Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST plc All information is at 30 November 2013 and unaudited. Performance at month end with net income reinvested One Three One Three Since launch Month Months Year Years (20 Sep 04) Net asset value (undiluted) 0.4% 8.4% 28.0% 41.4% 196.2% Net asset value (diluted) 0.4% 7.4% 26.7% 40.8% 193.2% Share price -0.6% 7.0% 29.7% 42.2% 186.5% FTSE World Europe ex UK -0.7% 8.2% 26.9% 35.8% 130.7% Sources: BlackRock and Datastream At month end Net asset value (capital only): 248.72p Net asset value (including income): 248.98p Net asset value (capital only)*: 246.06p Net asset value (including income)*: 246.28p Share price: 239.50p Discount to NAV (including income): 3.8% Discount to NAV (including income)*: 2.8% Subscription share price: 32.00p Gearing: Nil Net yield**: 1.9% Total assets (including income): £272.9m Ordinary shares in issue***: 109,591,474 Subscription shares in issue: 22,312,055 * Diluted for subscription shares. ** Based on an ordinary dividend of 4.5p per share (excluding a special dividend of 1.0p) for the year ended 31 August 2013. *** Excluding 5,718,353 shares held in treasury. Benchmark Sector Analysis Total Assets (%) Index (%) Country Analysis Total Assets (%) Financials 28.4 22.9 France 21.5 Consumer Goods 19.2 17.7 Switzerland 20.1 Health Care 16.1 11.7 Germany 14.5 Consumer Services 13.2 5.6 Netherlands 13.8 Industrials 12.8 14.2 Denmark 6.7 Technology 4.4 3.9 Sweden 5.9 Basic Materials 3.8 8.6 Belgium 4.0 Telecommunications 3.5 4.3 Russia 3.1 Oil & Gas 1.5 7.2 Ireland 3.0 Utilities - 3.9 Spain 2.2 Net current liabilities (2.9) - Italy 1.9 ----- ----- Portugal 1.5 100.0 100.0 Finland 1.5 ===== ===== Hungary 1.2 Poland 1.1 Ukraine 0.9 Net current liabilities (2.9) ----- 100.0 ===== Ten Largest Equity Investments (in alphabetical order) Company Bayer Germany Continental Germany ING Netherlands Novo Nordisk Denmark Reed Elsevier Netherlands Roche Switzerland Sanofi France Société Générale France Swiss Re Switzerland Zurich Insurance Switzerland Commenting on the markets, Vincent Devlin, representing the Investment Manager noted: During the month, the Company's NAV gained 0.4% and the share price fell by 0.6%. For reference, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index decreased by 0.7% during the same period. Peripheral markets, especially Spain and Italy, took a pause following a very strong October but Germany posted a return of 4.1% in the month (in local currency terms). Economic data for Europe remained broadly positive, with Mario Draghi stating that the 'situation in the Euro area has improved'; despite this, he took action earlier in the month to head off concerns over falling inflation through a reduction in the benchmark interest rate to 0.25%. From a sector perspective, basic resources struggled along with defensives such as food and beverages and personal care & household goods. More cyclically exposed sectors, including autos and technology, performed better. Stock selection was the main driver of returns during the month. From a sector perspective, the Company's underweight position to oil & gas proved profitable, although sector allocation in other sectors was less profitable and an underweight to basic materials detracted. As mentioned above, the German equity market performed especially well during November, and positions in Germany proved the most successful from a country perspective. At a stock level, positions in German auto supplier Continental and German bank Commerzbank proved the strongest performers. Continental benefited from continuing evidence of a pick-up in both the tyre replacement cycle and general domestic demand for new cars within domestic Europe. We believe that the company remains one of the strongest opportunities within the consumer cyclical space. Commerzbank performed as the company hinted at the accelerated run-down of its troubled non-core asset book, which would be a catalyst for a re-rating upwards. Selected health care names also performed well, including Spanish name Grifols, German name Bayer and Danish insulin treatment business Novo Nordisk. The Portuguese listed discount food retail company, Jeronimo Martins, also performed well. Positions in IT proved more challenging, with the decision to not own German name SAP proving unsuccessful (when measured against the market return), and a holding in semiconductor business ASML also detracting. Elsewhere, positions in Irish betting business Paddy Power and Dutch food retailer Ahold both detracted as 'defensives' underperformed in general. At the end of the month, the Company was positioned with higher weightings in consumer services, financials and health care and with lower weightings in basic materials, telecoms, oil & gas, industrials and utilities. Outlook We now have a clear early indication of economic recovery in Europe, increasing business and consumer confidence, a relatively stable scenario with regard to sovereign debt sustainability in the periphery and a relatively stable political environment ahead of us. Whilst we might see some short term consolidation in the market, providing that the overall macro and political picture does not change materially, we expect equity markets in Europe to continue to progress as undemanding valuations, when compared with other asset classes and investor flows, provide strong tailwinds for the market as a whole. It is worth noting that there is risk surrounding this scenario, and at this stage the recovery in Europe is only tentative; any significant disappointment would no doubt see a rebasing downwards of expectations by a relatively bullish investor community. However, notwithstanding some potential short term consolidation after a strong run, we still see a decent upside potential in the European equities market over the next twelve months, driven by supportive macro, attractive valuation versus other asset classes and ongoing inflows into the region from the still low levels compared to historic averages. 13 December 2013 ENDS Latest information is available by typing www.brgeplc.co.uk 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.
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