The £560 million Aberdeen Asia Focus investment trust said it delivered a net asset value (NAV) total return of 20.3% and a share price total return of 26.6% in the year to July 31, 2025, compared to the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index which returned 7.6%.
Managed by Gabriel Sacks and Xin-Yao Ng, the listed fund joined the FTSE 250 in June 2025.
Four interim dividends were declared by the trust, amounting to 6.43p per share (2024: 6.42p).
The managers wrote: “This strong performance vindicates our long-standing approach of uncovering and investing in high-quality Asian smaller companies with strong growth prospects, capable management, solid balance sheets and steady cash flows.
“Notably, the portfolio’s outperformance against its benchmark was driven mainly by positive stock selection. Among the key macro performance drivers, we would highlight the portfolio’s exposure to Hong Kong and China, which were among the best performing markets over the year …”
The fund reported: “Examples of holdings that contributed to the strong performance in the period included …
“Precision Tsugami China, which makes high-precision machine tools, did well on the back of earnings improvements and a solid order pipeline including early orders in robotics and AI …
“Within the technology sector, Choma ATE (of Taiwan) and Taiwan Union Technology significantly outperformed, with their share prices rising 90.8% and 56.5% during the period, respectively …
“In India, Bharti Hexacom demonstrated strong earnings defensiveness supported by rising industry pricing and good revenue per user growt …
“In South Korea, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, and ship servicing company Hyundai Marine Solution performed well on the back of a robust outlook for the sector …”
The fund’s biggest holdings at July 31 included copper clad laminate maker Taiwan Union Technology Corp, precision test instruments provider Choma ATE (of Taiwan), digital advertising firm Affle India, machine tool maker Precision Tsugami China, Korean “aesthetic device maker” Classys, Philippines-based Asian Terminals, gears and transmission system maker Zhejiang Shuanghuan Driveline, Korean “atomic force microscopes” developer Park Systems Corporation, Chinese music streaming app NetEase Cloud Music, and India’s J.B. Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals.
Aberdeen Asia Focus chair Krishna Shanmuganathan said: “Long term outperformance, with a keen eye to optimising shareholder returns, has always been this company’s goal. Since our inception in 1995, our NAV total return of +2995.6% equates to an annualised 12.2% rise compared to the benchmark index’s 5.1% annualised return since inception.
“The long-term outperformance reflects our unique approach to portfolio composition and management. Smaller companies, which in the Asian context means companies with market capitalisations below £5 billion, are often under-researched and overlooked by mainstream analysts.
“Our deeply researched, high conviction portfolio, which is 96% different from the benchmark, means that we can identify hidden gems and future winners with strong structural growth drivers, offering a differentiated proposition for investors.
“In a period of significant volatility, Asian economies have remained resilient. The region’s structural long-term growth drivers, such as urbanisation, digitalisation, consumer market growth, and the green transition, remain intact. We look to the future with confidence.”