Tufton Assets (SHIP), the 8.5%-yielding ship investor, says a leading commodities trader has renewed charters on two tankers at 47% higher rates, increasing expected net income by $2.5m per vessel and lifting their annualised yields to 26%. The rates were agreed before war broke out in the Middle East.
Riverstone Energy (RSE) will return £30m to shareholders on 27 April, its second distribution since announcing a managed wind-down last August. Over 2.5m or 34% of its shares will be compulsorily purchased at their 31 December net asset value of £11.94. It returned £190m in this way in October.
Baker Steel Resources Trust (BSRT), one of the best performing London-listed mining funds during the commodity boom, avoided a big fall last month despite gold and precious metals sliding from highs in response to the inflationary impact of the war in the Middle East. Net asset value (NAV) per share dipped 0.3p, or 0.17%, to 174p in March as the £184m portfolio benefited from the rise in Blue Moon Metals after its acquisitions of the Springer and Apex critical mineral mines in Utah and Nevada, and the continued strength of the Devon miner Tungsten West (TUN) which has shot up 267% this year on the back of the reopening of its mine and record tungsten prices. Despite its shares returning over 151% in the past year, the stock stands on a 32% discount to NAV. The company purchased and cancelled a further 431,000 shares at an average price of 112.2p in its new buyback programme, taking the total retired to 779,400 shares, leaving over 105.6m in issue. It also invested $1.5m in the $60.3m fund raise and listing in Toronto by MacKay Gold and Silver which has gained control of valuable mining rights in Nevada.
BlackRock Greater Europe (BRGE) says the slight widening in its share price discount following the departure of lead manager Stefan Gries on 31 March does not justify it launching a semi-annual tender offer. Shares in the £511m investment trust stood 6.3% below net asset value (NAV) on 7 April but as the average discount in the six months to 31 March was 5.3%, the board has concluded that a tender offer is “not in the interests of shareholders as a whole”. It remains committed to managing the discount and will look to buy back shares and/or operate six-monthly tender offers if necessary in the future.
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