CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income Plc (LON:CYN) has announced its Unaudited Half Year Results for the six months to 31 December 2025
This Announcement is not the Company’s Half Year Report & Accounts. It is an abridged version of the Company’s full Half Year Report & Accounts for the six months ended 31 December 2025. The full Half Year Report, together with a copy of this announcement, will shortly be available on the Company’s website at www.ncim.co.uk/cqs-natural-resources-growth-and-income-plc where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV, share price and fact sheets, can also be found.
The Company’s Half Year Report will be submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority and will shortly be available in full, unedited text for inspection on the National Storage Mechanism: https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
Our Objective
To provide shareholders with capital growth and income predominantly from a portfolio of mining and resource equities and of mining, resource and industrial fixed interest securities.
Half Year Highlights
· Net asset value (NAV) per share total return for six months to 31 December 2025 of 69.3%;
· Share price total return for six months to 31 December 2025 of 83.1%;
· Outperformed total return of 46.5% delivered by the MSCI World Metals and Mining Index (sterling adjusted), and 11.0% total return of the MSCI World Energy Index (sterling adjusted);
· Adoption of enhanced 8 per cent. dividend policy paid quarterly at 2 per cent. of preceding quarter-end NAV;
· Board resolved to use share buybacks with the aim of maintaining a single digit discount to the Company’s NAV per share in normal market conditions;
· With a sustained premium to NAV driven by demand, the Company was able to sell a total of 712,500 shares from treasury at an average price of 330.10 pence per share; and
· Paul Cahill appointed Senior Independent Director. He will continue to chair the Nomination Committee.
Post-period end events
· Since 31 December 2025, a further 1,437,500 shares were sold from treasury to satisfy investor demand;
· A further draw down from the loan facility at the beginning of March to enable the portfolio managers to take advantage of market opportunities presented by geopolitical events;
· Company has been informed that portfolio managers, Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd, have tendered their resignations to the Company’s Investment Manager; and
· The Company is considering a number of options at its disposal to ensure a smooth and sustainable transition in the best interests of our shareholders.
Investment Highlights
· Primary driver of outperformance was the Company’s large weighting to precious metals over the period;
· The Company aims to cap the precious metal weighting to 50% in a non-formal process, which led to profit-taking over the year;
· Reallocation has been predominantly to the energy sector, which had lagged broader commodities. Further additions to energy-linked names have been made in January;
· Uranium market well-supported, especially in the US. Amid an environment of tight uranium supply and a market in deficit, a ‘nuclear renaissance’ is underway;
· Maintained a low base metals weighting and take a cautious view on copper demand in the near term;
· Despite the recent reallocation, the portfolio managers believe there is still upside in the precious metals sector, which, at the time of writing, remains the largest single exposure; and
· Continue to evaluate a fast moving macro environment and as the Company’s mandate allows for quick reallocation as fundamentals shift, the portfolio remains well positioned to maximise performance and shareholder value.
Key Metrics
for the six months to 31 December:
| Net asset value per share total return[1] | Share price total return1 |
| 2025 2024 | 2025 2024 |
| 69.3% (7.5)% | 83.1% 0.4% |
| MSCI World Metals and Mining Index total return (sterling adjusted)[2] | MSCI World Energy Index total return (sterling adjusted)2 |
| 2025 2024 | 2025 2024 |
| 46.5% (9.3)% | 11.0% (3.8)% |
| Dividend yield1,[3] | Dividend per share (pence) |
| 2025 2024 | 2025 2024 |
| 5.2% 3.0% | 13.02p 2.52p |
Chairman’s Statement
“This half-year period has delivered record levels of share price growth and an enhanced dividend yield for shareholders. The strength of the natural resources sector continues to be driven by geopolitical tailwinds underpinned by the quest for energy and critical mineral security, and your Company is in prime position to create further shareholder value and growth.”
Overview
I am pleased to report to shareholders another set of positive financial results for the Company for the six month period to 31 December 2025.
The Company’s half year began with the announcement of the result of the Tender Offer on 1 July. A total of 29,334,059 shares, representing 45.72% of the shares in issue at the time (excluding shares held in treasury) were tendered. Shortly after, the Board declared a fourth interim dividend of 4.25 pence per share, the first following the adoption of an enhanced 8 per cent. dividend policy paid quarterly at 2 per cent. of the preceding quarter-end net asset value (“NAV”) – just one of the value-enhancing initiatives put in place by the Board in the last calendar year.
In September, the realisation of the Tender Pool for cash was concluded and resulted in a Tender Price of 208.33 pence per share for those exiting shareholders. By 31 December 2025, the Company’s share price had increased by just over 70% to 355 pence per share. As I alluded to in the most recent Annual Report, it is satisfying to see the shareholders who chose to remain invested rewarded with such returns, and we remain optimistic for the Company’s future prospects.
I would like to draw shareholders’ attention to the graph on page 3 of the Half Year Report which illustrates the effect of the Tender Offer and the strong performance of the portfolio on the Company’s NAV over the six-month reporting period and beyond. You will notice that the Company’s NAV has reached the pre-Tender Offer level despite the decline in net assets on realisation of the Tender Pool.
Finally, on 9 December 2025, the Board was pleased to announce that Paul Cahill had been appointed as the Board’s Senior Independent Director. He will continue to chair the Nomination Committee.
Performance, discount/premium and gearing
During the six months to 31 December 2025, the Company’s NAV per share total return was 69.3%, outperforming the total return of 46.5% delivered by its performance comparator, the MSCI World Metals and Mining Index (sterling adjusted), to which 80.2% of the Company’s portfolio (as at 31 December 2025) can be attributed.
The Company also outperformed the total return of 11.0% of the MSCI World Energy Index (sterling adjusted), although it is worth noting that the Company’s portfolio has a smaller relative exposure (11.6% as at 31 December 2025) to this performance comparator.
One of the main contributing factors underpinning this excellent performance was the exposure of the Company’s portfolio to the precious metals rally which was driven by geopolitical uncertainty and a return to safe haven assets. While volatility continued in equities, the portfolio managers took the opportunity to lock in gains, slightly reducing the portfolio’s near 50% weighting to precious metals and adding to the portfolio’s energy weighting.
The Company’s share price total return over the six months was 83.1%, with the share price increasing from 199.50 pence per share as at 30 June 2025 to 355 pence per share as at 31 December 2025. As at 31 December 2025 the share price premium to NAV was 1.5%, however, at the time of writing (at the close of the UK market on 20 March 2026) the discount was 9.3%. Over the six months the discount averaged 2.5%, compared with 8.0% over the course of the previous financial year.
As confirmed in October 2025, the Board has resolved to use share buybacks with the aim of maintaining a single digit discount to the Company’s NAV per share in normal market conditions, taking into account the inherent volatility of the markets in which the Company invests. Since this undertaking, the Company repurchased shares on one occasion during the six month period to 31 December 2025, when the discount temporarily widened. 10,000 shares were repurchased at a price of 265.13 pence per share and equivalent to a 11.2% discount on 28 October 2025.
We believe that the value-enhancing initiatives (including the enhanced dividend yield and reduced management fee) and the strong performance of the portfolio led to improved investor sentiment and the increased demand for the Company’s shares meant that, during the half year period, the Company’s shares began to trade at a premium to NAV. With this sustained premium driven by demand, the Company was able to sell a total of 712,500 shares from treasury at an average price of 330.10 pence per share. As at the period end, the Company had 35,526,279 shares in issue (excluding 10,828,171 shares held in treasury).
Gearing ranged from 4.8% at the start of the period to 6.1% as at 31 December 2025, with the increased percentage derived from an additional draw down from the borrowing facility and a decrease in net assets following completion of the Tender Offer.
In September 2025, the Board met to consider the reduction of the Company’s loan facility and determined to voluntarily decrease the facility limit from £25 million to £15 million to reflect the reduced size of the Company, following the Tender Offer. The Board is comfortable that the facility still permits an adequate level of gearing, whilst helping to reduce operating costs, but will keep this under review. Further detail can be found within Note 8 to the Condensed Financial Statements.
Dividends and income
A fourth interim dividend in respect of the year ended 30 June 2025 of 4.25 pence per share was declared in July and paid in September 2025. The Company has declared two quarterly interim dividends of 6.02 pence and 7.00 pence per share in respect of the financial year ending 30 June 2026 to date, paid in November 2025 and February 2026 respectively. A third interim dividend is expected to be declared in mid-April and paid at the end of May 2026.
Post reporting period update
Following the reporting period end, your Company experienced further share price growth with the share price peaking at 440 pence on 2 March. This was primarily driven by a late rally in silver and gold’s ongoing strength as a result of geopolitical uncertainty and marginal waning of the US dollar as the global reserve currency. At the time of writing (market close on 20 March 2026), the share price had fallen back to 347 pence.
Given the premium to NAV at which the Company’s shares had generally continued to trade, since 31 December we have sold a further 1,437,500 shares from treasury to satisfy investor demand.
On 3 February, having at that date already utilised over 43% of the share issuance authority approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting (“AGM”) held on 9 December 2025 (the “Existing Authority”), the Board published a circular to convene a general meeting of the Company to renew such authority (the “General Meeting”). The Board and its advisers believed that, if the demand for the Company’s shares continued at the level witnessed in recent months, the remaining capacity under the Existing Authority may prove insufficient to allow the Company to satisfy future demand for its shares during the period up to the next AGM, which will take place in December 2026.
The General Meeting was held on 2 March, and the Board was pleased that shareholders voted in favour of the two proposed resolutions permitting the Company to issue in aggregate up to 20 per cent. of its issued share capital (excluding shares held in treasury) as at the date of the General Meeting.
The Board continues to monitor the Company’s discount to NAV and pursue its stated share buyback policy and, in response to the recent widening share price discount brought about by market reaction to the US invasion of Iran, the Company has bought back a total of 573,906 shares since 6 March to the date of this report. As at 20 March 2026, the latest practicable date prior to the publication of this Report, the number of shares held in treasury had reduced to 9,964,577, overall increasing the number of shares with voting rights since the period end to 36,389,873.
A further £3 million was drawn down from the loan facility at the beginning of March to enable the portfolio managers to take advantage of market opportunities presented by geopolitical events.
As announced on 9 March 2026, the Company has been informed that its named portfolio managers, Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd, have tendered their resignations to the Company’s Investment Manager. Further, as announced on 23 March 2026, the Company has agreed six months’ protective notice with its Investment Manager. If formal notice of termination is served by the Company prior to 30 June 2026, the six months’ notice period, as per the Investment Management Agreement, will be deemed to have started on 13 March 2026.
In the meantime, during Keith Watson’s and Robert Crayfourd’s notice period, CQS have engaged two senior Manulife Investment Management Group portfolio managers, Diana Racanelli and Craig Bethune, to work together with Keith and Robert in the management of the portfolio. Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd will remain the named Portfolio Managers and there is no change to the Company’s investment process, strategy or operations.
The Company is considering a number of options at its disposal to ensure a smooth and sustainable transition in the best interests of our shareholders. A further update will be provided in due course.
Finally, in recent months the Audit Committee initiated the Company’s audit tender process, and subject to remaining formalities, we expect to be able to announce the successful audit firm imminently.
Outlook
Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility are reinforcing the strategic importance of resource security. Whilst gold and precious metals have been an important component of the portfolio to date, the current environment is also creating opportunities in oil and gas and related sectors such as shipping. The Company’s actively managed and diversified approach positions it well to take advantage of these opportunities.
We thank you for your ongoing support and would like to remind shareholders that they are welcome to get in touch with the Board of Directors via the Company Secretary or the Investment Manager using the contact information provided on page 30 of the Half Year Report at any time throughout the year.
