BLACKROCK AMERICAN INCOME TRUST PLC (LEI:549300WWOCXSC241W468)
All information is at 30 April 2025 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
 

                                      One   Three  Six    One  Three
                                                                     Five Years
                                      Month Months Months Year Years

Net asset value                       -5.3  -10.1  -4.9   -4.1 5.6   53.9

Share price                           -2.4  -8.0   2.7    0.8  3.0   47.3

Russell 1000 Value Index              -6.3  -12.0  -5.5   1.8  17.1  74.0

Russell 1000 Value Index (Net 15% WHT -6.3  -12.0  -5.7   1.4  15.9  71.1
Total Return)*

 

At month end

Net asset value - capital only:              201.71p

Net asset value - cum income:                201.80p

Share price:                                 191.25p

Discount to cum income NAV:                  5.2%

Net yield1:                                  4.2%

Total assets including current year revenue: £114.2m

Net gearing:                                 0.1%

Ordinary shares in issue2:                   56,613,872

Ongoing charges3:                            1.06%

 

1 Based on three quarterly dividends of 2.00p per share declared on 29 May 2024, 1 August 2024 and 13 November 2024 for the year ended 31 October 2024 and one quarterly dividend of 2.00p per share declared on 1 April 2025 for the year ending 31 October 2025 and based on the share price as at close of business on 30 April 2025.

² Excluding 38,747,433 ordinary shares held in treasury.

³ The Company’s ongoing charges 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 and certain non-recurring items for the year ended 31 October 2024.

 

 

Sector Analysis         Total Assets (%)

Financials              23.0

Health Care             15.5

Industrials             14.5

Information Technology  9.2

Consumer Staples        8.7

Energy                  6.3

Consumer Discretionary  6.0

Utilities               4.7

Communication Services  4.6

Real Estate             4.5

Materials               3.1

Net Current Liabilities -0.1

                        -----

                        100.0

                        =====

Country Analysis        Total Assets (%)

United States           95.5

Ireland                 2.1

United Kingdom          1.9

Switzerland             0.4

Canada                  0.2

Net Current Liabilities -0.1

                        -----

                        100.0

                        =====

  #

 

Top 10 Holdings    Country       % Total Assets

Berkshire Hathaway United States 2.9

JPMorgan Chase     United States 2.7

Walmart            United States 2.4

Bank Of America    United States 2.2

Exxon Mobil        United States 1.8

UnitedHealth Group United States 1.7

Morgan Stanley     United States 1.7

Citigroup          United States 1.6

Cisco Systems      United States 1.5

Boston Scientific  United States 1.5

Travis Cooke and Muzo Kayacan, representing the Investment Manager, noted:

 

For the one-month period ended 30 April 2025, the Company’s NAV fell by 5.3%, and the share price by 2.4%, outperforming the Company’s benchmark index, the Russell 1000 Value Index, which fell by 6.3% (all in sterling).

 

At the sector level, the largest contributor to relative performance continued to be communication services, driven by strong security selection. Real estate also added value, with positive contributions from security selection, but also from allocation, where the underweight position was beneficial as the sector lagged amid continued pressure from high interest rates and headwinds in retail REITs, where leasing activity hit its lowest level since 2020 due to retailer bankruptcies, store closures and cautious expansion plans¹. A modest positive impact also came from security selection in information technology.

 

The largest detractor from relative performance was security selection in materials, where several holdings tied to packaging, specialty chemicals and metals significantly underperformed. Energy also detracted due to weak performance from select holdings, particularly in exploration and production. A smaller negative contribution came from security selection in health care.

 

Transactions

During the month, there was a change in the investment approach for the Company, shifting from a fundamental to systematic approach. Therefore, there were a larger than normal number of new investments and divestments to realign the portfolio.

 

Change in investment strategy

During April, shareholders approved proposals to change the investment strategy to a systematic active equity investment process. Maintaining the same objective, the new portfolio managers combine the power of big data, artificial intelligence and human expertise to unlock new ways to seek consistent risk-controlled returns. The Company also changed the dividend policy to provide an enhanced dividend of 1.5% of NAV per quarter, equivalent to 6% of NAV annually. For further details on the strategy change and reduction in management fees (including a six-month management fee holiday at 0.0% from 1 May 2025 to 31 October 2025), please visit the Company’s website.

 

Source: BlackRock.

¹ The Wall Street Journal, “Rest of Year Isn’t Looking Good for Retail-Property Market,” May 2025.

 

 

22 May 2025

 

Latest information is available by typing blackrock.com/uk/brai 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