31 May 2005

The Scottish Investment Trust PLC
Results for the Six Months to 30 April 2005

The Scottish Investment Trust PLC invests internationally and is independently managed. It is categorised as a global growth trust by the Association of Investment Trust Companies.

• NAV rose by 4.0%, outperforming the benchmark which rose by 2.4%.
• Global listed equity portfolio has outperformed since restructuring in January 2004.
• Interim dividend per ordinary stock unit increased by 3.8% to 4.05p.

Commenting on the results, Chairman, Douglas McDougall said:-

"The major international equity markets made unsteady progress over the six months to 30 April 2005. Over this period, our net asset value per ordinary unit (NAV) rose 4.0% while the benchmark index rose 2.4%. Our global equity portfolio outperformed the benchmark index due to good contributions from stock and sector selection in the listed portfolio and a strong performance from our unlisted investments.

"Investors will recall that the management of the company's investments was re-organised in early 2004 into a single global portfolio. Since the end of January 2004, the global listed portfolio has risen 8.1%, outperforming the 5.6% rise by the benchmark. Over the same 15 month period, the NAV has increased by 8.7% excluding the debt repayment costs incurred in July 2004.

"In my statement in the 2004 annual report, I indicated that a further reduction in the number of holdings was likely. Encouraged by an improved investment performance following restructuring, the manager reduced further the number of holdings in the listed portfolio from 150 to 127 at the end of the period. The portfolio remains very well diversified and there remains ample scope for continued refinement of the portfolio to allow increased focus on the management team's strongest investment ideas.

"The first three months of the period saw further steady gains as markets continued to recover from the lows of 2003. However, the tone of markets deteriorated during March and April. Investors had been expecting a strong and sustainable economic recovery and further growth of corporate profits. However, the combination of a series of weaker economic indicators both in the US and Europe and a growing number of disappointing corporate trading statements served to undermine investor confidence. Consequently equity markets fell and bond markets rallied. US official short rates were increased steadily over the period and again in early May to 3.0%. UK base rates remained unchanged and with signs of cooling house prices and weakness in consumer spending they may well be peaking.

"The strongest returns in sterling terms came from the Pacific (ex Japan), UK and Europe (ex UK) regions. Modest sterling strength eliminated the low returns achieved in local terms in Japan and the US.

"Reflecting investors' growing concerns over the growth outlook, during the period markets rotated towards more defensive sectors such as pharmaceuticals, health and beverages while more cyclical areas started to underperform in a global context.

"Over the period, we maintained effective gearing levels at the relatively low level of 106% reflecting the belief that markets would be subdued. We increased our listed portfolio by £6.3m adding to Europe (ex UK) (£18.6m), the US (£6.9m) and Pacific (ex Japan) (£3.7m) funded out of sales in the UK (-£20.5m) and Japan (-£2.4m). By sector, our main changes included reductions to cyclical areas such as automobiles and oil with additions to health sector investments (£14.5m) and utilities (£13.1m).

"Reflecting the new structure, the most significant contributions to relative performance came from international holdings including ConocoPhillips, Nobel Biocare, Esprit Holdings, Yamada Denki and Sanofi-Aventis. In unlisteds, our performance benefited from a write up at Aberforth Partnership and a good performance in general. Net distributions from the unlisted portfolio amounted to £11.9m.

"Our income again held up well with strong growth in dividends from our holdings, most notably from those in Europe. Lower expenses, receipt during the period of a larger component of our annual dividend income and special dividends allowed the earnings per ordinary unit to rise 14.3%. Last year's interim dividend of 3.90p per ordinary unit was paid in March 2004 to create a final opportunity for SIT PEP & ISA holders and charities to reclaim tax on that dividend prior to abolition of the tax credit. The board has declared an interim dividend of 4.05p per ordinary unit which is an increase of 3.8% and this will be payable on 15 July 2005."

Notes:

(1) SIT's benchmark index is made up of 50% FTSE Actuaries UK All Share Index™ and 50% FTSE World ex UK Index Series™.

For further information, please contact:- John Kennedy, Manager 0131-225 7781

The income figure is made up as follows:-

NOTES:-

The interim statement has been prepared under accounting policies consistent with those used in the preparation of the annual report and accounts for the year to 31 October 2004.

The figures for 31 October 2004 have been extracted from the annual report and accounts for the year ended on that date which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and which contain an unqualified report from the auditors.

The interim dividend absorbs £8,461,000 (2004 - £8,148,000) and is payable on 15 July 2005 to stockholders registered at 10 June 2005. The ordinary stock will be traded ex the interim dividend from 8 June 2005 and investors purchasing on or after that date will not be entitled to the interim dividend for 2004/5.

Equity stockholders' funds at 30 April 2005 exclude all revenue items for the current financial year.

Equity investments include the unlisted portfolio of £38.5m. Of this £8.5m is in listed funds which invest in unlisted securities.

The weighted average number of ordinary units during the half-year was 208,910,518 (2004 – 209,533,698) and this figure has been used to calculate the return per ordinary unit shown in the statement of total return. The net asset value per ordinary unit at 30 April 2005 has been calculated using the number of ordinary units in issue on that date which was 208,910,518 (31 October 2004 – 208,910,518).

Unless otherwise stated, performance comparisons in the Chairman's Review are made with the FTSE Actuaries All Share Index™ for the UK and with the relevant currency adjusted constituents of the FTSE World ex UK Index Series™ for other geographical areas.