Worldwide Healthcare Trust PLC (LON:WWH) has announced its Annual Financial Report for the year ended 31 March 2026
The statements below are extracted from the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2026. The Annual Report, will be posted to shareholders on 12 June 2026. Copies of the Annual Report will be available in hard copy format from the Company Secretary, Frostrow Capital LLP, 25 Southampton Buildings, London WC2A 1AL or from the Company’s website at www.worldwidewh.com where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV, share prices and fact sheets, can also be found.
The Annual 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 (NSM): https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism
The Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, 14 July 2026.
FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE
Historic Performance for the years ended 31 March
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| Net asset value per share (total return)*^ | 10.0% | -10.3% | 12.0% | -0.1% | -5.8% | 30.0% |
| Benchmark (total return)* | 1.8% | -3.2% | 10.9% | 2.5% | 20.4% | 16.0% |
| Net asset value per share | 371.0p | 339.5p | 381.1p | 343.5p | 346.5p | 370.3p |
| Share price | 334.0p | 297.5p | 335.0p | 311.5p | 327.5p | 369.5p |
| Discount of share price to net asset value per share^ | (10.0)% | (12.4)% | (12.1)% | (9.3)% | (5.5)% | (0.2)% |
| Dividends per share | 2.4p | 2.4p | 2.8p | 3.1p | 2.7p | 2.2p |
| Leverage | 12.5% | 12.0% | 10.8% | 10.5% | 10.9% | 7.6% |
| Ongoing charges^ | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% |
| Ongoing charges (including performance fees paid or crystallised during the year)^ | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 0.9% |
Comparative periods have been restated for the sub-division of each share of 25p each into 10 new shares of 2.5p each, approved at the AGM held on 18 July 2023 and effective on 27 July 2023.
* “: Morningstar
^ Alternative Performance Measure (see Glossary).
STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR
“Net asset value per share total return during the year was +10.0%, significantly outperforming our Benchmark. Long-term returns remain strong, at +13.3% pa since the Company’s inception”
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
I am pleased to report that the Company’s net asset value (NAV) per share total return in the financial year was +10.0% (2025: -10.3%). In comparison, our Benchmark, the MSCI World Health Care Index, measured on a net total return, sterling adjusted basis, returned +1.8% (2025: -3.2%). During the year, on 26 November 2025, the Company hit an all – time high NAV per share of 421.8p.
The Company’s share price total return during the year was +13.1% (2025: -10.5%). The disparity between the performance of the Company’s NAV per share and its share price contributed to the narrowing of our share price discount to our NAV per share from 12.4% at 31 March 2025 to 10.0% at 31 March 2026. The average discount of the Company’s share price to the NAV per share during the Company’s financial year was 8.0%.
These results were achieved in uncertain and volatile conditions during which global equity markets were influenced by a combination of changing interest rate expectations, U.S. regulatory policy uncertainty and persistent geopolitical tensions. The latter, in particular, cast a long shadow over general investor confidence, with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the new war in the Middle East impacting global energy supplies, shipping routes and broader regional stability, all of which heightened investor risk aversion and contributed to market volatility.
In the healthcare sector, the first half of the financial year was marked by underperformance relative to the broader markets, largely due to uncertainty regarding U.S. drug pricing and tariff policies. The second half of the year brought clarity on these two key issues and led to six months of outperformance for healthcare. In this environment, our Portfolio Manager made two material changes to our portfolio sub-sector weightings which added to the Company’s outperformance: our exposure to Large Cap Pharmaceutical companies was increased by some 10% across selective names and our exposure to MedTech companies was decreased by some 11%. These changes were done in the context of maintaining the Company’s ongoing strategic overweight position to innovation and growth opportunities across the healthcare spectrum.
More specifically, with the U.S. healthcare policy uncertainty lifted late in 2025, the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical sub-sectors began to outperform, driven by a combination of strong growth from new product flows and large development pipelines. In the Biotechnology sub-sector, where many companies with high quality, innovative pipelines trade at attractive valuations, M&A activity was a meaningful contributor to performance during the year. The principal detractor from performance was the MedTech sub-sector, predominantly due to the large share price decline in Boston Scientific . In Healthcare Services, where sector margins came under pressure for managed care organisations and companies with prominent Medicare exposure, prices also underperformed.
