Media exposure proves a drag on performance for Murray Income

MARGARET TAYLOR

He added that Pearson, which issued a profit warning in January, “suffered primarily due to weakness in its North American higher education courseware business given a mix of lower enrolments and increased textbook rentals”.

“Although trading conditions still remain challenging for Pearson, the company has taken steps to sharpen its focus and the prize for successfully negotiating the passage to a digital education company remains substantial,” he added.

Looking at the portfolio as a whole, Mr Luke said the first six months of the year had been particularly challenging.

“The portfolio is mostly populated by holdings that combine attractive dividend yields and a relatively high degree of income security through diversified geographical earnings streams,” he said.

“Particularly in the first six months of the period, these characteristics did not position the portfolio well in relative terms. The reasons for this are twofold: firstly, the share prices of those companies reliant on the strength of the UK economy rebounded from an oversold position in the immediate aftermath of the European Union referendum

Charles Luke: ‘Challenging’ time. result and, secondly, companies with defensive growth characteristics underperformed and more cyclically exposed companies outperformed as interest rate and inflation expectations rose.”

Despite the underperformance trust chairman Neil Honebon, who is standing down and will be replaced by Neil Rogan, noted that a recommended final dividend of 11.75p would take the total for the year to 32.75p.

That represents a rise of 1.6 per cent and means the trust has increased its annual dividend for 44 consecutive years.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the current financial year, Mr Honebon said it is “hard to argue the uncertainties in the political sphere have cleared recently, and that remains a major risk for markets in the year ahead”.

“Economic and foreign policy construction has become more erratic with considerable scope for market surprises, especially perhaps in currencies,” he added.

“Financially, real interest rates are still aberrantly low and history tells us some reversion is inevitable, although the exact path and timing are unclear.

“When rates do revert, there will be casualties. If the impact of low rates has been more obvious on financial asset prices than on economic activity, it seems likely that Central Banks will have to tread very carefully to avoid unsettling markets in their first steps back from the massive monetary experiment.”

Mr Honebon noted the board has negotiated a reduction in the management fee charged by Aberdeen Asset Management to run the trust that will come into force at the beginning of 2018.

Despite this, he added the board will continue to monitor the asset manager in light of its recent merger with Standard Life to create the business Standard Life Aberdeen.

“Although Aberdeen is well practised at absorbing other companies, such mergers often divert management effort to internal issues away from clients and can be disruptive for employees,” he said.

“Throughout this process, therefore, the board has closely monitored the likely impact on the company and will continue to do so as merger decisions are implemented.” SKYPARK, the Glasgow office complex, has once again shown that business and arts can be happy bedfellows.

The sprawling business park, which regularly gets involved with artistic endeavours, has donated gallery space to host the latest exhibition by artist Chris Byrne. It brings to life many of the structures which once dominated Glasgow life, but are no longer there.

Mr Byrne said: “The exhibition promotes the importance of the ruin, something that I feel is overlooked in today’s society as these buildings are often hidden in plain sight.

“The collection aims to de-construct the boundaries set up in cities, to keep people away from investigating this captivating environment.”

The exhibition is free and runs until October. IT is amazing the lengths vets will go to in order to keep their clients happy.

Oliver Jackson, managing director of Pets ‘n’ Vets, pictured above, recalls being asked to look after a particularly temperamental, giant lizard when he plied his trade in London.

Mr Jackson, who expresses a fondness for looking after reptiles, said this 7ft Monitor lizard would literally throw furniture around its owner’s home when it was “hormonal”.

He said: “This lady used to drive around north-west London on a moped [and] she had a rucksack, one of these big suitcase rucksacks, and used to put the lizard in the back with its head sticking out.

“She used to take it to parks, put a dog harness on it and walk it around parks.

“I used to treat this Monitor, it was the most amazing thing.”