before the third interim dividend is declared in April 2022.
- Syncona (SYNC) has announced that the sale of Gyroscope Therapeutics Holdings Plc to Novartis has been completed. The total consideration for the sale is up to $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion). This comprises an upfront cash payment of $800 million (£587 million), with up to $700 million (£514 million) in cash is potentially due to the sellers subject to the achievement of certain milestones. SYNC has received upfront cash payment of $442 million (£325 million), while its valuation of its share of the milestone payments is estimated to be $64 million (£47 million). SYNC is also positioned to benefit from any future commercialisation of Gyroscope’s lead programme via a low single digit royalty on future sales revenue.
- Bluefield Solar (BSIF) has announced that Laurence McNairn, who has served as a non-executive director since BSIF’s launch in 2013, has retired from the Board of the Company with effect from 17 February 2022.
- Gabelli Merger Plus has published its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2021, during which it provided NAV and share price total returns of 6.72% and 29.80% respectively. 2021 was a good year for stocks as the S&P 500 Index gained 28.7%, notching 70 all-time highs in the process. Robust earnings and record level corporate margins, paired with dovish Fed policy, provided a backdrop of optimism for markets for much of the year.
We also have annual results from The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG).