Unaudited Statement of Results – half year ended 30.6.20

SEE ATTACHMENT FOR FULL RESULTS F&C INVESTMENT TRUST PLC Unaudited Results for the half-year ended 30 June 2020 LEI: 213800W6B18ZHTNG7371 27 July 2020 F&C Investment Trust PLC ('FCIT' / 'Company') today announces its results for the six months ended 30 June 2020. o FCIT's share price total return was minus 10.0% largely attributable to the move from a small premium to a discount of 7.7% in a period of extreme volatility for markets. o FCIT's Net Asset Value ("NAV") total return was minus 0.9% which compares with a 0.4% gain from its benchmark, the FTSE All-World Index. o The investment portfolio modestly outperformed, but the repricing of the fair value of debt detracted 0.9% from returns. o Having started the year at 9.9% gearing, this was modestly reduced as markets rallied strongly from their lows and ended the period at 8.1%. o The private equity portfolio posted positive returns of 7.1%, helped by weakness in sterling over the period. A feature of these unlisted holdings is the timing lag in the receipt of underlying valuation reports. The Board has scrutinised valuations as at the end of June and any adjustments in pricing, as a result of economic disruption going forward, are not expected to be material to this part of the portfolio. o The revenue reserve alone exceeds one year's worth of dividends leaving plenty of scope to deliver yet another increased dividend this year. The first interim dividend of 2.9 pence for 2020 will be paid on 3 August. The Chairman, Beatrice Hollond, said: "Shareholders can expect an increased dividend for 2020 that will not only mark 50 consecutive years of increases, but also 152 years of annual dividend payments." Commenting on the markets, Paul Niven, Fund Manager of FCIT, said: "Markets have recovered strongly from their recent lows, driven by the expectation of a return to growth and aided by unprecedented levels of policy stimulus. Looking forward, we expect that the economic and corporate earnings recovery will continue and that, while short term risks remain and volatility is to be expected, equities still contain many attractive opportunities for the patient investor." The full results statement is attached. Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance. The value of investments and income derived from them can go down as well as up as a result of market or currency movements and investors may not get back the original amount invested. Contacts Paul Niven - Fund Manager 0207 011 4385 Campbell Hood campbell.hood@bmogam.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7011 4243 FTI Consulting bmo@fticonsulting.com Tel: +44 (0) 20 3727 1888 About FCIT: o Founded in 1868 - the oldest collective investment trust o A diversified portfolio provides exposure to most of the world's stock markets, with exposure to over 500 individual companies across the globe o Its aim is to generate long-term growth in capital and income by investing primarily in an international portfolio of listed equities Chairman's Statement Markets and performance The market shock and extreme volatility triggered by Covid-19 in March saw global share prices fall substantially followed by a remarkably sharp rebound. In amongst the fear and uncertainty that had developed, investment trust discounts widened with your Company's shares moving from a 1.5% premium to a discount of 7.7% by the period end. The overall outcome for our total shareholder return was a decline of 10.0% and a decline of 0.9% for our Net Asset Value ("NAV") total return. Our benchmark, the FTSE All-World Index, net of withholding tax, managed to achieve a small gain of 0.4%. Shareholders might well have been expecting a more severe outcome as during the market lows the share price had fallen by as much as 40%, but by the period end had recovered strongly to 683.0 pence. The NAV per share closed at 740.27 pence by comparison with 753.90 pence at the end of 2019. In aggregate, our investment portfolio delivered a positive return of 0.7% during the first half of the year which was ahead of the 0.4% return of our benchmark. The difference between this and our NAV total return of minus 0.9% was largely due to the impact of borrowings, with the repricing of the fair value of our debt detracting 0.9% from our returns. Having started the year at 9.9% gearing, we modestly reduced this as markets recovered strongly from their lows and ended the period at 8.1%. Our private equity holdings represented 8.4% of the portfolio as at 30 June 2020 and posted positive returns. A feature of these unlisted holdings is the timing lag in the receipt of underlying valuation reports. The Board has scrutinised valuations as at the end of June and any adjustments in pricing, as a result of economic disruption going forward, are not expected to be material to this part of the portfolio. Buyback policy Buying back the Company's shares enhances shareholder value and helps moderate discount volatility. The shares were not immune to the sharp widening of discounts that took place across the sector during the steep market falls and we bought back a total of 742,000 shares. We remain committed to our policy of buying back shares to enhance shareholder value and in pursuit of a sustainably low deviation between the share price and NAV per share. Income and Dividends We paid a third interim dividend of 2.9 pence per share for the year ended 31 December 2019 in February 2020 and a final dividend of 2.9 pence in May. These payments were fully covered by earnings. Many corporates have been cutting or passing dividend payments and as a result our net revenue return per share declined by 29% to 5.74 pence in the first six months of 2020, by comparison to the equivalent period last year. While sterling's weakness helped our income by the sum of ?0.5m, this was down from ?1.6m in the first half of 2019 while special dividends were lower at ?0.7m, down from ?2.3m. We recognise the importance of a steadily rising income stream for our Shareholders. One of our strengths is the ability to build revenue and capital reserves that we can call on in difficult times to help sustain annual dividend payments to Shareholders. This is such a time and we are pleased to report that our revenue reserve alone exceeds one year's worth of dividends. This leaves us with plenty of scope to deliver yet another increased dividend this year despite the fall in earnings. Shareholders can therefore expect an increased dividend for 2020 that will not only mark 50 consecutive years of increases but also 152 years of annual dividend payments. The first interim dividend of 2.9 pence for 2020 will be paid on 3 August. Outlook All companies will be reassessing the impact on their business and the risks and uncertainties arising from Covid-19 and their status as going concerns. We outline in this report how we have assessed your Company's own standing in the midst of the pandemic. It remains strong and well positioned. In recent years we have built up a substantial revenue reserve and Shareholders can expect a higher dividend this year despite the ongoing uncertainty. Importantly, our level of diversification, closed end capital structure and low interest costs on fixed rate borrowings give us a strong advantage as we navigate our way through the current economic crisis and market uncertainty. As we have throughout our long history, please be assured that we remain watchful to the risks that we all face and the opportunities that will arise for the longer-term prosperity of our Shareholders. Beatrice Hollond Chairman 24 July 2020 End CA:00356908 For:FCT Type:HALFYR Time:2020-07-28 08:30:20