Alliance Trust (ATST) has announced its interm results for the the six months ended 30 June 2023. The company’s NAV total return was 11.1%, significantly outperforming its benchmark index, the MSCI All Country World Index which returned 7.8%. Total shareholder return was 7.6%, due to a widening of the discount, although at -7.2% this was also ahead of the AIC Global Sector average of -11.1%.
Commenting on the results, Chairman, Gregor Stewart, noted;
“Markets have remained volatile in the first half of the year, swinging between optimism and pessimism about the outlook for the economy and companies’ prospects with each release of data. The ongoing ramifications from the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have compounded the battle to contain inflation and necessitated rapid increases in interest rates by central banks. At the same time, the potential for the use of artificial intelligence (‘AI’) to become widespread and disrupt industries has prompted a resurgence in the valuations of technology stocks. Against that background, it is pleasing to see that our outperformance was principally due to strong stock selection across a variety of sectors.
“The results so far this year have been pleasing, and whilst WTW believes that there is still a risk of economic disappointment in the months ahead, we are confident that the portfolio is well positioned for continued long-term growth.”
ATST : Another period of solid returns for Alliance Trust