(Alliance News) - JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust PLC on Thursday noted higher net asset value, but suffered a fall in annual profit as gains from investments dropped.

JPMorgan Indian Investment is an investor in Indian companies.

The company said net asset value at September 30 was 1,045.8 pence per share, rising from 983.7p a year before.

NAV total return during the financial year to the end of September was 6.3%, underperforming its benchmark of MSCI India index, which recorded a NAV return of 8.8%.

"The company's underperformance during the review period was primarily due to stock selection in two areas of the portfolio...mainly as a result of underweight exposure to utilities, along with an overweight in Information Technology, the sector hit hardest by the global sell-off," the investment firm explained.

It reported a pretax profit of GBP40.3 million, down significantly from GBP249.7m the year before, as gains from investments held at fair value amounted to GBP36.9 million, compared to GBP247.7 million.

Total income declined dramatically to GBP46.5 million from GBP253.3 million the year before.

Looking ahead, the trust maintains that the long-term prospects for the Indian market are "strong", despite global economic headwinds.

JPMorgan Indian shares were down 0.3% at 827.29 pence each on Thursday in London.

By Xindi Wei, Alliance News reporter

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