During the period ended 30 September 2019, Syncona declared and paid a dividend of 2.3p per share amounting to £15,208,113 (September 2018: £15,178,477) relating to the year ended March 2019 (March 2018). The dividend was comprised of £13,246,248 cash (September 2018: £12,157,469) and a scrip dividend of £1,961,865 (September 2018: £3,021,008). The Directors believe that it is no longer appropriate for the Group to pay a dividend.
Other financial highlights include:
Net assets at 30 September 2019 of £1,336.8 million (31 March 2019: £1,455.1 million); 198.9p per share, a NAV total return of (7.2) per cent
Life science portfolio, valued at £481.3 million, a (11.8) per cent return over the six months
- Uplifts from the sale of Blue Earth Diagnostics (Blue Earth) and a Series B financing in Achilles Therapeutics (Achilles)
- Outweighed by a 61 per cent decline in Autolus' (NASDAQ: AUTL) share price; we continue to believe in the company's strong fundamentals
