Henderson Far East gains from Brexit vote

Investment Trust Henderson Far East, which provides a diversified portfolio of investments traded in the Asia Pacific region, reported a positive total return for the year ended 31 August 2016 due to the devaluation in Sterling following the result of the EU referendum.

The company’s proposed annual dividend rose by 4.2% to 20p, which maintains the significant yield advantage that the group achieves over other Asian income investment companies.

The net asset value total return was 32.1% whilst the share price total return was 33.4%, reflecting the small uplift in the company's premium rating.

Chairman John Russell however cautioned that “global macro uncertainties continue to unsettle global stock markets which means that the volatility which has been a feature of the last two years looks set to continue.”

The company also issued 2.1m shares during the year to raise £6.3m at a premium to asset value thereby enhancing the NAV per share for existing shareholders. A further 350,000 shared were issued since 31 August 2016 raising £1.2m.

The share price fell by 0.3% to 337p at 1635 GMT on Thursday.