Further information on the healthcare sector, the Company’s investments and performance during the year can be found in the Portfolio Manager’s Review.
CAPITAL
Since the beginning of 2022, share price discounts across the investment company sector in the UK have widened. As at 3 June 2026, the average level of discount in the broader investment company sector stood at c. 10.4%*. This compares to the Company’s share price discount of 6.9%.
It is the Board’s policy to buy back our shares if the Company’s share price discount to the NAV per share exceeds 6% on an ongoing basis. Shareholders should note, however, that it remains possible for the discount to be greater than this for extended periods of time, particularly when sentiment towards investment trusts generally, the healthcare sector and/or the Company remains poor.
In such an environment, buybacks may prove unable to sustainably narrow the discount. Nonetheless, even in such an environment, the Board believes that buybacks are important, as they enhance the NAV per share for remaining shareholders and go some way to dampening discount volatility.
During the financial year, a total of 121,219,387 shares were repurchased for treasury at a cost of £396.3m and at an average discount of 7.0%. The shares repurchased during the year equated to 24.5% of the Company’s share capital at the beginning of the year. Share buybacks contributed 1.8% to the Company’s NAV per share return over the year.
* Source: Winterflood
The Company’s commitment to its share buyback policy is demonstrated by the fact that we continue to have one of the most active buyback programmes in the investment trust sector. A General Meeting was held during the year (in October 2025) to renew the shareholder authority to buy back shares when it became clear that the authority in place would be exhausted. A further such General Meeting was also held in June 2026.
The renewals were approved by shareholders and, therefore, the Company has been able to continue the operation of the discount management policy. Since the current renewed authority will expire at the conclusion of the Company’s forthcoming Annual General Meeting, in line with usual practice, the Company will ask shareholders to renew the authority again at the Annual General Meeting in July.
At 31 March 2026, the Company had 373,412,417 shares in issue, excluding the 228,252,783 shares held in treasury.
From the beginning of the new financial year to 3 June 2026, a further 10,373,640 shares have been bought back for treasury, at a cost of £35.8m and at an average discount of 7.6%. As stated above, our share price discount since year-end has narrowed to 6.9%.
I confirm that all shares held in treasury will continue to be held for re-issue at a premium to the net asset value per share.
A summary of the Board’s and the Company’s advisers’ activities during the year, including share buyback and marketing activities, is provided on page 9 of the Annual Report.
REVENUE AND DIVIDEND
Shareholders will be aware that it remains the Company’s investment policy to pursue capital growth for shareholders and to pay dividends at least to the extent required to maintain investment trust status. Therefore, the level of dividends declared can go down as well as up. An unchanged interim dividend of 0.7p per share for the year ended 31 March 2026 was paid on 9 January 2026 to shareholders on the register on 28 November 2025.
The Company’s net revenue for the year as a whole decreased to £9.5m from £12.3m. This was due largely to the relatively low exposure to higher yielding stocks in the portfolio as well as a reduction in the size of the portfolio due to shares being bought back by the Company during the year. As a result, the revenue return per share was 2.2p (2025: 2.4p per share).
Accordingly, the Board is proposing an unchanged final dividend for the year of 1.7p per share. Together with the interim dividend already paid, this makes a total dividend for the year of 2.4p per share (2025: 2.4p per share).
The effect of share buybacks means that the reported dividend per share, which is based on the number of shares in issue at the end of the financial year, is higher than the reported revenue return per share, which is based on the average number of shares in issue over the year.
Based on the closing mid-market share price of 337.5p on 3 June 2026, the total dividend payment for the year represents a current yield of 0.7%.
The final dividend will be payable, subject to shareholder approval, on 23 July 2026, to shareholders on the register of members on 12 June 2026. The associated ex-dividend date will be 11 June 2026.
The Company’s dividend policy, which is set out on page 34 of the Annual Report, will be proposed for approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
As mentioned previously, I will be retiring as Chair of the Company’s Board at the conclusion of this year’s Annual General Meeting. The four years of my tenure as Chair have seen a renewal of the Board. With the process of reshaping the Board now complete, the Board has a more evenly spread maturity profile established for the years ahead. In addition, it is the Board’s intention going forward to limit the tenure of all Directors to nine years.
