REG-BlackRock American Income Trust Plc: Portfolio Update

Blackrock American Income TrustAnnouncement

22/05/2025 10:45

 

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  Month  Three Months  Six Months  One  Year  Three  Years  Five 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 Total Return)*  -6.3        -12.0         -5.7        1.4        15.9          71.1        

 

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 yield 1 :                                 4.2%        
 Total assets including current year revenue:  £114.2m     
 Net gearing:                                  0.1%        
 Ordinary shares in issue 2 :                  56,613,872  
 Ongoing charges 3 :                           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
(http://www.blackrock.co.uk/brna) 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 (https://mb.cision.com/Main/22399/4154123/3465070.pdf)  



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