Middlefield Canadian Income PCC on Friday said its fund’s total return outperformed its benchmark as it was optimistic in its outlook, citing Canada’s population growth.
The investor focused on Canadian and US equities said net asset value per redeemable participating preference share edged down 0.3% to 121.22 pence as at June 30, from 121.63p a year ago.
The company’s fund’s total return in the first half of 2024 was 4.6%, outperforming its benchmark, the S&P TSX Composite High Dividend index, which had a return of 0.3%.
The company said it paid dividends of around 1.33p quarterly per share in 2024. It targets a total payout of 5.3p for 2024, up 1.9% from 5.2p for 2023.
Looking ahead, Middlefield Canadian positively noted the recent interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada.
The company said that Canadian real estate investment trusts continue to benefit from a structural demand/supply imbalance which will drive consistent rent growth ‘for many years to come’.
‘We are optimistic that the relative performance of Canadian equities will improve in the second half of the year,’ Chair Michael Phair said.
He added: ‘The country’s population has grown by more than 8% since before the pandemic, resulting in the highest population growth of any developed nation in the world. This should continue to support robust consumer spending and opportunities for growth in domestic end-markets. Canada is also a global leader in responsible energy production, led by several world-renowned energy producers and infrastructure companies.
‘The investment manager believes that oil, gas, and other commodities produced in Canada will have firm price support over the coming years – especially if geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East do not de-escalate soon. Canadian companies in the energy and materials sectors have accrued decades of technical expertise and operate their businesses under global best-practices, offering unique, high-quality exposure to resources.’
Middlefield Canadian shares were down 1.1% at 113.79 pence each on Friday morning in London.
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