Australian Foundation Investment Co. Ltd. (ASX: AFI), also known as AFIC, just reported its annual result for the financial year ended 30 June 2018 (FY18).
AFIC is the largest listed investment company (LIC) on the Australian stock exchange with net assets worth over $6.3 billion at the end of FY18.
Here are some of the highlights from the AFIC report:
- Net profit up by 13.7% to $279 million
- Profit per share (EPS) of 23.6 cents, up by 10.8%
- Final dividend of 14 cents per share. Annual dividends of 24 cents per share
- FY18 management expense ratio was 0.14%, the same as FY17
The main driver of AFIC’s result is its portfolio performance, it manages the portfolio to try to achieve the best investment return.
Over the past year, AFIC’s portfolio returned 10.8%, or 12.7% with franking credits. This compares to the S&P/ASX200 Accumulation Index’s return of 13%, or 14.6% with franking credits.
AFIC attributed its performance to BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG).
Outlook
AFIC acknowledged that Australia’s largest businesses face “prolonged, subdued growth” due to “their market positions with no further consolidation possible, increased competition and disruption, and greater regulatory intervention.”
AFIC said that companies with good growth prospects are trading at high prices. AFIC aims to be patient and make adjustments that make sense for the long-term.
According to Google Finance, shares of AFIC were trading 0.3% higher on Monday.
