NAMAL acuity value fund declares Rs. 2.50 dividend

Tuesday, 30 September 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The NAMAL Acuity Value Fund (NAVF) managed by National Asset Management Ltd. (NAMAL), the only unit trust listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, declared a dividend of Rs. 2.50 for FY14, up from Rs. 0.50 in the previous year.

This is resulting from a sharp increase in earnings for the 12 months ending 31 March 2014, where the fund’s gross income rose by 89.1% YoY to Rs. 202.2 m and total net earnings were at Rs. 173.9 m. NAMAL Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Avancka Heart stated that NAVF was able to report significant income growth due to the timely portfolio reallocation to equities. As of 31 March 2014, the Fund’s equity exposure was at 88.3% with 11.7% invested in debentures, fixed deposits and cash equivalents. The Fund’s top five equity holdings were Asiri Hospitals Holdings, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Sampath Bank, Nations Trust Bank and Ceylon Hospitals during the same period. NAVF has outperformed the Colombo Stock Exchange’s benchmark All Share Price Index (ASPI) by 4.62% with a year-to-date return of 23.6% (August 2014).