REG-BlackRock Greater Europe Investment Trust Plc: Portfolio Update

Blackrock Greater Europe Investment TrustAnnouncement

20/08/2025 14:30

The information contained in this release was correct as at 31 July 2025.
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 31 July 2025 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)  -2.0%      5.3%          -2.0%     25.8%        762.8%              
 Share price                  -1.5%      6.1%          -3.2%     29.7%        734.0%              
 FTSE World Europe ex UK      1.4%       6.0%          11.3%     43.8%        515.1%              

Sources: BlackRock and Datastream
 

 

At month end

 Net asset value (capital only):      607.41p     
 Net asset value (including income):  612.28p     
 Share price:                         584.00p     
 Discount to NAV (including income):  4.6%        
 Net cash:                            0.5%        
 Net yield 1 :                        1.2%        
 Total assets (including income):     £584.8m     
 Ordinary shares in issue 2 :         95,518,569  
 Ongoing charges 3 :                  0.95%       
                                                  

 

1  Based on a final dividend of 5.25p per share for the year ended 31 August
2024 and an interim dividend of 1.75p per share for the year ending 31 August
2025.

2  Excluding 22,410,369 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 31 August 2024.

 

                         
 Sector Analysis         Total Assets (%)  
 Industrials             35.4              
 Consumer Discretionary  20.3              
 Technology              15.0              
 Financials              10.8              
 Health Care             8.6               
 Basic Materials         7.9               
 Real Estate             0.4               
 Net Current Assets      1.6               
                         -----             
                         100.0             
                         =====             
                                           
                                           
                                           
                                             
 Country Analysis        Total Assets (%)  
 France                  19.3              
 Switzerland             15.4              
 Germany                 13.2              
 Netherlands             12.3              
 United Kingdom          6.8               
 Ireland                 5.7               
 Italy                   4.4               
 United States           4.1               
 Denmark                 3.9               
 Finland                 3.2               
 Belgium                 2.9               
 Sweden                  2.9               
 Norway                  2.3               
 Spain                   2.0               
 Net Current Assets      1.6               
                         -----             
                         100.0             
                         =====             
                                           

 


 

 Top 10 holdings     Country         Fund %  
 Safran              France          7.6     
 RELX                United Kingdom  6.9     
 Belimo              Switzerland     4.9     
 Schneider Electric  France          4.8     
 SAP                 Germany         4.7     
 Hermès              France          4.7     
 Ferrari             Italy           4.4     
 Adyen               Netherlands     4.2     
 Linde               United States   4.1     
 Lonza Group         Switzerland     4.1     
                                             

 

Commenting on the markets, Stefan Gries and Alexandra Dangoor, representing
the Investment Manager noted:

 

During the month, the Company’s NAV declined by 2.0% and the share price by
1.5%. For reference, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index returned +1.4% during
the period.

 

The second quarter earnings season in Europe was better than feared, albeit on
an absolute basis, still relatively weak. Overall, we note that expectations
are still for low growth for 2025, close to flat for the year. Earnings have
been impacted by strength in the EUR versus the USD, as well as tariff impacts
factored into earnings, which we expect to become more visible through the
year. The weaker breadth of earnings was notable in the quarter. By sector, we
saw strength in Industrials and Banks with weakness particularly evident in
Chemicals, Autos and Energy. Share price reactions have been severe, with the
average magnitude of stock moves post results in Europe being the second
largest since at least 2010, despite the average magnitude of earnings per
share surprises being low versus history (Morgan Stanley, July 2025).

 

Allocation effects were negative in July, driven by the portfolio’s
underweight positioning to Financials and overweight positioning to
Technology. Overweight positioning to Industrials and underweight to Consumer
Staples contributed positively to sector allocation effects.

 

Semiconductor holdings faced headwinds this month, with ASM International and
BE Semiconductor being notable detractors. ASMi reported mixed results, with
strong year-over-year revenue growth overshadowed by a significant decline in
Q2 bookings and cautious future sales guidance. Despite hyperscalers
increasing capital expenditure guidance, European wafer fab equipment players
are still yet to see the benefit of this spend. This could also be seen for
BESI where Q2 order intake was weak and Q3 guidance was disappointing.

 

A position in Kongsberg detracted after the Q2'25 earnings results included a
slight miss in orders and revenue, driven by weakness in the Maritime
division. It has been common for small disappointments in earnings to be
punished by the market, especially given the high expectations for defence
companies approaching results season. Despite the setback, the anticipated
increase in defence budgets and proportion being allocated to equipment,
underpins Kongsberg's long-term growth potential.

 

IMCD detracted this month, primarily due to reduced industrial activity
persisting in the market. The company's Q2'25 results disappointed with sales
5% below consensus and gross profit a 4% miss. Despite these challenges,
pricing remains positive, positioning the company well for an eventual
recovery in volumes.

 

Shares in luxury goods holdings - Richemont, Ferrari, Hermès - faced
challenges this month as consumer end-markets remain subdued. Despite
Richemont printing strong 11% growth in its jewellery division, the market was
concerned by increasing raw material costs and unfavourable FX dynamics
putting the margin under pressure. The company continues to benefit from the
strong momentum of the Van Cleef and Cartier brands, however tough comparative
growth expectations in the near term have led us to trim the position.

 

Shares in Novo Nordisk fell further upon news of slower than expected growth
for their obesity drugs, both in the US and international markets, leading to
a sales and profit warning for 2025 forecasts. In part, this reflects the
overhang of compounded GLP-1 drugs which continue to exist in the market.
Additionally, the decision to hire a CEO internally after a short search was
taken negatively, as hopes were on an external hire coming in to turnaround
the company's commercial strategy.

 

Within Industrials, a position in Belimo continued to be additive with
business momentum supported by elements of structural growth, such as
datacentres. The company’s H1’25 financial results confirmed trends of the
pre-released positive warning. Their product excellence has built them a
leading position in the rapidly expanding segment of liquid cooling in
datacentres, with commensurate improvement in group profitability as these
high-value products grow in the sales mix.

 

Design and build software business, Nemetschek, contributed positively to
active returns over the month. The company posted solid results and a guidance
increase despite the challenging backdrop in construction end-markets.

 

Outlook

 

We are hopeful that the tariff agreement between the US and Europe gives
companies the chance to move on from the uncertainty expressed in H1’25 and
continue to believe the real-world impact will be manageable and that
companies will look to share costs throughout the value chains and
geographies. Many of the global companies we own have weathered considerable
challenges since the onset of the pandemic — most notably extended
supply-chain disruptions — and are in many cases better equipped to navigate
today’s complex environment. Meanwhile, we continue to see a resilient
bottom-up picture which should support a change in market drivers in time once
uncertainties clear.

 

Historically, Europe has been home to many world-class franchises that earn
profits globally, including from the US and China. This remains true, but now
there is a stronger domestic earnings contribution driven by an improved
outlook for the continent. There is potential recovery within rate-sensitive
sectors such as construction, as Europe is currently in a rate-cutting cycle.
Economic strength in Europe has been evident in the periphery — Spain and
Italy, but now there is change in key countries like Germany with a new
government forming and releasing fiscal constraints to stimulate the economy.

 

While the geopolitical landscape is challenging to navigate, especially with
US policy keeping investors on their toes, focusing on changing earnings
streams can help deliver strong long-term outcomes for investors. Overall, we
retain our core exposure to companies with predictable business models, higher
than average returns on capital, strong cash flow conversions and
opportunities to reinvest that cash flow into future growth projects at high
incremental returns.

 

   

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.

 

 

20 August 2025



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