Puma Alpha VCT PLC and Puma VCT 13 PLC on Friday both said their net asset values fell, as half-year losses widened and swung from a profit respectively.

London-based venture capital trust Puma Alpha said NAV per share at August 31 was 123.50 pence, down from 130.53p on February 28 and down from 126.13p a year earlier.

Puma Alpha’s pretax loss in the six months that ended August 31 widened to £1.4 million from £1.2 million a year earlier, with loss on investments widening to £932,000 from £918,000.

Puma Alpha also declared an interim dividend of 5p, up from nothing a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Puma VCT 13 had NAV per share on August 31 of 131.18p, down from 133.05p on February 28 and down from 136.33p a year earlier.

It swung to a half-year pretax loss of £1.7 million from a profit of £1.1 million, while it swung to a loss on investments of £368,000 from a gain of £1.9 million.

Looking ahead, Puma Alpha said the global outlook is mixed and has yet to return to sustained stability, but that it is still confident on delivering attractive returns to shareholders.

Shares in Puma Alpha were untraded at 117.50p each in London on Friday afternoon, while Puma VCT 13 shares were also untraded at 127.50p each.

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