Brunner Investment Trust (LSE:BUT) raised its dividend for a 50th year and said although 2022 could be “bumpy” it will provide opportunities for the "patient, thoughtful investor."
Net asset value (NAV), the trust’s primary metric of success, grew 21.5% in 2021, outpacing FTSE benchmarks for the third year in a row.
But the company said macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds threatened the prosperity of markets through 2022, as it released full-year 2021 earnings.
“Geopolitical tensions with China and Russia may continue to have a significant impact on market sentiment and particularly on supply chains and energy prices,” chairman Carolan Dobsan said in a statement.
“This will provide opportunities for the patient, thoughtful investor but it is likely to be bumpy.
“It is difficult to know whether stock markets will be higher or lower this time next year, but the board have confidence that many of the companies in our portfolio will continue to make good business progress.”
Earnings per share increased 27.5% to 20.4p, with Brunner citing the return to dividends from portfolio companies as a key driver of income generation.
Most of Brunner’s portfolio is spread around the health care, industrials and financials sectors, with 5.1% of its holdings in Microsoft, which paid out $2.48 per share in dividends last year.
Brunner plans to pay a final dividend of 6.05p per share on 1 April, making a total dividend of 20.15p, up from 2020’s 20.06p.
This marks the 50th straight year the trust has returned increased dividends to its shareholders.
Shares fell slightly in initial trading following the results announcement, before trading 0.45% higher at 1,085.46p in late morning deals.
Brunner’s share price rose 105% between December 2016 and December 2021, compared to the FTSE Composite’s growth of 69.6%.