Worldwide Healthcare Trust Reports Below-Benchmark Year Amid Turbulence in Medical Sectors

Worldwide Healthcare Trust reported a negative 10.3% total return on net asset value for FY22, below its benchmark of a 3.2% negative return. The company's NAV per share was 339.50p, down 11% from the previous year. It reduced its total dividend per share by 14% to 2.40p for FY22. The firm cited Merck & Co, Evolent Health, Novo Nordisk, and Biogen as major detractors to performance, while praising Boston Scientific and Intuitive Surgical as top contributors.

Worldwide Healthcare Trust PLC (WHT) has released its annual financial report for the year ended 31 March 2025, revealing a challenging period marked by significant market volatility and underperformance compared to its benchmark. The company's net asset value (NAV) per share total return for the fiscal year was -10.3%, falling short of the MSCI World Health Care Index's -3.2% return [1].

The NAV per share decreased to 339.50p, a 11% drop from the previous year's 381.1p. This decline was attributed to a combination of macroeconomic factors, including escalating trade tensions and a slowing global economy, which led to a sharp sell-off in the first quarter of 2025. The company's share price total return for the year was -10.5%, exacerbating the widening of its share price discount to NAV per share from 12.1% at 31 March 2024 to 12.4% at 31 March 2025 [1].

The performance of the healthcare sector, in which WHT invests, was adversely affected by regulatory changes and higher-than-expected interest rates. The therapeutics sector, particularly biotechnology, was significantly impacted, while the Healthcare Equipment & Supplies (Medtech) sector remained relatively stable. Merck & Co, Evolent Health, Novo Nordisk, and Biogen were identified as major detractors to WHT's performance, while Boston Scientific and Intuitive Surgical were highlighted as top contributors [1].

The company's dividend policy remained focused on capital growth, and the total dividend per share was reduced by 14% to 2.40p for FY22. The interim dividend of 0.7p per share was paid on 9 January 2025, and the final dividend of 1.7p per share is proposed for payment on 23 July 2025, subject to shareholder approval [1].

WHT's share buyback policy was active during the year, with 51,310,528 shares repurchased for treasury at a cost of £176.5m and an average discount of 10.8%. The shares repurchased equated to 9.4% of the company's share capital at the beginning of the year. As of 31 March 2025, the company had 494,631,804 shares in issue, excluding the 107,033,396 shares held in treasury [1].

The company's long-term performance remains strong, with a total return of +4,254% since its inception in 1995, equivalent to a compound annual return of +13.4%. This compares to a cumulative blended Benchmark return of +2,354% and a compound annual return of +11.3% over the same period [1].

References:
[1] https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202506110200PR_NEWS_PRUKDSCL_0013-1