Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust shares increased 3.2% to 181.7p in early morning trading on Monday, despite a NAV per share fall of 34.1% against the comparative index decline of 6.8% in HY1 2022.
The trust, which is managed by £240 billion management fund Ballie Gifford, reported a share price drop of 38.5% as the company noted the challenging backdrop of the stock markets over the last six months.
However, the firm commented that its NAV per share value rose by 80.7% over the past five years against a comparative index growth of 40.7%, alongside a share price climb of 79.1%.
Edinburgh Worldwide investment trust announced that 19 of its stocks generated positive absolute returns, however 35 stocks dropped over 50% over the term.
The NAV return per share amounted to minus 0.23p compared to minus 0.31p year-on-year, with no interim dividend payment recommended.
The group mentioned that 5550,000 shares were issued over the six months, with 3,525,695 bought back and held in treasury and 3,192,854 additional shares bought back and held in treasury since the end of HY1 to 31 May 2022.
Portfolio Acquisitions
The firm acquired six new holdings over the HY1 term, which it funded primarily through reductions to Tesla and its exit from nerve repair firm AxoGen, with four listed companies and two private companies.
Its positions in Schrödinger and AbCellera reportedly reflected the growing use of software to fine-tune drug developments, boosting efficiency in time and finances.
The trust added that it contributed to the IPO for Expensify as an important provider of expense management software for the underserved small and medium-sized business market, and on the back of its potential to evolve in functionality with improvements to its billing, invoicing and payroll segments.
Edinburgh Worldwide also invested in fertility benefits group Progyny, which works to improve economic access to fertility services for US corporate employees. The firm reported high growth potential, and market data which suggested the company’s fertility outcomes were notably higher than industry averages.
Its stake in DNA Script was reportedly due to the group’s offering of enzymatic DNA-synthesis for the expanding synthetic-biology business, alongside its commercialisation of an enzymatic DNA printer, representing a foothold for increased commercial traction.
The company further invested in BillionToOne, which aims to increase the accuracy, efficiency and accessibility of molecular diagnostics. The trust noted its interest in the firm’s progress so far.