Christopher Casey
Chairman
24 March 2026
Performance Record[4]
| Six months ended | Six months ended | Year ended30 June 2025 | Five years ended31 December | |
| 31 Dec 2025 | 31 Dec 2024 | (audited) | 2025 | |
| Total Return | ||||
| Net asset value per share1 | 69.3% | (7.5)% | 4.6% | 198.7% |
| Share price (mid market)1 | 83.1% | 0.4% | 9.3% | 251.7% |
| MSCI World Metals and Mining Index (sterling adjusted)2 | 46.5% | (9.3)% | (4.5)% | 106.4% |
| MSCI World Energy Index (sterling adjusted)2 | 11.0% | (3.8)% | (7.7)% | 161.3% |
| As at31 December | As at30 June2025 | |||
| 2025 | (audited) | % change | ||
| Capital Values | ||||
| Net asset value per share1 | 349.69p | 212.56p | 64.51% | |
| Share price (mid market) | 355.00p | 199.50p | 77.94% | |
| Share price premium/(discount) to NAV per share1 | 1.5% | (6.1)% | ||
| Net gearing1 | 6.1% | 4.8% | ||
| Six months ended | Six months ended | |||
| 31 Dec 2025 | 31 Dec 2024 | |||
| Revenue Earnings and Dividends | ||||
| Earnings per share | 0.17p | 0.63p | ||
| Dividends per share | 13.02p | 2.52p | ||
| Dividend yield3 | 5.2% | 3.0% | ||
| Ongoing charges ratio1 | 1.8% | 2.0% | ||
| Highest | Lowest | |||
| Highs and Lows during the six months ended 31 December 2025 | ||||
| Net asset value per share | 353.74p | 210.39p | ||
| Share price (mid market) | 359.00p | 202.00p | ||
| Discount (positive = premium) | 5.4% | (12.3)% |
| Dividend per share | Ex-dividend date | Record date | Payment date | |
| Dividend History | ||||
| Second interim dividend 2026 (enhanced) | 7.00p | 5 February 2026 | 6 February 2026 | 27 February 2026 |
| First interim dividend 2026 (enhanced) | 6.02p | 30 October 2025 | 31 October 2025 | 28 November 2025 |
| Total | 13.02p | |||
| Fourth interim dividend 2025 (enhanced) | 4.25p | 31 July 2025 | 1 August 2025 | 1 September 2025 |
| Third interim dividend 2025 | 1.26p | 1 May 2025 | 2 May 2025 | 30 May 2025 |
| Second interim dividend 2025 | 1.26p | 30 January 2025 | 31 January 2025 | 28 February 2025 |
| First interim dividend 2025 | 1.26p | 24 October 2024 | 25 October 2024 | 22 November 2024 |
| Total | 8.03p |
Investment Manager’s Review
“The portfolio delivered strong performance over the half year supported by precious metals positioning. We continue to actively adjust the portfolio to take advantage of opportunities in the sector with a clear focus on maximising performance and shareholder value creation.”
Performance
CQS Natural Resources saw very strong performance in the six months to 31 December 2025, with a net asset value (“NAV”) total return of 69.3%. While the Company has no formal benchmark (following its discontinuation), this compared favourably with both the MSCI World Metals and Mining and the MSCI World Energy indices which saw sterling adjusted gains of 46.5% and 11.0% over the period, and which the Company aims to outperform.
The primary driver of outperformance has been the Company’s large weighting to precious metals over the period. The Company aims to cap the precious metal weighting to 50% in a non-formal process, which led to profit-taking over the year and a reallocation predominantly to the energy sector, which has lagged broader commodities. Further additions to energy-linked names have been made in January.
Summary
2025 was an eventful year for the Company, with a confluence of factors driving strong returns across the metals and mining names and especially the precious metals equities held in the portfolio. But it also the marked an end to Saba Capital Management, L.P.’s (“Saba”) involvement as a major shareholder in the Company. We remain grateful for the support that shareholders gave us in enabling the Company to continue and are especially pleased with the performance which has generated a 91% NAV total return from 1 July 2025 to date for shareholders that remained invested. In late June, 45% of the Company’s issued share capital was tendered, but, through strong performance and some small capital issuances, the Company has now reached pre-Tender Offer levels.
The year was also marked by a period of significant macro volatility, not least led by US policy on a more aggressive trade regime, with the implication of tariffs and a general shift to upending global trade flows. Ongoing war in Ukraine disrupted energy flows as OPEC focused on regaining share.
Precious metals strength appeared as the trigger to lift metals across the board, with gold and silver being the standouts. The Company maintained a near-50% weighting to precious metal producers through most of 2025 but has latterly begun to reduce that to add to the energy weighting. Gearing was reduced to provide flexibility to be more opportunistic on market volatility should opportunities present themselves.
