Fidelity Special Values beats benchmark and raises total dividend

Fidelity Special Values PLC on Thursday reported a positive net asset value total return for the year ended August 31.

The investment company, which specialises in backing ‘unloved’ UK companies ‘entering a period of positive change’, said its NAV as of August 31 was 392.26 pence per share, up from 352.84p one year prior.

Shares in Fidelity Special Values were 0.1% higher at 400.83p each on Thursday afternoon in London.

The NAV total return for the year ended August 31 was positive 14.3%, lower than 21.8% for the previous year. However, this still surpassed the positive 12.6% total return delivered by Fidelity Special’s benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index.

The company said its outperformance was driven by its stock selection in large-caps and sector positioning in banks, tobacco and life insurance.

Fidelity Special said it recommends a 6.84p per share final dividend, up from 6.30p. Together with a 3.36p interim dividend, this brought the total dividend to 10.20p, up 6.9% on-year from 9.54p.

Going forward, Fidelity Special said the prospect of another strong year for UK equities is less than certain.

‘While performance has been very positive in the year under review, the UK economic outlook remains muted and subject to further uncertainty ahead of the Budget in late November,’ Chair Dean Buckley said. ‘However...just because there is a lot of negativity on politics and the economy, this does not mean there are not good returns on offer and, in fact, this is often why there are good returns to be had.’

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