As already announced, the Board has, by way of a thorough succession process, chosen William Hemmings to succeed me as Chair. William is an experienced and strong leader who I am confident will guide the Board and the Company well in the years ahead.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (“ESG”) MATTERS
ESG matters continue to be an important priority for the Board. Our objective is to have full, transparent disclosure on the topic. Our Senior Independent Director, Bina Rawal, works closely with our Portfolio Manager on this matter.
Our Portfolio Manager remains committed to taking a leading role in the development of meaningful ESG engagement practices in the healthcare sector. As part of this, they facilitate dialogue and an exchange of leading practices among investors, companies and other relevant experts on ESG, in particular, in the large capitalisation pharmaceutical sector. They also engage with a broad range of companies on a regular basis about where areas for improvement can be identified. Further information on both ESG matters and climate change can be found in the Portfolio Manager’s ESG report.
PERFORMANCE FEE
There is currently no provision within the Company’s NAV for the payment of a performance fee at a future calculation date. I would highlight that earning a performance fee is difficult for our Portfolio Manager and is dependent on the long-term outperformance of the Company. Any outperformance has to be maintained for 12 months after the relevant calculation date and only becomes payable to the extent that the outperformance gives rise to a total fee greater than the total of all performance fees paid to date. This ensures that a performance fee is not payable for any outperformance that contributes to the recovery of prior underperformance.
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
Following recent market guidance and a review of the Company’s governance arrangements, a resolution is to be proposed to shareholders at the Company’s Annual General Meeting to adopt new Articles of Association. The new provisions of the Company’s Articles of Association are intended to strengthen the Company’s governance framework and ensure that the Board has appropriate protections and flexibility to respond effectively to unforeseen circumstances arising at shareholder meetings, including scenarios where insufficient directors are elected. The Board remains committed to maintaining a robust and effective system of governance and to engaging constructively with shareholders. Further details of the changes are set out on page 50 of the Annual Report.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Company’s AGM will this year be held at Barber-Surgeons’ Hall, Monkwell Square, Wood Street, Barbican, London EC2Y 5BL on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 from 12.30pm. In addition to the formal proceedings, there will be an opportunity to meet the Board and the Portfolio Manager and to receive an update on the Company’s strategy. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.
For those investors who are not able to attend the meeting in person, a video recording of the Portfolio Manager’s presentation will be uploaded to the website after the meeting. Shareholders can submit questions in advance by sending them to [email protected].
I encourage all shareholders to exercise their right to vote at the AGM and to register your votes online in advance of the meeting. Registering your vote in advance will not restrict you from attending and voting at the meeting in person should you wish to do so. The votes on the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM will again be conducted on a poll. The results of the proxy votes will be published following the conclusion of the AGM by way of a stock exchange announcement and will also be able to be viewed on the Company’s website at www.worldwidewh.com.
OUTLOOK
The near-term outlook for global equity markets remains, as always, uncertain. Current issues contributing to market volatility and risk appetite include the impact of wars and supply constraints on inflation and consumer spending, the potentially positive and negative impacts of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and, in this context, the future direction and level of interest rates.
Within this environment, both our Portfolio Manager and the Board remain positive on the outlook for global equities over the long-run and, in particular, for the global healthcare sector. The U.S. regulatory environment appears increasingly supportive of innovation. At the same time, Large Cap Pharmaceutical companies continue to face significant patent expiry pressures, thus they are investing heavily in their innovative pipelines and there is a strong incentive for continued M&A activity, particularly in the Biotechnology sector, where valuations remain attractive relative to the high quality of innovation being delivered.
Overall, the Board remains confident in our Portfolio Manager’s successful long-term investment strategy of focusing on innovation and growth opportunities across the healthcare spectrum and believes that the Company will continue to generate attractive long-term returns for shareholders.
IN CLOSING
It has been my privilege to serve the Company as a Director for 14 years and as Board Chair for the last four years. In addition to the many strong relationships I have developed during my time with the Company, I am grateful for the support and inspiration I have received from the Directors I have worked with, for the world-class expertise and professionalism of OrbiMed and for our shareholders and their continued confidence. I leave knowing the Company is in good hands.
Doug McCutcheon
Board Chair, Worldwide Healthcare Trust
4 June 2026