Precious metals – 56.4% of the portfolio
The six months to 31 December 2025 marked a record-breaking year for precious metals, whose gains outpaced a broad-based rise in metals that were also well supported. Gold posted gains of 30.8%, whilst silver gained 98.5% and less popular precious metals such as platinum and palladium saw gains of 51.6% and 46.4%, respectively.
The key drivers of precious metal gains were:
· Geopolitical uncertainty
Gold delivered on its defensive properties against political uncertainty. A key driver of this has been US policy on tariffs and trade protectionism, alongside the ongoing war in Ukraine. Later in the year, the US president made claims over Danish-controlled Greenland, directly threatening the sovereignty of a NATO state, and more recently, ousting Venezuelan President Maduro. International tensions remain high.
· Central Bank demand
Central Banks continued to diversify away from US treasuries following the weaponisation of the US dollar, which has driven strong purchases of gold since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Whilst purchased tonnage declined year-on-year in 2025, the value of purchases was considerably higher in US dollar terms given gold price strength.
The US dollar’s role as the global reserve currency was questioned with China looking to price some oil and iron ore contracts in Chinese Yuan, but this will take many years to dramatically shift the proportion of Renminbi based trade. Perhaps more important has been the openness of the US to entertain a weaker dollar so as to support domestic manufacturing, with the dollar falling 9.4% in the 2025 calendar year, a move which has further supported investment flows into gold. Yet at the time of writing, uncertainty arising from a rapid escalation in the Middle East, the dollar has shown its status as the worlds reserve currency remains, with some recent strengthening. Nevertheless, in 2025 gold surpassed US Treasuries as the largest reserve asset held by central banks.
· Bar and Coin Demand
Bar and coin demand has also been a significant driver of the rally in precious metals through 2025. Much of this has been driven by particularly strong demand from China and, to a lesser extent, India. The Chinese side of demand is supported by the restricted capital markets in the country that have historically been weighted toward the domestic property sector but, given the collapse in the property market, precious metals have surfaced as an attractive alternative investment.
· Debasement fears
Debasement refers to the loss of purchasing power of domestic currencies. The primary driver of this is persistent inflation and continued deterioration of governments’ fiscal stability as higher rates increase the government debt interest to unsustainable levels. In the absence of sustainable economic growth, they must print more currency to pay back the interest with the cumulative increase in deficits driving ever larger debt issuance, thus reducing the purchasing power of their domestic currencies. This is driving flows into real assets, with gold the largest beneficiary, along with other precious and even base metals.
· Silver
Silver’s recent volatility can only be described as unprecedented: the price jumped 140% from the end of November through to mid‑January, with a 68% rise in January alone, before a sharp reversal. Whilst these moves are exciting, they are also unsustainable and a sharp correction was certainly expected and despite this, silver still showed gains for January. The path from here is less certain and remains heavily dependent on a potential relaxation of the restrictions imposed by China, the dominant refiner of metal, prompting the price surge.
Energy (E&P/Rigs/Shipping) – 16% of the portfolio
The Company’s portfolio has had a relatively low direct allocation to oil and gas producers (“E&P”) throughout 2025, where exposure was weighted to gas, instead preferring indirect exposure via rigs and shipping. This low direct allocation was primarily driven by the overhang of OPEC’s return to a market share over price strategy, which has seen an unwinding of production quotas, leaving the market oversupplied for the majority of the year. The oil price has been stuck between an oversupplied fundamental market and a market focused on increasing geopolitical tensions. These include increased sanctions on Russian and Iranian ships, strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, the US capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, ongoing protests in Iran pushing for regime change and subsequent Iranian threats on disrupting shipments through the Straits of Hormuz, through which over 20% of global seaborne crude oil and 25% of traded gas transits.
