BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust Plc - Portfolio Update
The information contained in this release was correct as at
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html .
All information is at
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three One Three Launch
Month Months Year Years (20 Sep 04)
Net asset value (undiluted) 6.1% -1.0% 3.0% 15.0% 794.9%
Share price 7.0% -2.7% 2.7% 13.9% 748.8%
FTSE World Europe ex UK 4.3% -0.1% 20.9% 53.3% 628.8%
Sources: BlackRock and Datastream
At month end
Net asset value (capital only): 618.68p Net asset value (including income): 627.61p Share price: 587.00p Discount to NAV (including income): 6.5% Net gearing: 6.5% Net yield 1 : 1.2% Total assets (including income): £571.5m Ordinary shares in issue 2 : 91,055,463 Ongoing charges 3 : 0.95%
1
Based on a final dividend of 5.40p per share for the year ended
2
Excluding 26,873,475 shares held in treasury.
3
The Company’s ongoing charges are calculated as a percentage of average daily net assets and using the management fee and all other operating expenses excluding finance costs, direct transaction costs, custody transaction charges, VAT recovered, taxation, write back of prior year expenses and certain non-recurring items for the year ended
Country Analysis Total Assets (%)
Netherlands 21.8
Switzerland 17.6
France 15.5
Sector Analysis Total Assets (%)
Germany 10.4
Industrials 30.1
Italy 5.9
Financials 20.0
Spain 5.4
Technology 18.8
Sweden 4.7
Health Care 12.5
Denmark 3.8
Energy 5.8
Belgium 3.5
Consumer Discretionary 5.7
Ireland 2.9
Basic Materials 4.2
Finland 2.7
Utilities 3.1
Austria 2.2
Net Current -0.2
Liabilities United States 1.9
----- Norway 1.9
100.0 Net Current -0.2
Liabilities
=====
-----
100.0
=====
Top 10 holdings Country Fund % ASML Netherlands 9.3 UniCredit Italy 4.4 Safran France 4.3 ASM International Netherlands 4.0 BE Semiconductor Netherlands 3.4 Siemens Energy Germany 3.4 Novartis Switzerland 3.3 Compagnie Financiere Richemont Switzerland 3.1 Engie SA France 3.0 Caixabank Sa Spain 3.0
Commenting on the markets,
During the month, the Company’s NAV rose by +6.1% and the share price rose by +7.0%. For reference, the FTSE World Europe ex
The market remains narrow with the “AI or Die” theme dominant as it drives global profit growth to accelerate at a pace not seen outside of recovery from recession. While the US’ AI-heavy S&P 500 is the primary driver of this growth, the conditions strengthen the ecosystem which benefits many of our portfolio companies in
The AI theme is crowding out the rest of the market for the time being. Companies doing well to compound earnings, yet at lower growth levels relative to AI-winners, still struggle in relative share price terms. Elsewhere, the consumer remains in a difficult situation which is likely to get incrementally worse as we are yet to see an opening of the
Inflation concerns have led the market to price an
Sector allocation was positive over the month. An overweight to Technology was the largest contributor, benefiting from the continued strength of AI-related names. Underweights to defensive sectors such as Utilities and Consumer Staples also added value as investors favoured more cyclical and growth-oriented exposures. An overweight to Industrials detracted from performance at the sector level, although this was partially offset by strong stock selection within the sector.
AI-related names were again among the strongest performers. ASML, BE Semiconductor, ASMi and Belimo delivered strong gains as investors continued to focus on beneficiaries of rising AI-related investment spending and semiconductor capital expenditure. The strength of the theme continues to be supported by improving customer spending intentions and growing evidence of accelerating AI infrastructure deployment.
Safran contributed positively during the month, recovering some recent weakness as investor sentiment improved following evidence of resilient air travel demand despite conflict in the
Richemont also added to relative returns in May. Fiscal fourth quarter results showed exceptional top-line growth in the key Jewellery Maisons division, +16% at constant currency, highlighting Richemont’s impressive outperformance during a tumultuous market environment for the consumer.
UniCredit and ABN AMRO were among the strongest performers following another round of robust results. UniCredit continued to demonstrate strong earnings resilience, supported by healthy net interest income, disciplined costs and ongoing capital returns. ABN AMRO also delivered solid results, with particularly strong cost control helping support profitability. We continue to hold meaningful exposure to banks across the portfolio. Earnings remain robust, loan books are generally low risk and balance sheets are significantly stronger than during previous periods of stress. While revenue expectations have edged higher, costs remain well controlled and excess capital continues to be returned to shareholders.
Siemens Energy was the largest detractor during the month. There was no material company-specific news, and the weakness appears largely attributable to a momentum unwind following a period of exceptional share price performance. The stock had been one of the strongest contributors in previous months.
A number of defensive compounders also detracted, including Novonesis, Kone, Assa Abloy and Air Liquide. Again, there was little company-specific news flow, with the underperformance primarily reflecting a rotation away from defensive exposures as markets continued to rally. Although these companies are not participating in the AI-led market enthusiasm, we remain comfortable with their place in the portfolio, providing a more defensive source of returns and helping to balance the portfolio's exposure to the AI theme.
Outlook
The June corporate conference calendar is an opportunity to enhance our bottom-up views of the real-world economy. Using the full scale of our team, we have upwards of 80 meetings scheduled where we’ll get the chance to speak with management teams about trends seen throughout their value chains.
The portfolio remains cyclically tilted with key exposures across areas we believe remain well underpinned such as AI capex beneficiaries including semiconductors and data centre components provided by electrical equipment businesses. We are acutely aware of the well-held status of these businesses, yet earnings streams look well supported by real revenue. The portfolio also holds key exposures across defence, banks, select industrials and civil aerospace, as well as some defensive assets within healthcare.
ENDS
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.com/uk/brge on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Release
