Shares in Baker Steel Resources Trust (BSRT) have jumped 6% after the £88m mining fund said its portfolio had leaped nearly 18% in December and that it would be taking steps soon to narrow its wide share price discount.
The Guernsey investment company said net asset value (NAV) per share advanced 17.7%, or 20.5p, last month on account of an 83% surge in the share price of Silver X and the 55% increase in the second half of the year in its Bilboes Royalty.
Silver X, a Peruvian miner, shot up in response to the price of silver following gold to record highs along with news of a change in management at its operation. That lifted BSRT’s stake to £11.4m, 7.9% of net assets to rank it sixth in the portfolio. This was up from £2.1m at the end of 2024 when it accounted for 2.3% of the fund.
The Bilboes Royalty rose after Caledonia Mining committed to developing the gold mine in Zimbabwe following a positive feasibility study and with the precious metal’s price soaring 31% from June. That made it the trust’s third biggest holding worth £15.7m and accounting for 10.9% of net assets, having risen 87% throughout last year.
In all 2025 was a very successful year for BSRT, which generated a total underlying return of 51.6% with net assets expanding from £95.5m to £144.7m and NAV per share rising by 46.3p to 136p.
Chair Fiona Perrott-Humphrey said the big NAV increase reflected an improvement across the portfolio with BSRT exposed to the fastest rising commodities in gold, silver, copper, tin and tungsten, which underlined the value of having a diverse portfolio.
“An additional positive outcome has been a better balance in the portfolio spread at year-end. In December 2024, our two unquoted investments Cemos and Futura accounted for 65% of NAV, whereas by end 2025, this had been somewhat reduced (to 47%) primarily due to the strong share price performance from the quoted shares,” she said.
However, she was “keenly aware” that the trust’s wide share price discount of 28% at last week’s close meant shareholders had seen a total return of “only 38%” over the year.
She said: “We reiterate our firm intention to announce a detailed capital allocation plan along with the release of our annual financial statements in April, with the aim of continuing to ensure that shareholders reap further rewards from the improved performance of the portfolio.”