Latterly, the Company’s energy weighting has been increased, with the addition of oil-related E&Ps to the portfolio. The reason for this is that, despite near-term over supply, demand growth could return the market to balance in around 12 months and once the current oversupply is digested there will be little spare capacity in the system. OPEC, primarily Saudi, has acted as a buffer able to ramp or cut production in short order. With OPEC now producing at full capacity, the oil price is exposed to any supply shocks. Our gas preference has flipped as we see a glut of new LNG supply coming online in the US, and a crucial gating factor for gas fired power generation is a 5-7 year wait for large gas turbines.
US shale supply growth has now plateaued due to lower prices which has been reflected in a decrease in drilling activity, while demand growth is primarily coming from countries like India. China appears to have hit a peak in its demographics, with a declining population and increasing electric vehicle sales which could see Chinese demand trends plateau or even weaken.
Uranium miners – 12.0% of the portfolio
We have found the uranium market to be well-supported, especially in the US. Amid an environment of tight uranium supply and a market in deficit, a ‘nuclear renaissance’ is underway. With a fuel supply chain dominated by China and Russia, we see NexGen as the best undeveloped asset globally. NexGen received its final permit after the period end on 5 March, with construction of its Tier 1 mine, located in Canada now in progress.
Base metals – 5.6% of the portfolio
We have maintained a low base metals weighting and take a cautious view on copper demand in the near term. A bullish rhetoric on copper has emerged around the build-out of US data centres for AI, but we are less constructive than the actual incremental copper demand arising from these versus expectations. Beyond this, there is little to indicate a recovery in Chinese property construction, a previously major component of demand for base metals such as copper, against China’s now declining population and whilst an economically squeezed consumer may reduce demand for white goods orders, further weighing on consumption.
The Company’s exposure has been primarily through copper developers and late-stage explorers. The largest two holdings are Solaris and SolGold which are progressing large-scale projects in Ecuador, which have provided sterling adjusted returns of 146% and 299%, respectively, through the 2025 calendar year.
Outlook
Macro events since the period under review have resulted in a proactive shift in the Company’s portfolio from a relatively low weighting in the upstream oil and gas industry (the E&P sector) to a re-balancing back into energy, focused particularly on oil and gas explorers, producers and associated service providers, such as rig leasing and shipping. This has been driven by a number of factors: supply and demand, more attractive valuations and the geopolitical events in Iran.
Having largely absorbed oil production increases following OPEC’s shift in strategy to regain market share, the market was closer to balance with far less spare capacity to act as a buffer against supply shocks. E&P equities were also becoming more attractive with valuations implying $60-65/bbl long-term prices, approaching cost curve support. This combination of factors considerably improved the sector’s risk-reward profile prompting a significant portfolio re-balancing which commenced in December and was primarily funded from profits realised from the Company’s large precious metal weighting, which was a prime contributor to performance in the period under review.
Given the speed with which markets are changing in the current environment, an outlook can quickly become out of date. However, experience of recent conflicts (such as Russia-Ukraine and Houthi activity out of Yemen) suggest a more prolonged conflict in Iran which may sustain risk premiums at a level which do not appear sufficiently factored into many energy related equities, thereby making their valuation more attractive. In addition, actions to dampen the impact on crude prices, such as the release of strategic reserves, may only prove temporary, thus putting upward pressure on prices as we have seen more recently. With the build up to events in the Strait of Hormuz, it was felt that a significantly higher energy premium was warranted to account for potential disruption in the region and so we accelerated the portfolio rebalancing during January and February.
Despite the recent reallocation, we believe there is still upside in the precious metals sector, which, at the time of writing, remains our largest single exposure. This reflects the risks associated with US dollar debasement, and our investment in hard assets like gold as a hedge against a potential deeper decline. This is supported by high US fiscal deficits, substantial debt, erratic policy, and expansive monetary policy. Notwithstanding recent short-term metal price moves, precious metals equity valuations remain attractive and we see upside. Furthermore, the potential drag on global growth from oil price shocks has also tilted economic risks toward stagflation, an environment which has historically been most favourable for hard assets such as commodities and especially so for strong precious metal performance.
We continue to evaluate a fast moving macro environment and as the Company’s mandate allows for quick reallocation as fundamentals shift, the portfolio remains well positioned to maximise performance and shareholder value.
Keith Watson and Robert Crayfourd
Manulife | CQS Investment Management
24 March 2026
