- Fidelity Emerging Markets (FEML) released half year results for the period ended 31 December 2022. The share price was down -2.9%, trailing the MSCI Emerging Markets Index which was -2.19%. NAV fell 3.2% while the discount was 12%. The company highlighted weakness in Chinese material companies amid property sector challenges as the primary cause for the lag. Noting that the recorded period fell outside of January’s rally for some of these assets. The company also has some exposure to Russian assets which have been marked to zero.
- GCP Infrastructure Investments (GCP) announced that the company is launching a proactive share buyback programme as a result of its prevailing discount. The board and its investment manager Gravis Capital management consider that the current share price does not reflect the ongoing positive performance of, and attractive risk-adjusted returns generated by, the company’s portfolio. Renewables generation investments (making up 67% of the company’s portfolio) continue to benefit from higher electricity prices and a conservative valuation approach, whilst the private finance initiative and social housing investments continue to perform in line with expectations. Accordingly, the company is commencing a share buyback programme of shares up to an aggregate value of £15m [This is good news. Investors may be worrying about rising discount rates but discounts look too wide both in infrastructure and renewable energy. Particularly given a strong yield of 7.7%. It is also unclear why GCP’s discount is much wider than Sequoia’s when GCP’s NAV performance has been much better.]
We also have results from JP Morgan Claverhouse, and AVI Japan, portfolio updates from Supermarket Income REIT, Weiss Korea, Literacy Capital, International Biotechnology, and an update regarding SPV.