Alliance Witan (ALW) H1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Delivered resilient investment performance amid significant market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty in H1 2025, with NAV Total Return and Total Shareholder Return both at -0.7% compared to a 0.6% gain for the MSCI ACWI benchmark in sterling terms.

• Share price discount to NAV remained stable at 4.7%, narrower than sector averages, supported by buybacks of 4.9m shares (1.2% of shares outstanding at period start).

• Second interim dividend of 7.08p declared, bringing total interim dividends for 2025 to 14.16p, a 6.9% increase year-over-year; annual dividend on track to rise for the 59th consecutive year.

• Portfolio strategy focused on diversification, high-conviction stock picking, and maintaining stable gearing amid ongoing macro and geopolitical risks.

Financial highlights

• NAV per share at 1,281.9p and share price at 1,222.0p as of 30 June 2025, both down 1.8% from year-end 2024.

• Net loss for the period was £41.4m, with earnings per share at -10.38p, compared to a profit of £26.7m and EPS of 9.42p in H1 2024.

• Total income rose to £52.0m from £35.9m in H1 2024, driven by higher overseas dividends.

• Distributable reserves stood at £3.5bn at period end.

• Dividend yield projected at 2.3% for 2025 based on current share price.

Outlook and guidance

• Board anticipates third and fourth interim dividends for 2025 will be at least equal to the first two, supporting a 59th consecutive annual dividend increase.

• Market outlook remains finely balanced with both bullish (strong earnings, potential rate cuts) and bearish (slowing US growth, high valuations, tariffs, geopolitical risks) factors.

• Continued market volatility expected; active management and stock selection prioritized over macro positioning.