On Thursday, Northern Venture Trust PLC released its unaudited half-yearly financial report for the six months ending on September 30, 2024. The report highlighted an increase in net assets to £119.3 million from £106.6 million on September 30, 2023, and an increase from £114.8 million as of March 31, 2024. This growth reflects the company's focus on long-term tax-free returns to shareholders through both dividend yield and capital growth.
The net asset value (NAV) per share was reported at 59.9p, a decrease from 61.4p at the same time the previous year and also slightly down from 60.3p at the year-end on March 31, 2024. The return per share included a revenue component of 0.2p and a capital return of 1.0p, totaling a 1.2p return per share for the period. This is a slight decrease from the 1.3p total return per share for the six months ended September 30, 2023, and the 1.8p for the year ended March 31, 2024.
A dividend of 1.6p per share was declared for the period, consistent with the dividend declared in the same period of the previous year but lower than the 3.2p dividend per share declared at the year-end. The cumulative return to shareholders since the launch of Northern Venture Trust shows that the NAV per share stood at 59.9p and dividends paid per share amounted to 193.7p, excluding the interim dividend not yet paid. This results in a NAV plus dividends paid per share of 253.6p.
The mid-market share price at the end of the period was 56.5p, which is consistent with the same period in the previous year and represents a slight decrease from the 57.5p share price at the year-end. This positions the share price at a 5.7% discount to the net asset value, which is an improvement from the 8.0% discount on September 30, 2023, but an increase from the 4.6% discount at the year-end.
The tax-free dividend yield, based on the net asset value per share at the start of the period, was reported at 5.2%, which is the same as the yield at the year-end but a decrease from the 6.3% yield on September 30, 2023. The dividend yield is an important measure for shareholders, as it indicates the income generated from their investment relative to the share price.
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