Alliance Trust's profits shrink after capital loss

Alliance Trust has reported a total shareholder return of 3.1% for the six months to the end of July, even as revenue and pre-tax profits dipped sharply.

Revenue fell from £101.9m to £35.74m, driving pre-tax profit down from £122m to £8m, largely due to a capital loss of £36m compared to a capital gain of £78.8m over the same period in 2010. But the £2.4bn trust produced a total shareholder return of 3.1% between 1 February and 31 July, against a 1.2% increase in the FTSE All-Share and a 0.8% loss in the FTSE All-World, prior to the heightened volatility seen in August. The company's investment portfolio recorded positive returns and outperformed benchmarks across all major regions over the period, with the exception of North America, ...