In QuotedData’s morning briefing 29 May 2020:
- The balance between re-opening economies around the world and minimising new cases of covid-19 is delicate. South Korea has closed schools, just a day after re-opening, after recording its highest total of new cases in two-months, yesterday.
- Templeton Emerging (TEM) has received a tax windfall from HMRC. £26.5m or 1.37% of NAV will be recognised as income in the 2020/21 accounting year. “The Board is mindful of the current crisis and will consider next year’s dividend in the light of the full year results.“
- JPMorgan Indian (JII) reported interim results to 31 March 2020. Total NAV returns were (33.6%) – the benchmark MSCI India Index returned (27.9%) in sterling terms. The return to shareholders was (40.5%), reflecting a significant widening of the discount over the six months, from (9.3%) at the previous financial year end to (18.7%) at the period end. We note that JII’s shares are up by about 17% since 1 April. Managers, Rukhshad Shroff and Raj Nair, note: “The sharp rebound in risk assets in April seems to be pricing in a quick rebound in economic activity, which is by no means assured. It is worth noting that India remains particularly vulnerable due to the high population density and fragile healthcare infrastructure. In this context, while the fiscal and monetary stimulus is undoubtedly positive, it will provide a backstop at best rather than any substantial support to the economy. That said, equities are undoubtedly factoring in a fair amount of this pain, with the price-to-book multiples near the trough seen during previous crises. The correction in the market has preceded the inevitable cut to earnings in 2021, which in many cases will be very severe. When evaluating opportunities, we are balancing the likely cut in near term earnings versus the longer-term earnings power of companies.”
- Life sciences-focused Syncona (SYNC) said noted that its portfolio company, Achilles Therapeutics had dosed the first patient in a Phase I/II clinical study of its clonal neoantigen T cell (cNeT) therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic malignant melanoma. This is the first TIL therapy to enter clinical trials that is specifically designed to target all cancer cells.
We also have news of GCP Infra trimming its dividend target to reflect market yields, annual results and an update on the UK equity income sector from from BMO UK High Income and interim results from AVI Global and Schroder Oriental.
In property, we discuss the news that West End property landlord Capital & Counties (Capco) is in talks to acquire a 26.3% stake in rival Shaftesbury, potentially paving the way for a multi-billion pound takeover. We also have annual results from Urban Logistics REIT.