The information contained in this release was correct as at
30 November 2021. Information
on the Company’s up to date net asset values can be found on the
London Stock Exchange website at:
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-home.html.
BLACKROCK GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI -
5493003R8FJ6I76ZUW55)
All information is at 30 November
2021 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
|
One
Month |
Three
Months |
One
Year |
Three
Years |
Launch
(20 Sep 04) |
Net asset value
(undiluted) |
0.3% |
0.5% |
35.1% |
105.8% |
817.2% |
Net asset value*
(diluted) |
0.3% |
0.5% |
35.6% |
105.7% |
817.6% |
Share price |
1.2% |
1.2% |
41.1% |
122.6% |
852.5% |
FTSE World Europe ex
UK |
-1.7% |
-2.4% |
15.7% |
41.2% |
361.7% |
* Diluted for treasury shares and subscription shares.
Sources: BlackRock and Datastream
At month end
Net asset value
(capital only): |
676.28p |
Net asset value
(including income): |
677.32p |
Net asset value
(capital only)1: |
676.28p |
Net asset value
(including income)1: |
677.32p |
Share price: |
696.00p |
Premium to NAV
(including income): |
2.8% |
Premium to NAV
(including income)1: |
2.8% |
Net gearing: |
9.4% |
Net
yield2: |
0.9% |
Total assets
(including income): |
£676.5m |
Ordinary shares in
issue3: |
99,885,411 |
Ongoing
charges4: |
1.02% |
1 Diluted for treasury shares.
2 Based on a final dividend of 4.55p per share and an interim
dividend of 1.75p per share for the year ended 31 August 2021.
3 Excluding 17,573,527 shares held in treasury.
4 Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using
expenses, excluding interest costs, after relief for taxation, for
the year ended 31 August 2021.
Sector Analysis |
Total Assets
(%) |
Industrials |
24.1 |
Technology |
22.2 |
Health Care |
17.6 |
Consumer Discretionary |
16.9 |
Financials |
8.6 |
Consumer Staples |
4.7 |
Energy |
3.7 |
Basic Materials |
3.1 |
Net Current Liabilities |
-0.9 |
|
----- |
|
100.0 |
|
===== |
|
|
Country Analysis |
Total Assets
(%) |
Switzerland |
23.1 |
Netherlands |
17.9 |
Denmark |
15.9 |
France |
13.1 |
Sweden |
8.0 |
United Kingdom |
5.7 |
Italy |
4.6 |
Russia |
3.9 |
Ireland |
2.0 |
Spain |
1.8 |
Finland |
1.7 |
Poland |
1.5 |
Greece |
0.9 |
Germany |
0.8 |
Net Current Liabilities |
-0.9 |
|
----- |
|
100.0 |
|
===== |
|
|
|
|
Top 10 holdings |
Country |
Fund % |
ASML |
Netherlands |
7.1 |
LVMH Moët Hennessy |
France |
6.0 |
Sika |
Switzerland |
5.3 |
Lonza Group |
Switzerland |
5.3 |
Novo Nordisk |
Denmark |
4.7 |
RELX |
United Kingdom |
4.2 |
DSV |
Denmark |
4.1 |
Hermes International |
France |
3.2 |
Royal Unibrew |
Denmark |
3.1 |
IMCD |
Netherlands |
3.1 |
|
Commenting on the markets,
Stefan Gries, representing the
Investment Manager noted:
During the month, the Company’s NAV rose by 0.3% and the share
price by 1.2%. For reference, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index
fell by 1.7% during the period.
Europe ex UK markets fell
during November as fears about the latest Covid variant ‘Omicron’
caused a set-back in risk assets globally. All sectors in the
reference index, except for telecommunications, delivered negative
returns. In particular, energy, financials and technology were the
weakest sectors during the month.
The Company outperformed its reference index during the month,
mainly driven by strong stock selection while sector allocation was
slightly negative.
In sector terms, the Company’s lower allocation to financials
and higher allocation to health care and industrials was positive.
Our overweight exposure to technology was negative; however, this
was significantly offset by strong stock selection. Zero exposure
to defensive sectors such as telecommunications and utilities was
negative.
The industrials sector was the largest contributor to relative
returns. In particular, Sika was the top performer over the month.
Shares rose after the company announced the acquisition of MBCC,
the former construction chemicals business of BASF. We believe
the deal will be circa 20% accretive in year 1, will further
improve Sika’s competitive position and will bring cross-selling
synergies. The deal has been financed conservatively and we
expect Sika to deleverage relatively quickly.
The Company also benefited from strong stock picking within
consumer goods. French luxury group Hermes was amongst the best
performers, benefiting from strong demand and carefully managed
product sell throughs. Our holding in Ferrari also contributed
positively as shares rose following strong Q3 results highlighting
strong group order intake. Furthermore, the luxury car manufacturer
presented their new car, the Daytona SP3, which is the second of
its Icona series. First deliveries of the limited supply of 599
cars are expected towards the end of next year. The car has
significantly higher margins than its predecessor, the Monza car,
and sold out immediately.
The Company’s semiconductor-exposed stocks such as BE
Semiconductor, VAT Group and ASML all aided returns. BE
Semiconductor for example saw strong performance on the back of
good results at the end of October. We believe industry trends are
likely to remain favourable for BE Semiconductor as the packaging
equipment which the company provides becomes increasingly
important.
However, our holding in Royal Unibrew weighed on
returns. The company posted strong Q3 organic growth but also
some margin compression as a result of higher freight costs and,
consequently, operating profit undershot expectations. Our position
in Allfunds was also amongst the largest detractors despite no
stock specific news released over the period.
The Company’s holding in Neste Oil experienced volatility,
partially driven by negative performance of the energy sector in
general and partially driven by concerns over rising competition.
Whilst the worries around competition are not new, we believe
Neste’s renewable process is highly complex and the company is able
to use several types of feedstock to produce renewable diesel which
is quite unique.
At the end of the period, the Company had a higher allocation
than the reference index towards technology, industrials, consumer
discretionary and health care, and was neutral energy. The Company
had an underweight allocation to financials, consumer staples,
utilities, telecoms, real estate and basic materials.
Outlook
We see recent market strength persisting over the coming months,
aided by better virus testing capabilities, a successful vaccine
rollout and a resilient global consumer, alongside continued
accommodative fiscal and monetary policy. This market recovery is
unlikely to be equal across all sectors: some companies still lack
pricing power and are unable to reinstate dividends; others,
however, such as travel exposed stocks, could see a meaningfully
brighter 2022. Inflation may be on the horizon, but rates will
likely remain low. A period of prolonged negative real rates and
higher nominal growth is needed to allow governments globally to
work their way out of the post pandemic debt overhang. We see this
as being a supportive backdrop for equities overall.
20 December 2021
ENDS
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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.