15 January 2025
UIL LIMITED
(LEI Number: 213800CTZ7TEIE7YM468)
Publication of monthly factsheet
The latest monthly factsheet for UIL Limited ("UIL" or the "Company") will shortly be available through the Company's website at:
https://www.uil.limited/investor-relations/factsheet-archive
Monthly commentary
PERFORMANCE
UIL's net asset value ("NAV") total return increased by 0.4% in December outperforming the FTSE All Share total return Index which decreased by 1.2% over the month. For the six months to 31 December 2024, UIL's NAV total return was up 9.5% compared to a 1.9% gain in the FTSE All Share total return Index.
Global markets in December continued to be dominated by speculation about what the incoming Trump administration might mean for US domestic economic policies and international geopolitics and consequently what the resulting impact on trade flows, interest rates, exchange rates and commodity prices might be. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates in December by 25bps but hinted that committee members had slowed their expectations for future rate cuts since their November meeting. The S&P 500 Index declined by 2.5% during the month and the US Dollar strengthened.
The European Central Bank also cut rates by 25bps in December and expects to continue to reduce rates in 2025, given the current weak economic outlook and political uncertainty in many countries including Germany and France. Interest rates were left unchanged by the Bank of England, following a rise in UK inflation to 2.6% in November.
In the emerging markets, China held interest rates in December 2024 and tangible signs of the stimulus measures announced in September 2024 remain largely elusive so far. Demand for Chinese treasury bonds was high, resulting in sharply reduced yields as investors sought a safe haven amid fears of a potential deflationary cycle in the country. China's weakness also impacted sentiment in Australia, where the ASX Index declined by 3.3% in December and the Australian Dollar declined by 3.5% against Sterling.
Commodities were mixed, with Brent Crude oil up by 2.3% for the month whilst copper was down by 1.3%. Nickel declined by 3.7% during the month and gold was down by 0.7%.
PORTFOLIO UPDATE
UIL's top ten holdings are disclosed on a look through basis, taking into account the underlying
investments of Somers Limited and Zeta Resources Limited. There were no changes to the top ten holdings in December 2024.
Resimac remains the largest holding, and its share price was up by 4.3% during the month. The share price of Utilico Emerging Markets gained 6.5% in December 2024.
ORDINARY SHARES
The share price of the ordinary shares declined by 2.2% to 110.00p in December 2024. UIL bought back 19,331 shares during the month at an average price of 109.00p.
ZDP SHARES
The share price of the 2026 ZDP shares was up by 0.4% whilst the 2028 ZDP shares decreased by 0.4% during the month.
Name of contact and telephone number for enquiries:
Charles Jillings
ICM Investment Management Limited +44(0)1372 271486
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.